The Academy — Bentley Little

With a promise of more freedom, and the chance to get out from under the thumbs of a reactionary school board, the teachers of Tyler High have voted to become a charter school. Instructors and parents alike are thrilled with the prospect of independence -- and yet...

The formerly laid-back principal has become unusually strict. With her toadying secretary, she seems to be running the show. That isn't all. The janitors no longer work nights because of what they hear. The students are frightened by what they see. And things that defy rational explanations are happening on school grounds. But there is an explanation -- it's just not something that anyone can begin to believe or hope to survive.