Mercy, Mercy Me — Leceila Turnage

Returning home as Assistant Principal at Frederick Douglass Elementary-the school she attended as a child, is a dream come true for Danielle "Danny" Foster. Her happiness, however, soon gives way to fear and enormous stress. Douglass will lose its ranking as one of the state's best, if it fails by year's end to raise the achievement levels of the low-performing students recently assigned to the school. With so much at stake, PTA board member, Myles Washington helps Danny secure funds to implement remediation programs for the struggling students. He's rumored to be dating a parent at the school, who begins to badger Danny when she suspects something more than a professional relationship is transpiring between the two. Will resolve, faith and love help Danny succeed as Assistant Principal, or will the never-ending drama at Douglass derail her efforts? If the first day of school is any indication, she has her work cut out for her.