A non-cushioned adequate yearly progress (AYP) sledgehammer will start pounding many schools from the beginning of 2005. The AYP-failed schools that receive Title 1 No Child Behind Policy (NCLB) funds will be placed on a sanction-laden improvement track than can improve a school all the way into nonexistence.

Older volunteers are helping urban students in developing the confidence and skills to succeed. Older adults, with their life experience and strong commitment to social service, can make a special contribution in underfunded and understaffed urban schools.

Master teachers working in real urban classrooms have shared their exemplary teaching practices in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratory (L-TAPL), a program for elementary students that aims to improve the achievement of urban students and the competence of their teachers. The L-TAPL enrichment program curriculum includes language arts, math,…

An urban community has forced the issue to get the school that it wants and that its children rightly deserve. The indispensable feature of successful schools in a functioning democracy include creating an authentic community capable of identifying obstacles and opportunities, setting standards and expectations, and deciding how best to provide…

The experience of the School Development Program has shown that parental involvement benefits not only students and schools, but also parents themselves. Parental involvement in the program can transform families' lives along with improving teaching and learning.

The comprehensive school reform (CSR) models build consistency throughout a district while addressing the needs of individual schools. The high-quality CSR programs offer a most effective option for urban education reform.

The Model Science Lab, a constructivist approach to teaching, strengthens urban science teachers' teaching practice. The retention rate of Houston science teachers who took part in the program was found to be very high and the cost of the Model Science Lab has proven less expensive per student than most other professional development options.

Early days on the job can be less than joyful for new teachers who regularly find themselves in seemingly impossible situations. Four educators who survived to tell the tale share their experiences and offer insight into what gave them the strength to continue on their chosen path.

The attrition rate among schoolteachers in the US reaches alarming proportions as it far outpaces the rate at which new teachers are trained and recruited. The results of an in-depth study undertaken to understand why new teachers leave the profession and the kind of support schools can offer to keep them from doing so are discussed.

The teachers should avoid ineffective practices that promote disengagement in order to increase adolescents' comprehension skills. A schoolwide literacy plan and strong leadership can bring real changes in literacy teaching and learning.

The data received from a survey conducted in six Georgia school districts, partners in the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program (GSTEP) is examined and used to help create support and professional development for new teachers. The building of collaborative structures that offer new teachers the chance to interact with more experienced…

The key instructional strategies that help in improving literacy for older students are described. The strategic tutoring approach recognizes and targets each individual student's needs and focuses on instilling independence and effective comprehension instruction gives students more practice using new strategies with a wide range of context.

An urban school district was able to improve its students' reading achievement substantially by implementing a variety of literary coaching models. The six literary coaching process strategies used by schools are discussed.

A charter school has focused on technology and arts in order to help urban students develop a strong intellectual, moral, environmentally conscious and artistic foundation. The different policies and programs used by the Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School (ATA), Washington, D.C., to educate students are discussed.

A major problem faced by school districts in the US is the paucity of applicants for the posts of school principals. A solution adopted by The Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) in Orange County California was the cultivation of good leaders from within the district through the Teaching Assistant Principal (TAP) program.