This study follows a cohort of first-time ninth graders over five years in San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) to describe the magnitude of its dropout problem and the numbers, characteristics, and graduation outcomes of the dropouts who subsequently reenrolled in the district. Additionally, it documents reenrollment issues…

In this paper we share our approach and current progress in the development of a research- based recruitment instrument that will be used in selecting students for an initial preparation program. This instrument will facilitate the selection of future teachers of secondary mathematics who possess the potential to become high quality teachers…

Using an ethnographic approach the study describes the curricula that veteran urban high school special educators use in self-contained special education classrooms with majority Blacks and Latinos. The findings show that the teachers routinely exposed students to elementary level curricula and to material that was rife with racist images of…

As the number of new schools explodes in urban centers, educators need to understand the processes and challenges faced by schools trying to develop a central focus for curriculum and instruction. Using case study methods including interviews and document analysis, the current study explores the ways in which a highly successful magnet high…

English is perceived as the language of the powerful elite as well as a tool of oppression and dehumanization. English, as the medium of instruction in South Africa, functions as the barrier to full societal participation of native speakers (Webb, 2003, p.1) and the gatekeeper of humanity. This study combines historical and qualitative methods to…

In the growing trend toward urban school reform vital educational stakeholders often function at cross-purposes in determining the mode and trajectory of change. This tug-of- war is even more poignant in cities with racially charged public school histories, and where reform movements serve to bolster hopes for the rescue of ailing economies.…

Teachers are held accountable for improving the literacy skills of PreK-12 pupils. However, the processes (or lack thereof) by which teachers at the various levels of schooling are deemed skilled and become actually prepared for such complex challenge have not been explored in depth. This article focuses on urban preservice teachers' beliefs…

This article is a description of the perceptions of pre-service teachers who have chosen to study in a teacher education program designed specifically to prepare them to work in urban elementary schools. Twelve volunteer participants were interviewed in the spring following their admission into the program. Participants and the researcher also…

PreK-12 teachers in an urban school district enrolled in a course designed to examine the complexities of teaching in urban schools. This course was part of a grant aimed at increasing math and science achievement of their students. Teachers critically examined local and national policies and conditions that added to the complexities of their…

The Educational Leadership program at a small liberal arts university serving a large urban district and surrounding regions has been redesigned to reflect state and national standards. In order to give students a unique setting in which to build community as well as practice leadership and coaching skills, candidates work in a cohort and…

Novice teachers who begin their careers in urban settings abandon teaching at dismal rates. Although teacher education programs make varying efforts to incorporate awareness about the diverse contexts of urban schooling into the preservice teacher curriculum--from the "one course approach" to whole curriculum imbedded--little is known about the…

Student teachers are rarely encouraged by experienced educators to consult schoolchildren to understand teaching and learning. Sometimes student teachers are not encouraged because of a believed incapacity to interact discernibly with schoolchildren--a belief stemming from minimal life experiences with people unlike themselves. Notions of…

This article articulates the results of an ongoing study in an urban school in New York City in which student and teacher researchers engage in practices that support the science success of the schools' predominantly Latino/a and African American population. By situating the study in the nature of corporate and communal practices, the article…

One of the greatest challenges for the Unites States as a nation, and for Paterson, NJ in particular, is how to attract and retain academically and pedagogically talented teachers for urban schools--teachers who are committed to remain in those schools to do the difficult, long-term work of reform and renewal. This work is critical if urban…

This essay describes the broad consideration of educational standards that occurred with a cohort of masters' licensure students in public, urban university and high school contexts. This deliberation over standards was rooted in the model of standards development presented by these future teachers' licensure program and called upon this next…