Urban paraprofessionals are often overlooked but key participants in the optimal functioning of schools. In light of the recent changes and increasing demands regarding paraprofessional qualifications stipulated by the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB), this study focuses on urban bilingual paraprofessionals and their beliefs about work in the…

This article provides an opportunity to extend the discussion about teacher communities as part of complex school reform models, specifically centered on those communities whose membership is drawn on a semi-voluntary basis. Through a sixteen-month long ethnography, I document the activities of an urban teacher professional community (TPC) at a…