This book provides a blueprint for the professional development of urban teachers that fosters new communities of learning, embraces diversity, and prepares teachers through community and collaborative partnerships. It presents a model of a community teacher that embraces the communities where urban youth live. Case studies illustrate the framework in action. The 10 chapters are: (1) "A Crisis of Knowledge-in-Practice in the Age of Teacher Education Reform"; (2) "The Contexts for Improving the Quality of Urban Teaching in Partnership"; (3) "Community Teachers: The New Model of Urban Teacher Preparation"; (4) "The Development of Practice in Community Partnership"; (5) "The Developmental Tasks of Teachers: Developing Accomplished Practice"; (6) "Circles of Practice: The Cultural Context for Improving Teaching"; (7) "Assisting the Performance of Teachers: From Competent Practice to Accomplished Practice"; (8) "Research in Practice: Creating Communities of Inquiry in Diverse Urban Communities"; (9) "Assessing Teacher Performance: Performance-Based Teacher Assessment"; and (10) "Building Institutional Coalitions for Renewal." (Contains 99 references.) (SM)