The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the TRALE model (Technology-Rich Authentic Learning Environments) improved young urban learners' literacy skills. TRALE, designed as an early childhood education program, integrated authentic learning and the use of technology to increase disadvantaged children's literacy learning. The paper includes a description of how the model was implemented through the creation of a community of technology-enriched classrooms in an inner-city school context and provides student achievement data in language arts as evidence for TRALE's instructional effectiveness.