Many traditional university-based and alternative route teacher preparation programs have been developed to prepare new teachers to work in urban, high minority, and high-poverty classrooms. There is little literature that documents the outcomes of these programs designed specifically for urban environments or the practices of teachers who completed such programs. We need to explore the outcomes of these teacher education programs, traditional and alternative, in order to meet the need for teachers in these environments and guarantee that urban students are taught by the most qualified teachers possible. This study contributes to the sparse body of literature focused on the outcomes of such programs by examining the practices and perspectives of three teachers who completed one such program five years ago. The following question guided the study: What are the perspectives and practices of graduates of a yearlong urban teacher residency who are teaching in schools with a student population that is predominantly low income and/or children of color? Sub-questions included: 1) How do the teachers define effective teaching? 2) What practices do these teachers use that they believe are highly effective and why do they believe those practices are effective? 3) What factors do these teachers identify as influential in the development of their perspectives and practices? Data were collected through interviews and observations. The findings of this study are presented as an educational criticism. Grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy literature, this study identified several aspects of culturally responsive pedagogy that two of the three teachers incorporated into their practice. These two teachers developed a core set of practices that are culturally responsive, and both set similar goals for their teaching: to develop positive and caring relationships with their students and to help their students experience academic success. These teachers demonstrated clear and high expectations for student learning, tightly planned lessons in order to model and scaffold learning, used formative assessments to document students' progress, used caring language when talking with students, and got to know students and their families in order to learn how to best meet their needs. One teacher made a concerted effort to incorporate her students' culture into her instruction through the use of chants, music, technology, and students' interests. Moreover, two teachers demonstrated a moderate degree of evidence related to empowerment through building students' academic power. However, the remaining two goals of CRP, transformation and emancipation were not evidenced. Implications of this research for teacher educators, practicing educational leaders and professional developers, and researchers are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]