Sara McAlister, in her article "Why Community Engagement Matters in School Turnaround," in this issue (p35-42) of "Voices in Urban Education," lays out the strong research base showing that family and community participation is a crucial resource not only for individual student achievement, but also for catalyzing and…

There are good reasons to press President Obama and his education advisors right now to both rethink the direction of educational reform as well as to reignite the national conversation regarding school change. A second-term president faces a moment where it's natural to analyze past practices and decide to either "stay the course or to…

This article represents a conversation between two urban educators--one African American and one White. Not only the influence of race, but also the influence of personal and cultural histories on urban classrooms and colleges, unfold during their conversation. Providing important insights into the nature and significance of the work of urban…

In this article, the author presents an interview with Sue Swaim, the National Middle School Association's (NMSA) longest-serving executive director. During the interview, Swaim reflects on her personal experiences leading NMSA. For fourteen years, Swaim's tenure provided a continuous, consistent voice for young adolescent education. Upon…

Teachers cannot afford to ignore the research findings on right and left brain functions. Basically, three things have been discovered: (1) each hemisphere of the brain processes information differently; (2) in some people, the hemispheres work well together, in others they are in a constant state of disagreement; and (3) each hemisphere is…

Only two of the most popular school improvement models for elementary schools have "moderately strong" evidence to show that they work, according to a consumer-style guide released last week by a Washington-based research group. The federally financed report by the American Institutes for Research rates 22 of the most widely used…

The crisis in urban public education is a crisis of community. A program of urban school reform founded on community renewal would operate on the following three levels: (1) strengthening schools as community institutions; (2) reorganizing schools as models of community; and (3) making community issues the focus of study in schools. (AF)

Masafumi Ogawa cares deeply about improving music teacher education and has grave concerns about Japan's current music education and teacher training system. He notes reduced instructional time, cuts in teaching positions, and classroom management issues resulting in the devaluing of music education by administrators, students, and the general…