This article looks at urban education through the vantage point of Chicago's mayors. It begins with Carter H. Harrison II (who served from 1897 to 1905 and again from 1911 to 1915) and ends with Richard M. Daley (1989 to the present), with most of the focus on four long-serving mayors: William Hale Thompson (1915-23 and 1927-31), Edward Kelly…

Replacing boards of education conceived during the Progressive Era with mayoral control has been a popular reform strategy in urban districts such as Boston, Chicago, and New York City. A thorough review of the extant research, however, shows little evidence regarding its impact on governance, management, school organization, or teaching and…

This study illustrates the regularity with which the children of mostly Mexican immigrants in Chicago interpret languages and cultural practices for their families. It also tests the hypothesis, generated from qualitative research, that such "language brokering" is related to academic outcomes. Using data collected from a subset of…

Using interviews of students prior to and during their retained year and of their teachers, this study examined 22 students retained under Chicago's Ending Social Promotion policy. It focused on the "intervention" of retention, including how teachers shaped the retained year for students and the nature and quality of instructional…

Illinois birth records in 1985 provide information about the educational levels of black, white, and Hispanic-American adolescents aged 15 to 19 years having first and second births. Age and ethnic differences exist in the relationship of first and second births to educational levels of young parents. (SLD)