Topics discussed are: what the city is, what a good urban school is not, and criteria of good urban schools. Approaches that maximize and utilize the city as a center for learning are given through an examination of five models of urban schools. (Author/AM)

There is an urgent need not only to attract more people into the teaching profession but also to build a more diverse, highly qualified, and culturally sensitive teaching force that can meet the needs of a rapidly changing school-age population. This Toolkit takes best practices from high school teacher academies around the United States and…

This book has been designed to provide teachers of kindergarten through grade 12 with techniques and approaches for helping their African American students achieve in school. It presents a planned approach to four major initiatives: (1) to restructure the instruction and behaviors practiced in most classrooms today; (2) to provide teachers with…

School staff can use information on risk factors to identify student needs and assess the ability of the school to address these needs. It is also important to identify protective factors that promote successful development or buffer risk factors that might otherwise compromise development. Three key factors that have been identified as fostering…

This handbook provides information about gangs for education professionals working with immigrants. As the introduction makes clear, gangs are one of the many problems that newly arrived immigrants face in their neighborhoods and at school in the United States. Following the introduction, the first section describes the types of gangs including…

This volume illuminates the most pressing challenges faced by urban schools, teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher training programs and offers a range of insights and possibilities for urban teacher education and teaching. Covering issues spanning the broadly theoretical to the urgently practical, it goes beyond the traditional discourses in…

Reducing absences is the most readily available strategy that high schools have for reducing the number of dropouts. A sample of approximately 2,000 students who entered three Oregon urban high schools in the Fall of 1983 or 1984 was studied in order to establish criteria for identifying students who were at-risk of not graduating. The group was…

The theme of this inaugural serial issue is "Building a Community of Learners." The serial has been designed to address school restructuring and reform and the roles of teachers, administrators, and parents. The first essay, "Constructing Communities of Cooperation" by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood examines structural change in…

An after-school program for elementary students, LA's BEST, in Los Angeles (California) that was planned and implemented by local civic, education, and community leaders was evaluated in 1990-91. The program intends to provide a safe environment that fosters students' academic, physical, social, and emotional growth; and promotes future business,…

This paper describes a methodology for the evaluation of dropout prevention programs, for calculating dropout rates, and for comparing alternative programs equitably. A first step involves developing a hierarchy of criteria for evaluating programs. These criteria are used to obtain dropout risk probability for individuals and groups and types of…

Collaborations between high schools and colleges have emerged during the 1980s as a means to increase enrollments and academic success of low-income minorities in higher education although their benefits have yet to be clearly demonstrated. This review surveys the literature on the effectiveness of these collaboratives. The report is comprised of…

This cultural heritage resource guide has been prepared as a tool for teachers to help them understand the cultural heritage of their Haitian students, their families, and their communities in order to serve them better. Although Haiti became an independent country in 1804, the struggle of its people for justice and freedom has never ended. Many…

This document contains the following "Abbott Opinions": (1) "Early Childhood Education"; (2) "Adequate School Facilities"; (3) "Supplemental Programs and Whole School Reform in Elementary Schools"; (4) "Supplemental Programs in Middle and High Schools"; and (5) "Planning Programs and Budgets…

The Padres a la escuela (PAE) or Parents in the School program in San Antonio (Texas) encouraged the participation of Hispanic parents in the education of their children. The successes of the PAE program are used in this guidebook to help parents, program staff, and policy makers in similar efforts. This handbook describes the history,…

"Nature at Your Doorstep" is an outgrowth of a successful environmental education program offered as a school field trip at a Nature Discovery Center. It was developed and used with thousands of students throughout Bellaire, Texas and the surrounding Houston metroplex. The purpose of this program is to kindle students' curiosity and…