Across the nation, urban school districts struggle to raise often abysmally low high school graduation rates. New York City, with a four-year graduation rate of 57 percent, is no exception. Yet, some high schools in New York, as elsewhere, succeed beyond expectations in bringing students with low academic skills and high needs to graduation in…

This paper summarizes several research findings in order to determine the urban high school characteristics that are most likely to decrease alienation among inner city, minority students, and to make their attitudes toward education, themselves, and their futures more positive. First, the paper discusses the phenomenon of alienation in society…