Many students fail to enroll in college even after they have made a formal commitment to attend. Research has shown that nationally, between 10 percent and 40 percent of high school graduates who intend to go to college don't enroll the following fall. Among low-income students, these "summer melt" rates are even higher. The College…

Having his mother serve as superintendent of the junior and senior high schools the author attended in Illinois affected how people treated him. He realizes today that people, at times, like to put blame on others when something else is really what's at fault. That makes the children of the school district's top decision maker an easy target. He…

Superintendents whose young children attend public schools in their school district face a special challenge. How do you go about ensuring your children are treated like other students, neither advantaged nor disadvantaged by their unique connection to the chief executive of the school system? This article shares the experience of the author who…

In this paper we tell a story about how we partnered with a Chicago high school in order to turn the school inside out by displaying larger-than-life teacher portraits and statements at street level throughout the community. This paper explores how public art and activism can help teachers and students develop notions of civic literacy and…

Donegan, an educational consultant specializing in 9th grade, asserts that when it comes to truly changing the freshman year, words abound but actions are few. Although everyone involved in the "high school conversation" agrees that the first year of high school is pivotal to success, few schools take on the challenge of truly reshaping…

In this article, the author talks about his experience in moving to Perspectives, a small charter school catering for grades 6-12 located near Chicago's Chinatown. He shares how he felt about transferring in the midst of his final year at elementary school. Compared to his old school, he learned some things that are different about Perspectives…

Recent studies and personal narratives suggest a connection between the low academic achievement of Latina/o students in the United States to the lack of care they experience in schools. The author reports on a study he conducted of the Chicago-based Pedro Albizu Campos Alternative High School, focusing on the experiences of its students and…