In the United States, progressive education programs have historically failed to take hold among low-income families, even when that population has been their initial focus. Instead, these programs tend to become popular among middle-class or affluent families. Some research suggests that working-class/poor families' expectations of education may…

The purpose of this study was to survey and compare the characteristics and perceptions of randomly selected urban and suburban (N=20) secondary instrumental music teachers in the Chicago area. Descriptive analysis of the demographic data demonstrated the following: suburban participants had higher levels of educational attainment than their urban…

In late 2010, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) initiated a new safety program called the "Culture of Calm" initiative (CoC). Since 2010, CPS has focused resources on schools in order to improve school climate--particularly school safety. These resources were used, to a large extent, to hire vendors that provided services to teachers and…

This paper reports on a project designed to improve student achievement through better communication between parents/guardians and teachers of 9th-grade science students in a large, north-central Illinois urban community. Analysis of probable-cause data revealed that no structured means of communication existed. Attempts to communicate were…

This paper reports on a project designed to improve student achievement through better communication between parents/guardians and teachers of 7th-grade math students in a large, north-central Illinois urban community. Analysis of probable-cause data revealed that no structured means of communication existed. Attempts to communicate were thwarted…