Urban education is an interdisciplinary field, characterized by introducing many perspectives to research pertaining to educational policy and to the practice of educating youth whose lives unfold in densely populated urban metropolitan areas. This book celebrates Constance Clayton's eleven-year tenure as superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, ending in 1993, following which an endowed chair was established in Dr. Clayton's honor at the University of Pennsylvania, and later, the Clayton lecture series was inaugurated. The chair was the first named for an African American woman at a predominantly White, Ivy League U.S. university. The lecture series, upon which this book is based, provides a forum for teachers, researchers, and scholars to evaluate and discuss key concepts and issues in urban education. Collectively, the lectures summarize important developments in a post-"Brown vs. Board of Education" era of educational thought (1998-2010) about what is in the best interests of urban youth. Contents include: (1) Foreword (Bernard C. Watson); (2) Introduction and Overview: The Constance E. Clayton Lecture Series (Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe); (3) Reflections on Dr. Constance E. Clayton, Urban Educator, Activist, and Humanitarian (Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe); (4) Waiting for a Miracle: Why Schools Can't Solve Our Problems and How We Can (James P. Comer); (5) Race and School Desegregation: Contemporary Legal and Educational Issues (Edgar G. Epps); (6) Teaching Young Children Well: Implications for 21st Century Educational Policies (Barbara Bowman); (7) Urban Education Challenges: Is Reform the Answer? (Susan Fuhrman); (8) Teaching For Social Justice (Linda Darling-Hammond); (9) What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black? An Overview of Parent Education Research During the Civil Rights Era and Beyond (Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe); (10) Response to "What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?" A Focus on Research (Marybeth Gasman); (11) Response: Parent Education and the Role of Young Fathers (Alton C. Strange); (12) From Racial Inequality to Social Justice: The Legacy of Brown v. Board and Lessons from the New South Africa (James M. Jones); (13) Response to 2004 Clayton Lecture by Dr. James Jones (Audrey N. Mbeje); (14) A Response to 2004 Clayton Lecture by Dr. James Jones (Davido Dupree); (15) Lifetime Effects of Participatory Preschool Education (Lawrence J. Schweinhart); (16) What Do We Expect From Girls? Confronting the Performance Gaps in Math and Science (Pamela Trotman Reid); (17) Thoughts on Improving the Intellectual Life Chances of Adolescents: The Case for Tool Design (Louis M. Gomez); (18) Perceived Messages From the 2008-2010 Clayton Lectures: Overhauling Urban Education Through Developmental Science, Interdisciplinary Teamwork, and Even Litigation (Laura C. Murray); (19) March 22, 2011 Interview with Dr. Constance E. Clayton: "Reflections on the Clayton Leadership Era in the School District of Philadelphia" (Constance E. Clayton and Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe); (20) The Generational Challenge for African American Educators in the Post-Civil Rights Era (Tondra L. Loder-Jackson); and (21) Conclusion: Looking to the Futures of Urban School Children (Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe).