The most promising intervention for improving learning and reducing academic gaps in outcomes is present in every classroom: the "teacher". Teachers empowered to create relationship-centric, supportive classroom and school cultures, combined with rigorous academics, produce breakthrough results for their students. Three nonprofits'…

In "Accountability and Opportunity in Higher Education," leading scholars address the unforeseen impact of accountability standards on students of color and the institutions that disproportionately serve them. The book describes how federal policies can worsen existing racial inequalities in higher education and offers alternative…

This groundbreaking volume considers the ultimate fate of the comprehensive high school as individuals enter the twenty-first century. Contributors consider whether the question of the high school's seeming demise is exaggerated and why it is experiencing the many problems that it does. Essays focus on the United States, the United Kingdom,…

In comparing one public school to another, discussions frequently include talk concerning the socio economics of a school or district, which then leads to talk about the advantages that one socioeconomic setting has over another. Educators tend to agree that low academic achievement frequently associated with a low socioeconomic status is a…

Over time, two competing narratives have emerged to represent the experiences of LGBTQ youth, emphasizing either significant improvement or continued victimization and marginalization. This volume examines those conflicting narratives as they play out in educational settings, both formal and informal. Particular emphasis is placed on LGBTQ youths'…

The book aims to change the conversation about sexuality education for adolescents, making it consistent with a democratic cultural politics that is attuned to changes in youth and popular culture. Traditional sex education is nearly obsolete; sexuality curriculum is now primarily learned through popular culture and youth culture, which teach…

This newsletter of best practices describes steps that schools have taken to establish a guidance and advisement system that helps students plan for and succeed in students high school, further study and careers. Articles in this issue include: (1) Advisory Program Boosts Achievement and Career Planning; (2) District-Wide Guidance Program Assists…

With an annual yearly growth rate of 9.3 percent over the last two decades, Advanced Placement courses have become a juggernaut in American high school education. AP courses are routinely perceived as an indicator of educational rigor, and many schools push to enroll low-income or minority students in these courses in the hope of preparing them…

Designed to help move literature beyond the canon to include the works of many underrepresented Americans, this book contains a collection of writings which discuss multicultural literature for secondary classrooms. It attempts to bring together the literature written by people of color living in the United States. Themes which emerge in the book…

This "Handbook" offers a broad definition of family and community engagement, seen through the lens of scholars and practitioners with a wide-ranging set of perspectives on why and how families, communities, and schools collaborate with one another. Taken together, the chapters in this "Handbook" sketch out the components of a…

To reduce the number of school dropouts and youth homicides and to change poor social outcomes for children and youth at risk, it is necessary to consider socially imposed risk factors and reconceptualize ways of thinking about risk. Chapters in this collection discuss risk factors and show that schools can become supportive environments that…

This collection of papers examines pre-college enrichment programs that offer a specific remedy to the problem of low income and underrepresented students' access to higher education. The 10 papers are: (1) "Pre-College Outreach Programs: A National Perspective" (Watson Scott Swail and Laura W. Perna); (2) "The Relationship between…

Papers, panels, and commentaries (responses) are provided from a conference attended by traditional educators, vocational educators, and economists to discuss the impact of technology on vocational education in the high school and suggest appropriate responses. The introduction is by Stuart Rosenfeld. The first three papers address the theme of…

This book is a collection of research papers and respected philosophical statements on how secondary school students learn science best. Taken together, these papers serve as the basis for the Project on Scope, Sequence, and Coordination of Secondary School Science (SS&C). This book explains where the learning ideas of the SS&C Content…

Written with teachers, administrators, and students of Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, this book is grounded in a 2-year action research project that created an inclusive high school. Chapter 1 provides snapshots of interactions in an inclusive high school and refutes some of the concerns expressed by teachers and administrators.…