This report considers six schools in two urban districts that made deliberate commitments to improve student performance in early language and literacy--each story is different, yet they all share an important insight: that a school and a model provider can work together to help every child learn to read. As the stories in the report demonstrate,…

Presents reflections of six teacher-researchers who participated in the Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy's M-CLASS, a project that focuses on understanding literacy in multicultural urban English and social studies classrooms. Notes that one issue the group raised is that teacher research often leads to teacher change. (PA)

Exploring the concept of a "permeable" curriculum, this paper provides concrete examples of the social and cultural challenges of a curriculum that allows for the interplay between teachers' and children's language and experiences. The paper uses a recent study in an urban primary school to provide an illustration of the diverse kinds of…

Describes the pros and cons of operating a community literacy center. Provides experiential information concerning one such center on Pittsburgh's north side, the Community Literacy Center, including its historical and theoretical context. Defines community literacy and describes its functions and goals. (HB)

Reports on a year-long study of how children's literacy practices enhanced their understanding of themselves and their social worlds. Finds that children's reading and writing benefited them personally and socially, enabling them to understand a complex urban landscape, to explore new social identities, and to wrestle with social problems and ways…

Defining "community literacy" as literate acts that could yoke community action with intercultural education, strategic thinking and problem solving, and with observation-based research and theory building, this paper articulates this "generative and tension-filled" vision of community literacy. The paper begins by examining…

An overview of Alex Kotlowitz' book "There Are No Children Here" substantiates his claim that the United States is moving toward two separate and unequal societies--one black and one white. His book recounts the story of two boys (and their mother) who live in the Henry Horner Housing Project in Chicago. The mother believes in the power…

Interviews with an urban Los Angeles first-grade teacher and observations of her class illustrate how social and cultural issues are brought into the classroom, creating an environment in which students learn to "read the world," acquiring social and cultural literacy as well as the more commonly perceived personal literacy. When…

One result of the new culture of violence in the schools, and the corresponding shift in attention and resources away from learning activities and towards new security strategies, is the strong likelihood of a notable drop in student achievement levels. Fallout from the crisis in urban high schools carries over to community colleges and…

If English teachers are going to clean up language and strive toward literacy, they need to stop using phrases that are meaningless, such as "prior knowledge,""dyslexia,""learning disabilities," and "at-risk." The persistent misuse of language moves the United States closer to becoming a remedial nation.…

Responding to the growing consensus among researchers and educators that prevention of learning problems makes more sense than remediation, this book presents essays that suggest ways to improve literacy instruction for all children, particularly those who are at risk. Essays in the book discuss practical matters such as funding, curriculum,…

A study explored the role of peer collaboration in literacy development as a case study in the broader inquiry on the social nature of learning and cognitive development. Fourteen low-achieving 7- to 9-year-old children in a third-grade urban classroom used a word processor to write four stories individually and three stories collaboratively with…

This book reports on conversations in which elementary schoolteachers--who have taught in urban settings for an average of 20 years each--reflect on their professional work. The conversations in the book testify to the teachers' ability to engage young people in active learning--and their stories of teaching and learning verify that difference…