Educational scholars have argued that poverty can hamper student achievement. In this critical discussion paper, we provide a historiography of how urban poverty increased in America over the last 30 years of the 20th century. We contend that educators and educational researchers working in P-12 urban schools should understand how federal urban…

Education policy makers often encourage public schools to form partnerships with community organizations, businesses, and higher education institutions. In theory, such partnerships can help struggling schools gain resources that they are unable to acquire through local, state, and federal funding mechanisms. However, as Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell…

School districts throughout the country have faced increasing challenges with recruiting and retaining beginning STEM teachers. In 2017, turnover rates for mathematics and science teachers were 90% greater in the top quartile of schools serving students of color than in the bottom quartile. A RAND Corporation 2021 survey found nearly one in four…

Guided by the concept of nepantleras and critical race nepantlera methodology, Nancy Acevedo presents the testimonios of Citlalli Bejarano and Natalie Ibarra Collazo, two Chicana students who attend urban high schools. Citlalli and Natalie share various forms of inclusion and exclusion that they experience as Chicanas attending private and public…

An interdisciplinary liberal arts program can prompt innovative ideas and self-discovery when fired in a kiln of social and economic justice fueled by high-impact practices. Developing learning communities, internships, group projects, local-to-global learning, community-based service learning, and capstone projects can enhance education and…

Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, has nearly 20 years of experience in educational leadership, primarily in urban school districts. Her previous roles included superintendent in Austin, Texas, from 2009 to 2014 and administrator in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. She serves as a commissioner and…

Telecommuting is currently used in many industries and is celebrated for fostering job satisfaction and increased productivity. However, telecommuting is not widely practiced in K-12 environments. Two departments in AISD implemented pilot telecommuting programs. This report presents survey results from these pilot implementation models and…

This post is one in a series highlighting MDRC's methodological work. Contributors discuss the refinement and practical use of research methods being employed across MDRC. MDRC has begun working with research partners through the Expanding Children's Early Learning (ExCEL) Network, a collaboration of researchers, preschool providers, and local…

Insofar as urban school systems that are often identified as ineffective include such a large segment of U.S. P-12 students, it is vital to improve academic success. To provide context, the article first discusses key challenges facing urban schools. Second, the article identifies and briefly reviews a variety of approaches to reform models often…

This article considers proponents' arguments for Pay for Success also known as Social Impact Bonds. Pay for Success allows banks to finance public services with potential profits tied to metrics. Pay for Success has received federal support through the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2016 and is predicted by 2020 to expand in the US to a trillion…

Recently, The City College of New York (CCNY) libraries engaged in a collaborative project to transfer the bibliographic holdings for textbook course reserves to a new module when their integrated library systems, the Ex Libris Aleph Integrated Library System, underwent a system upgrade. In this article, the Chief of Circulation and the Chief of…

This case study of a California Career Pathways Trust grant, the South Bay Digital Media Arts Consortium, which established key linkages between an urban high school district's pathway academies to local post-secondary institutions and community industry partners, provides learning lessons for other schools/organizations interested in establishing…

While it's school building looks like something straight out of Harry Potter, Washington Leadership Academy is best-known for its visionary thinking. One of only 10 schools in the U.S. to receive a $10 million grant from XQ: The Super School Project, the public charter is immersing its mostly minority, low-income students in technology--giving…

After a decade as an education professor, Greg Michie decided to return to his teaching roots. He went back to the same Chicago neighborhood, the same public school, and the same grade level and subject he taught in the 1990s. But much had changed--both in schools and in the world outside them. "Same As It Never Was" chronicles Michie's…

Community colleges have an important role in supporting economic opportunity in urban areas. While urban areas generally experience high levels of economic prosperity, especially compared to rural areas, individuals who have not participated in postsecondary education and training face barriers to taking full advantage of the opportunities…