Describes decision points facing teacher education programs with an urban focus. Provides examples of strategies resulting from each decision point from the perspectives of researchers involved in an effort to redesign an urban teacher education program at the University of New Orleans. (SLD)

This article reports the promising outcomes of a new mentoring program that helps novice teachers in New York City improve their quality of teaching and stem the number of those who leave. Calling the program "possibly the largest, most aggressive overhaul of teacher induction in the country," researchers of the New Teacher Center at the…

One of the most pressing challenges in public education today is the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers for America's schools. Research shows teacher shortages exist nationwide but vary by geographic area, content area, demographics, and individual schools. In a recent study of the Future Educators Association[R] (FEA) initiative…

In a field of revolving-door leaders, Thomas W. Payzant is the exception to the rule. Amid the rise and fall of superintendents in city after city, he has led the Boston Public Schools for nearly 11 years. Now, as he prepares to retire, the district offers a rare glimpse of what is possible with stable leadership in urban education. It is a story…

This article poses an alternative to traditional teacher education methods of preparing reading specialists in university programs focused solely on outcomes. An equally important issue to explore is that of process and how candidates are prepared. Studying outputs with limited attention to process factors leaves teacher educators with incomplete…

What is the responsibility of an educator--where does it begin and end? We report on a study of teachers at four admired public high schools in urban areas in the US. The teachers describe their deep commitment to meeting students' academic needs, as well as their developmental, social and emotional needs. The ways these teachers construe…

Describes the origin and evolution of the P-16 movement in education, which is based on the premise that all education, from preschool through college, ought to function as an integrated system. Describes some of the issues likely to affect the movement and the progress of urban universities over the next few years. (SLD)

Explores the impact of grantseeking on urban public school teachers, examining how it introduced them to the central tenets of the privatization movement, discussing how specific assumptions about urban teachers have influenced the development of grant competition, and describing the exclusion of minority teachers. A case history illustrates the…

This article draws upon and integrates a number of distinct but overlapping areas of inquiry in the literature on teaching: teacher inquiry, reflective practice, spirituality and education, and contemplative practice. In it, we examine the implementation of a particular phenomenological form of teacher inquiry, the Descriptive Review, in an urban…

The word "attitude" has different meanings. While some educators wish their students had less attitude, others are looking for ways to help students develop the kind of questioning, critical attitude that will allow them to interrogate and rethink what they already know or take for granted. This article describes a teacher education program that…

This small booklet describes the Winchester Community School in New Haven, Connecticut. It begins by introducing and defining a new term, the "urbanvantaged" child. Winchester is dedicated to the development of this inner city child in a community school. Activities implemented by the school program include: (1) simultaneous kindergarten…

This booklet is a nontechnical summary of an extensive sociological investigation of the Teacher Corps, which was restricted to 10 universities and 42 schools. Data drawn from observation, questionnaires, and interviews with teachers, professors, and interns are used to present a composite picture of the program. The document includes a history of…

A high school teacher describes his educational philosophy, which he feels would result in his ability to take the opportunities he missed with his high school students to teach future classes with the new philosophy in the mind. He also hopes that it would allow him to develop teachers who would be able to give more consideration to "the…

This paper focuses on the challenges faced by faculty in the urban teacher preparation programs, particularly in the area of technology integration by pre-service and in-service teachers in their classroom instruction. The paper discusses the issues of first-order barriers (access to technology, infrastructure support) and second-order barriers…

Describes an experiment in K-16 collaboration that is taking place on the Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisconsin. Public school "teachers-in-residence" undertake a 2-year stint at a university program dedicated to mainstreaming multiculturalism in undergraduate education and help create courses for future urban educators. (SLD)