Presents a case analysis of the Miami-Dade Urban Systemic Initiative (MDUSI). Describes the development of a general framework for systemic reform that is used as a tool to examine the particulars of systemic reform initiatives and their potential to impact the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in diverse contexts. (Contains 27…

Reports on the results of case studies in two Ohio middle schools that employed a model known as the equity metric to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. (Contains 33 references.) (DDR)

In Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Oakland, California and Philadelphia, to name a few cities where it has been active, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has emerged as a major player in K-12 in education issues. Its army of organizers has tackled everything from a lack of stop signs to such vexing issues as teacher…

The 1971 school year was the first year of full operation of the Lackawanna State University College Undergraduate Urban Teacher Education Program (UUTEP). Instead of thrusting college students into full responsibility, it provides for a sequential development of expertise under the guidance and direction of experienced teachers. This UUTEP…

Describes partnership efforts between the Richmond Public Schools, Virginia, and Virginia Commonwealth University that have focused on the needs of urban schools. Describes challenges that remain with regard to preparing teachers, mentoring beginning teachers, and retaining experienced teachers. (SLD)

Describes ways that groups and businesses involved in the urban forestry movement educate both the general public and specific audiences. Includes various lessons these groups seek to teach. (MCO)

In this paper, we draw from a narrative life history approach to report in depth on the experiences of one teacher, Shagufta, in a high-poverty urban elementary school in Lahore, Pakistan. The purpose of reporting Shagufta's story is twofold. First, we want to make sense of her role as a science teacher--what should the children in her school…

This special issue is the final issue of "Cityschools," a magazine that reports on research regarding the transformation of urban schools and makes this research more accessible to practitioners in urban classrooms. The research is described through the stories of real educators who are finding solutions to educational problems. The…

What will it take for urban schools to achieve the kind of academic performance required by new state and national educational standards? How can classroom teachers in city schools help to close the achievement gap? What can restore public confidence in public schools? Pedro Noguera argues that higher standards and more tests, by themselves, will…

Addresses some of the problems confronting curriculum writers who seek to interface Science-Technology-Society (STS) units into science. Describes an urban school program which has STS as a component and has been successful in keeping at-risk students motivated and achieving in attendance. (RT)

This paper describes early efforts underway at City College, New York, to introduce a disability studies content into an otherwise traditional special education programme. The paper draws on previously funded research projects that merged humanities-based disability studies in education, prior teaching experiences and excerpts from the writing of…

In this article, the author presents five valuable lessons on how an overseas educational consultant relates to concerns about preparing teachers to work in inner-city ghetto schools. The first lesson is learning to communicate and commune with another culture. Second, is seeing educational problems in a broadened social context. Third, is…

The teacher program described here was designed to create a deeper understanding of a wide span of instructional problems unique to the inner-city school setting, putting participants in a position of forming teaching strategies of their own as solutions. Such school problems as overcrowded classes, frequent daily interruptions, playground…

The Cooperative Urban Teacher Education (CUTE) program enrolled 295 volunteer teachers in their senior year of college and trained them for one semester in an inner-city school. The program, operating from the fall of 1967 through spring 1970, included three components: sociology, mental health, and teacher education. The 1971 follow-up study of…

Nearly everyone involved in the enterprise of schooling understands the profound importance of building and sustaining a high-quality team of teachers. Moreover, the research is clear: the single most important school-based determinant of student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Yet, urban schools must often staff their…