The purpose of this article is to provide insights into the challenges in developing the Urban Community Teachers Project: a campus-based initiative to recruit and train Black male teachers for urban classrooms. The central argument is that given the enormous challenges in both recruiting and training Black male urban community teachers, the end…

This article draws from a qualitative case study of 22 teachers of African American males who participated in a screening event of the documentary Beyond the Bricks as part of a community engagement project in three cities: New Orleans, New York, and Oakland Through the lenses of critical race theory and the Matrix Achievement Paradigms typology,…

This article draws from a qualitative study often Black male K-12 teachers from the Hip Hop Generation who are closely connected to Hip Hop culture and have been effective in addressing the academic and social needs of Black boys. Through an analysis of their social, educational and cultural experiences, this article highlights three organizing…

This article provides a vicarious experience in the classrooms of two teachers who successfully facilitated engagement in urban schools. With practices grounded in culturally responsive classroom management, the teachers created classroom environments in which students were motivated to participate, met high behavioral expectations, and remained…

The authors of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" anticipated that a majority of school districts or schools would not be able to attain state and national achievement standards without assistance. Consequently, the Act created a major tenet known as Supplemental Educational Services (SES) programs to improve the learning outcomes of…

Researchers have called for innovative and culturally responsive intervention programs to enhance male, Black middle school students' academic achievement. Mentoring has received considerable attention as a novel remedy. Although anecdotal evidence supports the positive role of mentoring on academic achievement, these results are not consistent.…

This article highlights the accomplishments and challenges of former Editor-in-Chief of "The Journal of Negro Education", Charles A. Martin. He documents the changes he made to the JNE as well as the resistance he faced, which made the process more complicated. There is also a discussion of the impact of "No Child Left Behind…

Black students are frequently suspended at much higher rates than students from other races or ethnicities. Analyses of suspension data over a three-year period were conducted to explain between-school variability in the percentages of Black students suspended in secondary schools at a large urban school district. Results of hierarchical backward…

Research has suggested that low socioeconomic status is a major factor in diminishing academic achievement of African American urban youth; however, there are other factors influencing students' achievement. To examine the other factors that contribute to academic achievement, this study investigated a sample of 60 low-resource middle school…

Research studies on teacher quality have concluded that students exposed to high quality instruction learn more than other students, but the evidence on teacher quality components is mixed. There is a growing concern that the decline in the quality of public school teachers is attributed to their preservice learning. In this research study, the…

The inability of American colleges and universities to produce teachers for America's urban classrooms has reached epidemic proportions. This article seeks to describe the legal effects of policies and laws designed to create conditions for highly qualified teaching professionals. Issues germane to the topic of urban teacher preparation and…

Reviews the findings of two national surveys of the education directors of local affiliates of the National Urban League to identify educational priorities. Compares these findings with those of the ninth annual Gallup Poll of public attitudes toward the schools. (EF)

Interviews with students at an all-Black, all-male school in a major northeastern city revealed that a significant proportion of the participating students had a strong preference for practical, demonstrative explanations of new concepts and information that are directly related to their everyday experiential realities. These findings suggest that…

A multi-site case study analyzed the college preparatory processes of nine African American high achievers attending a well-resourced, suburban high school and eight academically successful African Americans attending a low-resourced urban school. Students at both schools experienced barriers, that is, racial climate and a lack of resources, that…