Topics discussed are: what the city is, what a good urban school is not, and criteria of good urban schools. Approaches that maximize and utilize the city as a center for learning are given through an examination of five models of urban schools. (Author/AM)

This study compares the attitudes of black youth who have a favorable orientation toward the Black Panthers with those of black youth who appear to be oriented toward the NAACP, using data collected in five black segregated high schools. (Author/JM)

Rather than use their energies to explain their failures, Blacks need to develop strategies for success. Uses examples from the Atlanta Public Schools to illustrate how Blacks can use effective schools research to improve urban, Black education. (FMW)

Discusses whether white male teachers can be positive role models for at-risk black male youth and concludes that they can if they are men of integrity who are willing to take on the risks associated with being a dedicated teacher. (SLD)

Traces the regional, state, and local actions related to school desegregation in Norfolk (Virginia) between 1957 and 1959. Norfolk serves as a microcosm of social tensions in the South after the "Brown" school desegregation ruling. Peaceful integration in the secondary schools in 1959 marked the end of the "storm" over…

Describes implementation of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education's (NUA's) Professional Development Model in several locations, which is designed to help improve students' comprehension, content performance, thinking skills, and literacy by improving teaching and educational quality. Discusses NUA activities and approaches in the…

Describes how the Family Resource Center (FRC), one component of a School-Family-Community Partnership Program (SFCPP), was created and implemented to assist with institutionalizing SFCPP linkages at urban high schools. Data from surveys, focus groups, and observations highlighted four positive impacts (e.g., increasing visits to the FRC and…

The research reported here had the objective of developing a practical, fair method for identifying the top two per cent in ability of the eighth grade of an inner-city junior high school; approximately 400 students in a predominantly black urban junior high school participated. (Author/JM)

Provides a critical analysis of community participation by black residents in urban education decision-making. The problem studied is that of social power: how the black community secures control of and then effectively manage community power. (Author/AM)

Describes the instructional materials and features that distinguish the Chicago model of mastery learning instruction from other models of mastery learning. Also describes innovative ways to examine the effects of mastery learning instruction, given that school data often are limited to norm referenced tests and are lacking in controls. (Author/GC)

A study of nearly 30 urban elementary schools indicates that school composition (including race and socioeconomic background, school social structure, and certain social climate variables) explains more than 83 percent of between-school variance in reading achievement and 65 percent in mathematics achievement. (Author/GC)

Examines the distrubution of the human resources of teacher experience and training, and class size among Detroit's schools, with particular emphasis on relationships between the percentage of black students in a school and the quality of its instructional staff. (Author/JM)

Describes how the Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota, identified system-wide standards and practices to help all students achieve the goal of 95 percent attendance, an especially difficult goal for highly mobile students. The Kids Mobility Study in Minneapolis documents the connection between residential mobility and student achievement and…

The Chicago school system is currently undergoing its third wave of school reform in 10 years, and schools struggling the most through this process are located in African American neighborhoods. Draws on existing literature concerning Chicago's urban communities and schools to review the historical interplay between urban processes and school…

Attempts to determine the following: (1) whether African American students participating in sports on the high school varsity level hold and/or are being hurt by unrealistic athletic aspirations; and (2) how levels of athletic and academic aspirations affect future goals of African American student athletes. Finds no clear evidence of detrimental…