School leaders juggle the often-inconsistent goals of maintaining support of middle- and upper-income families for public education and, at the same time, implementing policies to strengthen equity for low-income students. Author Iris C. Rotberg describes how these tradeoffs play out in different communities, the role of concentrated poverty and…

Although we often look to schools to solve complex social problems, many educators are not ready to address the structural racism behind many contemporary conflicts. Pedro Noguera and Julio Angel Alicia present a brief history of the socioeconomic forces that drove school closures and gentrification in Chicago, the remaking of New Orleans after…

Many school practitioners think of poverty as a kind of "culture," characterized by dysfunctional behaviors that can only be corrected by imposing harsh discipline on students. Further, beliefs about poverty are often used to justify racial disparities in disciplinary referrals, achievement, and enrollment in gifted, AP, and honors…

Good schools can go a long way toward helping poor children achieve more, but the fact remains that educational inequity is rooted in economic problems and social pathologies too deep to be overcome by school alone. Ending the cycle of disadvantage requires prevention and early intervention programs that help families who are desperately…

Teach for America exists to address educational inequity--the stunning reality that the American nation, which aspires so admirably to be a land of equal opportunity, where one is born still largely determines one's educational outcomes. Despite plenty of evidence that children growing up in poverty can do well academically--when given the…

According to this author, "unchecked capitalism is destroying the nation's public schools, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the final nail in their coffin." He argues that, marching under the banner of "accountability," right-wing, pro-business forces are willfully undermining the democratic right of all children to a free,…

For five years the major school reform agenda in America has been the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which was part of the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Now ESEA is up for another reauthorization by Congress, and everyone is wondering what is going to happen next. One could argue that there is…

Summarizes findings and data about income level and equality of educational opportunities, conditions of Alabama school facilities, and factors affecting a student's level of academic orientation in high school. (PKP)

An estimated 110 million children between the ages of 6 and 11--60 percent of them girls--will not see the inside of a classroom this year, and another 150 million are likely to drop out before completing primary school. Yet this is a disease with a known cure. We know what tools are needed and what models are proven to work. We also know that the…

Declining financial resources necessitate the reevaluation of educational priorities. Those who see the urban problem as financial urge the maintenance of a balanced school budget and suggest new sources of revenue. This view's shortcomings include a lack of social compassion and failure to recognize the problem of racial discrimination.

The public and its political leaders seem unwilling to support unconditionally the American creed of equal educational opportunity for all. The proliferation of teen pregnancy, school violence, illegal drugs, homelessness, poverty, suicide, AIDS, and unemployment shows that youngsters' social environment has severely deteriorated since the release…

Since home is the most unequal environment in education, school should be an arena of equity. Alternative education can catalyze America's unrealized hopes by helping poor, discouraged youngsters overcome their most debilitating handicaps: rampant pessimism, failure to trust in effort, and mistrust of societal institutions. Doing nothing is not an…

The current obsession with standardizing curricula and measuring output may further reduce teacher agency and marginalize segments of our society that are already cheated by the system. Enormous discrepancies exist among public-school facilities, resources, and teachers. Multicultural education will suffer unless legislatures address these…

The shared struggles facing urban and rural schools, such as changing cultural and linguistic classroom profiles, increased childhood poverty, and residential segregation patterns, influence financial inequities between people and communities thus contributing to gaps in academic achievement and teacher shortages in both settings. The…