In the context of high-stakes accountability, education-related policy efforts have aimed to address the improvement of persistently low-achieving (PLA) schools via turnaround reform strategies. Such strategies provide opportunities for educational leaders to influence the process; however, limited research examining the role of the assistant…

This cross-case case study explores how two White principals took the first steps to engage in racial conversations. Using the constructs of race consciousness and antiracism, race neutrality, and resistance to racial dialogue to frame our findings, we illustrate how both principals broached the topic of race with staff members. We demonstrate how…

Over the past 20 years, market-based choice initiatives have become a popular approach to education reform. Since 2002, the New York City Department of Education has opened over 250 high schools, creating a marketplace so widespread that many students no longer have a zoned or neighborhood school. This article uses two New York City--based case…

This case study examines the leadership practices and actions of an urban high school principal who faced many challenges, but worked diligently to improve student achievement and school climate over a 3-year period. Significant improvements were made by using elements of Distributed Leadership, Professional Learning Communities, and Social…

This case study describes tensions that became apparent between community members and school administrators after a proposal to close a historically African American public high school in a large urban Southwestern city. When members of the city's longstanding African American community responded with outrage, the school district's senior…

This article demonstrates how a well-designed and collaboratively supported program engages school faculty in improving at-risk student retention and transition to college. Using the "power of the site" principle, the program designers envisioned a very different high school culture that focuses on a collaborative and supportive relationship…

Improving teacher retention and resiliency are key educational problems. In this article, we share findings from case studies of six educators who, for over 200 combined years, worked in urban, high-poverty schools and highlight what teachers need to remain in such contexts. We argue that developing "professional resilience" is a process…

Although the value of school-community partnerships is unquestioned, the reasons for success and failure are not sufficiently understood. This mixed-methods case study examines 60 years of partnering at one urban high school, using Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory to better understand the effect on student development as measured by…

This research is a collection of comparative case studies that examine the perspectives of four principals in their 1st year of implementing the High School College Collaborative (HSCC), which works to provide traditionally underserved high school students with the opportunity to receive college credit, possibly an associate of arts degree,…

How do marginalized parents construct their role in promoting their children's access to educational opportunity? What lessons might their experience have for our understanding of parent involvement beyond the parameters of traditional models? This qualitative case study examined the beliefs, goals, and practices of 16 working-class African…

Describes the successful efforts, it is stated, of one high school in reducing the incidence of intergroup conflict: the school, consisting of approximately 1800 students with large segments of blacks, Puerto Ricans, Italian Americans, and Jews, was plagued in 1968 by major outbreaks of intergroup violence. (Author/JM)

Studied the ways in which the introduction of a school management information system affected the loosely coupled organization of an agricultural high school in Israel. Teachers' interrelations with the principal, subject coordinators, and home room teachers tightened significantly as a result of the computerization of the administrative…

This article presents a longitudinal case study of an urban district school-university partnership designed to prepare students for health careers. We not only summarize the accomplishments of this partnership but also identify factors in the partnership dynamics that hindered the expected improvement in student outcomes. By suggesting possible…

This urban high school case study shows historical continuity with the processes used by teachers to stratify knowledge disseminated to Irish, Polish, and Black students. Although the goals and purposes of extracurricular activities have been standardized, there are intrascholastic differences in the types of knowledge that they transmit. (RLC)