Depending on state statutory language, charter schools may be able to exercise more control over their student body composition. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools may have the opportunity to increase student body diversity by drawing students from across traditional school district boundary lines. Specifically, depending on the…

Most of the predominantly Hispanic students at Los Fresnos High School (LFHS), Texas, speak both Spanish and English, qualify for reduced-price or free lunches, and are considered at-risk. LFHS students historically scored poorly on the California Achievement Test and Texas Assessment of Academic Skill, and many dropped out of school when they…

The purpose of this study was to identify relationships among three components of motivation: (1) teacher-student relations; (2) the role of teachers as care givers; and (3) the importance of homework in regard to student academic performance. Participants were 31 seventh and eighth graders from a predominantly Hispanic, low-income urban school.…

In December 2001, the Education Trust released preliminary findings from its new database, Dispelling the Myth Online, in a report titled Dispelling the Myth Revisited (DTMR). This followup report is the first of several multilayered looks at high-performing schools in the database. It contains additional information about DTMR schools. The lists…

This report focuses on four important trends. The first is that the U.S. South is resegregating after two and a half decades of increasing integration. The second is that the data show continuously increasing segregation for Latino students, who are rapidly becoming the largest minority group in the United States and who have been more segregated…

To understand why women attain higher educational levels than men, this study used participant observation data from a predominantly Hispanic New York City public high school to investigate race(ing) and gender(ing) processes in the high school setting. Results found that both formal and informal institutional practices within schools…

Examined a program which had adolescent, male, minority students mentor elementary students and encouraged them to consider teaching careers. Investigated how adolescents' perceptions intersected with elementary schools' structural constraints. Data from observations, interviews, and focus groups revealed the value to the mentors of their…

Achievement gaps between minority and white students may never be resolved because they are an artifact of a measurement process that uses flawed tests to assess student progress. IQ and achievement testing have always shown that socioeconomic status (SES) is critical in explaining test score variance. SES is part of the concept of cultural…

The education of many Latino youth residing in urban communities is often hindered by fear of crime and violence occurring in places where they live and attend school. Addressing these concerns, this study tested a path model predicting school engagement that included neighborhood and school environment variables (e.g., neighborhood youth…

An examination of the incidence of eight activities believed to be associated with gang membership indicates different patterns of gang involvement for urban Black and Hispanic males. The following activities are examined: (1) perceived advantage in gang membership; (2) hanging out where gang members hang out; (3) having friends identified as gang…

This report highlights the social changes underway in Miami-area schools, discussing their implications for metropolitan growth policies. It focuses on changes in the racial and economic composition of elementary schools between 1993-2002. Data come from the Common Core of Data of the National Center for Education Statistics. Results indicate that…

This report examines urban student achievement using the SAT-9, the most commonly used standardized assessment among the major cities. The study, conducted in collaboration with the test's creator, Harcourt Educational Measurement, highlights student achievement in Great City Schools (GCS) and describes how urban students perform on traditional…

This paper describes the experiences of Kepner Middle School in urban Colorado as it participates in the School on the Move initiative to make fundamental changes in its teaching and learning. Kepner is one of 85 schools with which the National Institute for Urban School Improvement is involved in partnerships for change. Kepner is located in a…

This keynote address introduces the concept of educational sovereignty (the need to challenge the arbitrary authority of the power structure to determine the essence of the educational experience for Hispanic and other minority students), concluding that communities must create their own infrastructures for development including mechanisms for the…

Describes a six-week curriculum unit to assist Hispanic immigrant students entering mainstream urban elementary classrooms. Emphasizes interviewing activities that "empower" the new student and heterogeneous group activities that break down prejudice among the mainstream students. (FMW)