An overview is provided of issues confronting the African American male, along with a strategy to nurture a new generation of African American males. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the social status and new demographics of the African American male and the external threats that are devastating to the African American male and the African American…

Nearly one million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are victims of violent crimes each year, and this has been true since at least 1985. Children are becoming involved in violence at ever younger ages, both as victims and as perpetrators. The threat of firearms is the greatest concern in adolescent violence, but no single factor can be…

The difficulties facing teachers in the largest urban school districts in the United States are different from those in smaller districts. It is especially important to identify the success stories of teachers and students in demanding urban classrooms. Star teachers are those who are outstandingly successful in terms of student achievement and…

In 1988, the Annie E. Casey Foundation began New Futures, an 5-year initiative aimed at preparing disadvantaged urban youth for successful lives as adults. Through grants to five mid-sized cities, the Casey Foundation sought to encourage a fundamental restructuring of the way these communities planned, financed, and delivered educational, health,…

The theme of this inaugural serial issue is "Building a Community of Learners." The serial has been designed to address school restructuring and reform and the roles of teachers, administrators, and parents. The first essay, "Constructing Communities of Cooperation" by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood examines structural change in…

This book focuses on the relationship between ethnic and racial identity and academic engagement, examining in particular the role that schools and classrooms play in shaping this relationship. It examines the lives of students to ask how they conceptualize and assert their ethnic and racial identities across varied curricular settings. The case…

A 3-day conference brought together health and education experts to explore responses to adolescent health problems and to suggest ways to implement the recommendations put forward in "Fateful Choices: Healthy Youth for the 21st Century," by Fred M. Hechinger. Conference participants identified a number of adolescent health problems and the areas…

This booklet provides some guidelines for preparing African American students for college. Parents' experiences with higher education are a key to shaping their expectations for their children, and the lack of direct parental experience can be a handicap for students who will be the first generation of their families to attend college. Educators…

This report documents arts and humanities programs in communities across the country that offer opportunities for children and youth to learn new skills, expand their horizons, and develop self-esteem and well-being. The report describes the variety and vitality of arts and programs humanities programs for children and youth and common…

This book reports on conversations in which elementary schoolteachers--who have taught in urban settings for an average of 20 years each--reflect on their professional work. The conversations in the book testify to the teachers' ability to engage young people in active learning--and their stories of teaching and learning verify that difference…

The experiences of a literature teacher in an inner-city high school in Houston (Texas) give a portrait of the urban classroom and the successes and failures of the everyday life of the urban teacher. The school, in a poor neighborhood, is unremarkable, unstimulating, and ill-equipped for serious learning. The students, who are almost entirely…

"Volunteers Teaching Children" describes the Volunteer-led Investigations in Neighborhood Ecology, or VINE Programs, established by Denver Audubon Society members as an urban education project, and how that model has been adapted to draw on the human and financial resources available in other cities. VINE Programs give children…

Racial and ethnic identity must be understood as an important determinant of the creative process and social dynamics, as well as understood as individual psychology. This collection of papers examines identity issues in the following chapters: (1) "Roots and Routes: Black Identity as an Outernational Project" (Paul Gilroy); (2) "Identity as…

A case study was done of Central Park East Elementary School (CPE 1), in New York City, a school with a reputation for extraordinary work with students and their families in a student-centered environment. The study includes an overview of CPE 1 culled from the school's descriptions of itself and other public documents; a descriptive narrative of…

Testimony on strategies designed to enhance educational opportunities for disadvantaged students is recorded in this report of a congressional hearing. Robert Slavin of the Early and Elementary School Program, Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (Maryland) testified about…