The Alan Rufus Tonelson Teaching and Learning Center was established in 1988 to explore the nature of urban elementary education through research focusing on classroom, school, home, and community variables that affect the education of high-risk urban children. The results are used to train teachers to work more effectively in urban schools. The center is under the direction of Old Dominion University faculty with expertise in early childhood education, language and reading skills, and special education working in conjunction with administrators and educators from Norfolk City Schools. Teachers at a local elementary school, which serves as a research site for the center, implement research projects while actively engaged in teaching. (Author/MSE)