Learning cycles were developed in Brazil as an innovative project in order to address the needs and characteristics of the country's growing heterogeneous urban population. This new school model aims at reducing dropout rates and student failure as well as providing a non-interrupted school experience for diverse learners. In this article, the author describes and analyzes the main elements of learning cycles and compares them to the traditional grade system. The model may not have immediate application in the American educational system, but it does force us to consider urban education from a different and renewed perspective, particularly given socio-economic disparities in society and a growing culturally and linguistically diverse student population.