Conducted in an urban alternative education program for adolescents ages 17-21, this study provides an overview of a professional development program that sought to support teachers in developing unit plans that incorporated backwards design principles and culturally relevant and sustaining instruction. The authors offer a qualitative thematic…

This article draws on oral history testimonies to examine the experiences of participants in the inaugural 1990 cohort of Teach For America (TFA)--a group of young people dubbed the "best and brightest" of their generation and tasked with "saving" urban education. For 25 years, TFA has operated according to the principle of the…

The Office of Black Male Student Achievement (OBMSA) of Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), established in 2014, is one of the first in the country. The innovative work of the OBMSA is centered on student voice and student thought. After getting input from parents and families, community members, educators, and young Black males themselves, the…

The need for African American male teachers is clear; however their pathway to teaching is in disrepair. This article shares research findings and a description of a pre-collegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color, including African American males, to explore teaching. More specifically, drawing from survey and interview…

The 2009 Professional Development Schools National Conference recognized the North Florida Urban Professional Development School Partnership for its outstanding work in an urban education context and so named it one of the three recipients of the first-ever National Association for Professional Development Schools Award for Exemplary Professional…

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) sent a research team to the University of Dayton (UD) on November 5-7, 2008, to conduct interviews with individuals who played significant roles in the university's teacher preparation program (see Appendix A). These interviews, along with additional materials provided by UD and identified by the AED…

Describes Network in the Schools (NIS), a project to enhance teens' academic achievement and self-esteem, which uses small group classroom discussions regarding self-affirmation, social concerns, self-improvement, and reflection, and meetings for group sharing and self-expression. Presents findings that the program results in enhanced parent…

This is the report of Project Concern which operated in Hartford, Connecticut in 1966. Faced with public school problems, the city decided to attempt to bus some of its inner city children to schools of the surrounding suburbs. In the process of convincing the suburban towns to participate in a cooperative education program, the project leaders…

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) sent a research team to Jackson State University (JSU) on October 13-14, 2008 to conduct interviews with individuals who play important roles in the university's teacher preparation program (see Appendix A). These interviews, along with additional documentation provided by JSU and identified by the AED…

Discusses Jesse Jackson and his program to inspire self-help in urban education. (IRT)

In this report, the background, progress, and evaluation of the Govan project for educationally disadvantaged inner city children are discussed. Background information is discussed in terms of (1) the interaction between disadvantagement and education; (2) the relative success of intervention programs such as Headstart in the United States; (3) a…

This report provides a program description and evaluation of the second year of operation of the Cognitively Oriented Urban Prekindergarten, a developmental educational program for low income Black and Puerto Rican families. Aimed at preventing educational regression, the project is primarily designed to form an important link between the Early…

Examines the interventions associated with the Say Yes to Education program, a college tuition-guarantee program that was promised to graduating sixth graders from inner-city, low-income families. The program's critical point is that students would not take advantage of opportunities without transforming relationships and a widening sense of…

Summarized in this report is the effect parent participation in the Family Education Program at Intermediate School (I.S.) 55 in New York had on student achievement in the school during 1975-1977. Results of the first year of the program, 1974-75, indicated a relationship between parent participation and improved student achievement in mathematics…

Although the new principal of an innercity California school vowed to improve student achievement, the students could not learn amidst demoralized teachers in chaotic classrooms. Community-building had to come first. The principal met with parents and asked them to write behavior rules for the school. Various discipline, partnership, and literacy…