The purpose of this modified Delphi qualitative research was to obtain a consensus from African American and Caucasian parent educators of elementary grade males. The consensus was to see why African American elementary males are failing because they cannot read on grade level as well as their Caucasian peers. The research involved a modified…

"Not Paved for Us" chronicles a fifty-year period in Philadelphia education, and offers a critical look at how school reform efforts do and do not transform outcomes for Black students and educators. This illuminating book offers an extensive, expert analysis of a school system that bears the legacy, hallmarks, and consequences that lie…

Critical service learning is an approach that works toward social transformation and egalitarian partnerships. However, the ways in which space facilitates or undermines this approach has been largely unexplored. Drawing on a case study from an urban education course, we argue that a critical geography framework can develop students'…

Teachers who organize for educational equity and social justice generally do so through teacher-led professional networks. Community organizations (COs) that seek to support such teacher leaders can face challenges in working with their organic and often horizontally organized networks. This article examines three case studies of COs that…

The Philadelphia Education Research Consortium (PERC) was launched in July 2014 as an innovative place-based consortium of educational research partners from multiple sectors. Its primary objective is to provide research and analyses on some of the city's most pressing education issues. As such, PERC's research agenda is driven by both traditional…

Philadelphia's Out-of-School Time (OST) system has identified K-3rd grade literacy support as the focus of the first phase of its strategic plan, launched in 2017. Research shows that OST programs can have an impact on early literacy skills, and this plan views OST programs as an important "delivery system" for addressing critical needs…

This study contributes to ongoing conversations about mechanisms to support preservice teachers, especially those who are White and middle class, in learning about race and racism in preparation for teaching in diverse settings. We use the frameworks of Critical Race Theory and racial literacy to inquire into the ways that two cohorts of…

The Pennsylvania Advancement School (PAS) opened for its first group of students in October 1967; since then, numerous programs and activities have given the school publicity. In this paper, general information about the school's activities is presented. The paper is divided into three sections: (1) activities that constitute PAS's core program;…

The major objectives of this paper are to identify and examine those areas most critical to the effective management of a research and evaluation department in a large urban school system. The paper focuses on the organizational structure and management concerns of the Philadelphia school district's Office of Research and Evaluation. The scope,…

Interviews with inner-city adolescents about school-reform efforts and the qualities of a good teacher. Students identify six qualities of good teachers: Push students, maintain order, willing to help, explain until everyone understands, vary classroom activities, and try to understand students. (PKP)

Aspira of New York, Philadelphia Welfare Rights Organization, and Harlem Parents Union are three self help groups that seek quality education for urban disadvantaged children. Differences and similarities of the philosophies and actions of these groups toward educational improvement for their constituencies are described in this article.…

This paper describes a strategy to enhance communication competence and self-determination among a group of African-American high school students enrolled in the West Philadelphia High School through the production of a community newspaper. The ethnographic data presented in the paper originates from a 6-month pilot study, beginning with the…

A study conducted by the School District of Philadelphia and that city's Federal Reserve Bank, entitled "What Works in Reading," was used as a case study to determine what factors influence the translation of research findings into educational policy. The Philadelphia study, which examined variables associated with achievement growth in…

This report focuses on evaluation of urban vocational programs by black students. Tutorial review sessions were conducted with 72 black high school students from a large vocationally-oriented school in Philadelphia in order to evaluate and revise self-instructional programs based on standard courses in vocational education. The hypothesis that…