Public Schools do control whom they hire to serve as teachers. When quality teachers are hired, all students have a better chance at achieving academic success. It is the responsibility of every public school principal to truly understand common patterns, which lead teachers to be Star Teachers. It is also the principals' responsibility to make sure the work conditions of star teachers are conducive to personal and professional renewal. Administrators may have the influence and ability to impact the work environment for Star Teachers to help keep them excited and energized as they continue the difficult task of educating all of America's children regardless of the level of difficulty. The passion to educate all children drives the following research questions: 1. How do Star Teachers describe the significant factors, events and people that have shaped them as educators and people? 2. How do Star Teachers describe who they are now as teachers? 3. What do Star Teachers need to maintain quality education? The purpose of this qualitative study is to further describe performing Star Teachers of children in poverty as well as to better understand how administrators can support those teachers of children in poverty both professionally and personally (Merriam, 1998). The phenomenological study will describe and analyze star teachers who work in the Battle Creek Public School District.

In his groundbreaking work, Martin Haberman identified key dispositions of "star" teachers that help them work successfully with students in poverty. More than two decades later, Maureen D. Gillette and Djanna A. Hill build on Haberman’s seminal work, considering contemporary issues such as social justice, technology, and the political environment, and moving beyond the classroom to focus on teachers as leaders and advocates for all students. Given the high-stakes nature of ensuring that students in high-poverty urban and rural areas receive an excellent education, this new edition provides concrete suggestions for what readers can do to implement culturally relevant pedagogy and to forge a path to becoming a star teacher. Co-published with Kappa Delta Pi, Star Teachers of Children in Poverty offers teachers research-based strategies for action so that they can practice socially just and culturally relevant teaching toward the success of every student. New to the second edition: Updated statistics on school demographics, poverty, and teacher turnover in urban and rural areas. Added discussion that demonstrates the interrelated nature of poverty, health, safety, trauma, and power, and the cumulative effects of these factors on learning. Examination of the role of federal and state government in education and the necessity for teachers to be leaders beyond the classroom. Vignettes for experiential learning and analysis, and end-of-chapter questions and resources for further exploration.

How do some teachers manage to expertly engage students in deep learning, harmonize mandated standards with individual student needs, and create trusting relationships in the classroom? What typically sets these "star teachers" apart from other teachers? In What Makes a Star Teacher: 7 Dispositions That Support Student Learning, Valerie Hill-Jackson, Nicholas D. Hartlep, and Delia Stafford provide a framework that can help ensure that you are your students' greatest asset—and a star teacher in your classroom. The book is grounded in studies conducted and ideas developed over a half-century by educational theorist Martin Haberman, whose models are used in hundreds of school districts across the United States. It's designed to help you assess, develop, and reflect upon seven key dispositions of Haberman's star teachers: 1. Persistence 2. Positive values about student learning 3. The ability to adapt general theories into pedagogical practices 4. An encouraging approach to students classified as at risk 5. A professional versus a personal orientation to learners 6. The ability to navigate school bureaucracy 7. A willingness to admit one's shortcomings Full of insightful authentic examples, practical and ready-to-use strategies, and numerous suggested resources, What Makes a Star Teacher offers what every teacher—and every student—needs to thrive in any classroom.

A teacher's memoir chronicling her years teacher kindergarten and second grade at a low income, high-poverty school.

Teacher Education and Practice, a peer-refereed journal, is dedicated to the encouragement and the dissemination of research and scholarship related to professional education. The journal is concerned, in the broadest sense, with teacher preparation, practice and policy issues related to the teaching profession, as well as being concerned with learning in the school setting. The journal also serves as a forum for the exchange of diverse ideas and points of view within these purposes. As a forum, the journal offers a public space in which to critically examine current discourse and practice as well as engage in generative dialogue. Alternative forms of inquiry and representation are invited, and authors from a variety of backgrounds and diverse perspectives are encouraged to contribute. Teacher Education & Practice is published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Using the framework of cultural proficiency, this timely resource offers educators the knowledge and skills to maximize educational opportunities for all students, independent of students' socioeconomic status.