The story of life in inner-city America and the education of its people is often recounted as a tragedy; the ending is often predictable and usually dire, highlighting deficiency, failure, and negative trends. As with most social problems, children and youth in the inner cities are hit hardest. But this dismal view is only half of the full picture. The cities of our nation are a startling juxtaposition between the despairing and the hopeful, between disorganization and restorative potential. Alongside the poverty and unemployment, the street-fights and drug deals, are a wealth of cultural, economic, educational, and social resources. Often ignored are the resilience and the ability for adaptation which help many who are seemingly confined by circumstance to struggle and succeed "in the face of the odds." This book helps to broaden the utilization of ways to magnify the circumstances known to enhance development and education, so that the burden of adversity is reduced and opportunities are advanced for all children and youth -- especially the children and youth of the inner cities who are in at-risk circumstances. The focus is on: * raising consciousness about the opportunities available to foster resilience among children, families, and communities, and * synthesizing the knowledge base that is central to implementing improvements which serve to better the circumstances and educational opportunities of children and families. This volume is intended for a wide audience of readers, but particularly those who are in a position to shape public policy and deliver educational and human services.

"After working in the Chicago Public Schools system for many years, Valerie Groth became convinced this system - as well as the majority of America's inner city schools - was not serving the needs of countless underprivileged students. The thousands of middle and high school students she counseled were expected, like all of their classmates, to learn what they needed in order to make their way into the world in severely dysfunctional environments, frequently a far cry from any atmosphere where true education could take place. She also discovered that many of them regularly faced challenging issues at home and in their neighborhoods - hunger and malnourishment, physical or emotional abuse, displaced or absent parents, and exposure to violence. In The Power of the Possible, Val Groth shines a light on the disturbing conditions faced on a daily basis by inner city teachers, social workers, administrators, and students and offers a distinctive vision and innovative education model toward this dilemma's solution. Ryan Banks Academy, Chicago's first residential school for urban youth, is building a community of learners who will be insulated from the violence, abuse, and turmoil so prevalent in America's inner cities, while providing them with a well-balanced, stimulating and rigorous academic environment, as well as the essential social/emotional support, generally reserved for only the wealthy and privileged."--Amazon.com.

Becoming Teachers of Inner-city Students takes on the continuing challenges of White teachers in increasingly de facto re-segregated schools of the present. Drawing on the author’s eighteen years of experience as a classroom teacher and his research on White teachers of inner-city students, Becoming Teachers provides key discussions on professional identity for preservice teachers, professional educators, and researchers interested in diversity education or urban education. Driving at complex recognitions of race, class, culture, language, and gender as a basis for teaching and learning with diverse urban students, the author’s and other White teachers’ life and teaching stories move beyond prescriptive models of professional identity for preservice and professional teachers to “follow.” Instead, life and teaching stories in Becoming Teachers demonstrate again and again that in teaching the personal is political, professional knowledges are forged in practice, and – overall – that becoming a professional teacher is a process that draws on one’s experiences and inner-most convictions. Becoming Teachers, updating Vivian Paley’s White Teacher and reworking Christine Sleeter’s multicultural research on White teachers’ race-evasive identities, moves discussions on White teacher identity toward a second wave of race-visible professional identity for White teachers in the present. James Jupp’s book is an instruction on how to keep the democratic educational experiment on the workbench... – Roger Slee, Professor and Director of the Victoria Institute for Education, Diversity, and Life Long Learning at Victoria University, Melbourne James Jupp thoughtfully explicates the complexity of the social justice literature in education related to race, class, culture, language, gender and other differences in classrooms. Jupp is one of the leading scholars in education who challenges static notions of difference and opens up new curriculum spaces for a second wave of critical race work. Challenging the field to consider more nuanced possibilities that will advance social justice in the present, Jupp provides generous readings for new intercultural alliances. Jupp’s Becoming Teachers of Inner-city Students offers a fresh understanding for those who are looking for new ways to understand teachers’ lives and professional identities. – Patrick Slattery, Professor of Curriculum, Texas A&M University Jupp does the hard work, here, of understanding where we have been in conceptualizing the racial identities of White teachers. And then he does something harder. With abundant intelligence, courage, and generosity, Jupp opens up new pathways for our thinking and feeling and action. Read this book. – Timothy Lensmire, Associate Professor of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Minnesota

Discover the teaching practices that make the biggest difference in student performance! The new edition of this practical, research-based book gives leaders and teachers an even closer look at instructional practices from top award-winning urban schools. With refreshed examples from high-performing teachers and detailed analyses of these practices, the authors demystify the achievement of these schools while offering a practical guide to help educators apply these practices in their contexts. Teaching Practices from America's Best Urban Schools is a valuable tool for any educator in both urban and non urban schools that serve diverse student populations, including English language learners and children from low-income families. What’s New: Additional "What It Is/What It Isn’t" boxes help educators distinguish the subtle differences in the implementation of practices that lead to impressive learning results "Practice Guides" and "Practical Next Steps" for each of the 8 Success Factors encourage self-assessment and collaboration Expansion of topics address current developments in education and additional examples from award-winning elementary, middle, and high schools provide new insights.