Explores the racial and economic divide found in the educational systems of urban areas across the United States, in an account that follows the struggles of one bright third-grader from Hartford, Connecticut, and his indomitable teacher. Reprint.

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Acting as a counterbalance to the current unworkable law, this book proposes a more realistic way to achieve NCLB’s inspiring vision by ensuring the right to “meaningful educational opportunity” for all students. This timely volume tackles specific provisions in NCLB head-on, such as the popular, but impossible, goal of 100% student proficiency by 2014. “At last, a book on No Child Left Behind that makes sense to school practitioners. All who care about the future of our public schools should read this book as soon as possible!” —Thomas Sobol, Former Commissioner of Education, New York State “Moving Every Child Ahead is an important work from two leaders in the fight to guarantee a decent education for every child. Rebell and Wolff have written a must-read for everyone concerned about education reform.” —Senator John Edwards “Rebell and Wolff set forth compelling reasons for their recommendations and suggest specific steps that should be taken by local, state, and federal education officials. Anyone who cares about improving our public schools would benefit from their thoughtful insights and suggestions for Moving Every Child Ahead.” —Richard Riley, Former U.S. Secretary of Education “Michael Rebell has long been a warrior in the fight for educational equity. I am confident this book will enrich a debate sorely in need of big ideas and a willingness to challenge traditional orthodoxies.” —Joel Klein, Chancellor, New York City Department of Education

This autoethnographic study examines my experiences as an African American born and raised in the United States of America, who—from the time I realized I was Black at age ten until the present day, more than fifty years later—experiences racism either overtly or covertly on a daily basis. I first explore my days as a high school student involved in a court desegregation case and the trauma I experienced in the hostile environment where White students openly showed their racial hatred for the Black students who would dare to enroll in “their school.” I examine my life as a college student in Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and my participation in nonviolent protests, especially the famous Selma to Montgomery march led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

From headlines to documentaries, urban schools are at the center of current debates about education. From these accounts, one would never know that 51 million Americans live in rural communities and depend on their public schools to meet not only educational but also social and economic needs. For many communities, these schools are the ties that bind. Why Rural Schools Matter shares the untold story of rural education. Drawing upon extensive research in two southern towns, Mara Tieken exposes the complicated ways in which schools shape the racial dynamics of their towns and sustain the communities that surround them. The growing power of the state, however, brings the threat of rural school closure, which jeopardizes the education of children and the future of communities. With a nuanced understanding of the complicated relationship between communities and schools, Tieken warns us that current education policies--which narrow schools' purpose to academic achievement alone--endanger rural America and undermine the potential of a school, whether rural or urban, to sustain a community. Vividly demonstrating the effects of constricted definitions of public education in an era of economic turmoil and widening inequality, Tieken calls for a more contextual approach to education policymaking, involving both state and community.

Analyzing School Contexts is the ninth volume in a series of research and theory in school administration dedicated to advancing our understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. The current selection of readings is loosely organized around the broad topics of school contexts, leadership, and organizational properties that influence the effectiveness of schools. The book begins with a reflective analysis of the importance of organizational theories and theorizing in educational in administration and then proceeds to examine research on how leaders, especially principals, can strengthen the instructional and academic capacity of the school to enhance teachers’ effectiveness in producing strong student outcomes. The analyses deal not only with what instructional leadership practices make positive differences in teaching and learning, but also with how district leadership is pivotal in developing school partnerships with business and how district mentoring programs to develop future school leaders succeed. Finally, we examine school climate, academic optimism of teachers, organizational trust, and the constraints and opportunities that the law provides to develop and maintain a respectful school environment conducive to learning.