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.

Publisher description

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

A biographical and bibliographical guide to current writers in all fields including poetry, fiction and nonfiction, journalism, drama, television and movies. Information is provided by the authors themselves or drawn from published interviews, feature stories, book reviews and other materials provided by the authors/publishers.

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.

"In 2013, the New York City Public Health Department placed public service announcements on trains and buses and at transportation stops that showed photos of frowning or crying children saying such things as 'I'm twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen' and 'Honestly, Mom ... Chances are he won't stay with you. What happens to me?' Campaigns like this support a public narrative that portrays teen mothers as threatening the moral order, bankrupting state coffers, and causing high rates of poverty, incarceration, and school dropout. These campaigns demonize teen mothers but tell us nothing about their lives before they became pregnant. In this myth-shattering and often deeply disturbing book, sociologists Mary Patrice Erdmans and Timothy Black tell the life stories of 108 brown, white, and black teen mothers. They expose the problems that cause distress in these young women's lives and that are often overlooked in pregnancy prevention campaigns. Some stories are tragic and painful, marked by child sexual abuse, partner violence, and school failure. Others are less devastating, depicting 'girl next door' characters whose unintended pregnancies expose their lack of contraception and unwillingness to abort. Offering a fresh critical perspective on the links between early childbirth and social inequalities, On Becoming a Teen Mom demonstrates how the intersecting hierarchies of gender, race, and social class shape the personal stories of young mothers"--Provided by publisher.

The case for race-conscious education policy In our unequal society, families of color fully share the dream of college but their children often attend schools that do not prepare them, and the higher education system gives the best opportunities to the most privileged. Students of color hope for college but often face a dead end. For many young people, racial inequality puts them at a disadvantage from early childhood. The Walls around Opportunity argues that colorblind policies have made college inaccessible to a large share of students of color, and reveals how policies that acknowledge racial inequalities and set racial equality goals can succeed where colorblindness has failed. Gary Orfield paints a troubling portrait of American higher education, explaining how profound racial gaps imbedded in virtually every stage of our children’s lives pose a major threat to communities of color and the nation. He describes how the 1960s and early 1970s was the only period in history to witness sustained efforts at racial equity in higher education, and how the Reagan era ushered in today’s colorblind policies, which ignore the realities of color inequality. Orfield shows how this misguided policy has resegregated public schools, exacerbated inequalities in college preparation, denied needed financial aid to families, and led to huge price increases over decades that have seen little real gain in income for most Americans. Now with a new afterword that discusses the 2023 Supreme Court decision to outlaw affirmative action in college admissions, this timely and urgent book shows that the court’s colorblind ruling is unworkable in a society where every aspect of opportunity and preparation is linked to race, and reveals the gaps in the opportunity pipeline while exploring the best ways to address them in light of this decision.