High Poverty Schools Initiative
‘The Initiative to Improve Achievement in High Poverty Schools,
launched in the spring of 1995, focuses on building the capacity of state
education agency officials and their local partners to ensure that students
in high poverty schools gain the knowledge and skills necessary for sustained
success through effective implementation of ESEA, Title I, and other federal
and state programs. The Initiative has come to encompass a wide set
of activities and products to reach these objectives.’ Awareness
of this organization and site is a necessity for anyone interested in teaching
in a high poverty school.
http://www.ccsso.org/hps/highpovertyschools.html
Gaining Ground: Achieving Excellence
in High Poverty Schools
‘Since January of 1999, the High Poverty Schools Initiative
has published a monthly project newsletter aimed at sharing best practices
for improving student achievement in high poverty schools.’ This
newsletter is archived in PDF format and available for free. It covers
topics from achievement, assessment and discipline to cultural diversity,
neighborhood transformation, and health concerns.
http://www.ccsso.org/hps/gainingground.html
The Effects of Poverty on Learning
and Teaching
This website provides a tutorial that
examines poverty as a risk factor and discusses many challenges that arise
in teaching children of poverty. These challenges include: understanding
the culture of poverty, overcoming the achievement gap, motivating impoverished
students to learn, and developing positive relationships with parents and
guardians of low SES students.
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/poverty
National Center For Children
In Poverty (NCCP)
The mission of this organization is
to identify and promote strategies that prevent child poverty in the United
States and that improve the lives of low-income children and their families.
This website contains information about the NCCP, newsletters, publications,
media resources, poverty facts, and articles about early education and
child care.
http://www.nccp.org
A Study of Nine High-Performing,
High-Poverty Urban Elementary Schools
This website provides a detailed report
on a study of nine high-poverty schools around the country that have overcome
the barriers faced by many urban schools. The report not only describes
the characteristics of these schools but also describes how these schools
managed to transform themselves. The story of the process is included
so that others can gain an understanding of how a school begins, maintains,
and sustains the journey toward excellence for all students regardless
of socioeconomic status.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/urbanhope
The Education Trust: Dispelling
the Myth
‘Dispelling the Myth is an ongoing project to identify and
learn from high-poverty and high-minority schools that have high student
performance or have made substantial improvement in student achievement.’
This site contains some statistics but has wonderful potential for growth.
http://www.edtrust.org/main/main/DTM.asp
Some
Books:
(click
title for Amazon.com listing)
First
Year Urban Teacher by Jessica G. Parenti
‘The truth is that urban teachers need specialized training,
particularly in the area of classroom management. First and second
year urban teachers start their careers in schools where classrooms are
overcrowded, supplies are insufficient, and support is lacking. This
book will help in managing an urban classroom from day 1, and give many
helpful solutions to scenarios that may (will) be encountered along the
way.’
Framework
for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne
‘Its purpose is to educate people about the differences that
separate economic classes and then teaching them strategies to bridge those
gulfs. Ruby discusses at length the social cues or "hidden rules" that
govern how we think and interact in society – and the significance of those
rules in a classroom. Other topics include why students from generational
poverty often fear being educated, discipline interventions that improve
behavior, and the eight resources that make a difference to success.’
A
Few Articles:
'Improving the School-Home Connection
for Low-Income Urban Parents' by Carol Ascher
‘The importance of a child's home, and parent participation
in school activities, to learning is undisputed. Therefore, it is unfortunate
that the poor achievement of low-income urban students has often coexisted
with a perceived lack of parent interest in schooling, creating a tendency
to lift the burden of these children's academic failure from the schools
by blaming their parents' lack of involvement in education. In fact, conversely,
low-income parents can and want to help with their children's schooling--both
at home and at school. Thus, teachers and other school staff need reach
out to parents in ways they can respond to, and help them help their children.’
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed293973.html
Equity and Socioeconomic Class
This website contains an article outlining
the barriers faced by low SES students that often prevent them from attaining
a high-quality education. It offers suggestions for steps toward
improving the education of children living in poverty.
http://www.enc.org/topics/equity/articles/document.shtm?input=ACQ-111377-1377
Finding Success in High-Poverty,
High-Minority Schools by Melanie Shreffler
‘The Education Trust's report Dispelling the Myth Revisited
identifies successful high-minority and high-poverty schools. Many are
found in urban districts.’ The article shares some best practices
that were used in finding success.
http://enc.org/focus/urban/document.shtm?input=FOC-002947-index
Keys to Urban Success? Community
Involvement and Professional Development by Jane McCarthy and Betz Frederick
‘In this school reform model, teachers collaborate with members
of their urban community to create a shared vision of success.’ The
article provides ideas on getting and keeping the school and community
members on the same page, resulting in more care and success for the students
involved.
http://enc.org/focus/urban/document.shtm?input=FOC-002949-index
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