Successful+Urban+Schools



Successful Urban Education

**Definition of Urban Education **

Urban Education is the type of schooling offered to students who live in a major city. Frequently students are faced with many challenges that prevent them from getting the education they need to succeed in life such as, poverty, diversity and crime. These schools typically have insufficient funds to support their student’s education also; they don’t have a teaching staff prepared to handle the challenges the students may have.

** History Of Urban Education ** The definition of the word urban is associated to a city or town. There are many views and opinions on the subjects of cities and how they operate. Some people such as Alexander Hamilton saw these cities as great and wonderful places in which opportunities could be grabbed and “freedom fostered” others think that cities are the exact opposite. As Thomas Jefferson believed that cities cause problems in society and that the country should be preserved instead. ("Urban education-students and," 2010). The schools in urban areas have often suffered on the account of lack of funds, or a shortage of teachers. Also the management of the school is important along with its priorities and goals. If all of these criteria’s are met then a successful urban school will sound like this, “a clearly stated mission; a safe climate for learning; high expectations for students, teachers and administrators; high student time on task; administrators who are instructional leaders; frequent monitoring of student progress; and positive home-school relations.” ("Urban education-students and," 2010)

** The Government's Approach to Making a Urban Schools Successful ** Many urban schools in America might be described with low-achieving, high dropout rates, and graduate students who aren't necessarily prepared for college or a professional environment. In fact, "12% of America’s schools produce 50% of America’s dropouts." It has many thinking what can be done to fix this dilemma. President Barack Obama along with the U.S. Department of Education may have that answer! The Department of Education is giving 5,000 states and school districts a budget of $4 billion in order to reform their lowest achieving schools. The state choose schools that are in "economically challenged communities" who are fully in need of a transformation and then proceeds to choose 1 of the 4 models provided by the Title I School Improvement Grant Program. The options include the restart model, the turnaround model, the transformation model, and last but not least school closure. If a school chooses the restart model, the school will be closed and reopened under a charter school operator or a charter/education management organization which will be assigned through a review process. If the turnaround model is chosen, the current principle will be replaced by new leadership as well as up to 50% of the current staff. The transformation model puts the school through a series of strategies including "(1) replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; (2) institute comprehensive instructional reforms; (3) increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and (4) provide operational flexibility and sustained support." The final option for a school is closure which entails closing a school and enrolling the students in surrounding school districts that are high-achieving.

**Does theTitle I School Improvement Grant Program work?!?!**  Although the Title I School Improvement Grant Program was just proposed on August 26 of last year, it has school districts on the path of success. Examples include: Pickett Middle School is a charter school located in Philadelphia, PA. Before Pickett applied the restart model the school was physically in need of remodeling and in addition to the low achievement rates of students, there was a high suspension rate as well. Pickett chose to go in the direction of a Mastery Charter School, which schools 1,750 of PA students. The students and staff who chose to stay after the change, which most of them did, agreed to go along with the schools new approach to education. " The first year improvement at Pickett was dramatic. Across seventh and eighth grade state testing, average reading improvement was 45 percent; average math improvement was 21 percent. Mastery's highly structured/ managed approach also led to dramatic change in school culture. At Pickett and its two peer conversion schools, violence incidences have dropped 85 percent while student turnover dropped by nearly half." With clear objectives, creating and maintaining healthy relationships between students and teachers, and a well defined curriculum, Pickett as well as other schools in PA are headed in the right direction.
 * __Restart Model: Pickett Middle School, Philadelphia, PA__



California already had Locke High School on their mind when this program was proposed in 2009. Located in Los Angeles Locke was one of the most "troubled" schools in the Area. Out of all the students who enrolled in 9th grade at Locke, only 5% were expected to graduate and attend college. There is no question that this school was in need of dire help which lead them to the turnaround model. As a result of this change only 1/3 of the staff stuck around. "In the first year, Locke showed modest gains in test scores, but tested significantly more students (38 percent more than the previous year, indicating more students were staying in school throughout the year), reduced truancy and dropout rates, and improved the safety of the school setting. Additionally, nearly 20 percent more students graduated, and large percentages of those continued onto college, including many to four-year colleges."
 * __Turnaround Model: Locke High School, Los Angeles, CA__



Hamilton County is a good example of a success story because they recognized the problem within Chattanooga's low performing schools and set out to fix it. The Chattanooga-based Benwood Foundation provided $5 million for the solution calling it the "Benwood Initiative." "Before the Benwood Initiative kicked off, they were far less effective than their peers elsewhere in the Hamilton County district. In terms of student achievement, students in Benwood schools achieved impressive gains; for example, Benwood 3rd graders scoring proficient or advanced on state reading tests rose by 27 percent from 2003-2007." Through the replacement of principles, teachers having to reapply of which only 1/3 returned, and financial opportunities being offered, student achievement has dramatically improved! Benwood also dedicated time and effort to improving teacher instruction skills which over the past 6 years has proven to be successful as well.
 * __Transformation: Hamilton County, TN__

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Challenges of Urban Schools Board politics in major urban school districts often impede judicious decision making. For example the board members have to support these schools and are forced to try to better the school and district, while the parents, students and citizens of the school or district are not, for the most part, trying to better the community. Also in the urban schools the teachers and other faculty only stay with the district for a short amount of time until they can find a job in a better school because teaching at urban schools is so difficult.



The most popular effort to challenge teachers is the use of right pay based on student achievement and test scores. Also in some cases superintendents have clauses in their contract stating that their tenure or salaries are dependent on improvements in student achievement. In some districts, school districts principals annual evaluations and contract extensions have become tied to improving student achievement.

In many states a system has been implemented that if a school has not met the minimum level of achievement they are deemed a failing school which calls for that school to be reconstituted and gives the local district the authority to re-staff the school with a new teaching staff and principal. If the teachers are moved out of the failing school the district gives them the right to move to other schools within the district. So while the urban school district is being held responsible for the failing of that school the individual teachers and staff members are not.

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Expenditure data compiled by Department of Research Statistics and Planning, 1999

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<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">References Terry, D. (2010, March 5). //What’s possible: turning around america’s lowest-achieving schools//. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/03/whats-possible-turning-around-americas-lowest-achieving-schools/

Urban education-students and structure special challenges, characteristics of successful urban schools. (2010). //Education Encycolpidia//, Retrieved from []

U.S Department of Education. (2009, August 26). //School improvement fund//. Retrieved from http://ed.gov/programs/sif/examples.html

//Urban education//. (2002). Retrieved from [[http://myweb.usf.edu/~aheindel/UrbanEducation.html|http://myweb.usf.edu/~aheindel/UrbanEducation.html

]]<span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: normal;"> HABERMAN, m.J.P. (n.d.). Urban education - students and structure, special challenges, characteristics of successful urban programs read more: urban education - students and structure, special challenges, characteristics of successful urban programs http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2524/urban-education.html#ixzz0mz7jsj14. Retrieved from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2524/Urban-Education.html