Improving Literacy Achievement in Urban Schools

All students deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential, yet research shows that the numerous challenges faced by today's urban schools prevent many students from achieving this goal. Therefore, preparing teachers to effectively teach reading in diverse urban populations in ways that students find engaging and relevant must be a top priority of teacher education programs.

To help teacher educators better prepare candidates for positions in urban settings, Improving Literacy Achievement in Urban Schools not only addresses the curricular and pedagogical challenges urban educators face but also provides practical, positive solutions for improving teacher preparation.

In the first two sections of this book, trusted experts and leaders in the field critically and openly discuss urban literacy education issues. You will learn how factors such as limited school and community resources, teacher and administrator shortages, high rates of teacher and administrator turnover, and far-reaching social and economic challenges of urban communities contribute to lower levels of academic achievement in urban schools.

The final section of the book translates theory to practice by presenting sample syllabi for teacher education courses. Each syllabus includes:

• A succinct description of the course, its main themes and objectives
• Lists of required and supplemental texts and other resources
• An outline of the main topics covered and related readings
• A description of major assignments.