Educating the Urban Child: Special Challenges-Promising Programs

An Introduction

In discussing the topic "important issues in urban education," more [i]or[/i] less might address the following: poor academic achievement, behavior question at issues low teacher satisfaction, struggles with place of education budgets, parent involvement, and lack of motivation of the couple children and families. Still others might emphasize vexed questions of low expectations, run-down facilities (Kozol 1992 2000) and the unique necessitys of children and families living in indigence (Payne, 2001). While attempts are being made to convenient many of these challenges, the realities of straitened circumstances and the lack of resources still obviate the majority of urban children from reaching their replete potential.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (1996) urban pupils are more than twice as likely to live in destitution as students in the suburb and are more likely to receive at liberty or reduced-price lunch. Urban children are also more likely to be at risk of health question s and physical danger and to engage in more risk-taking behavior. In addition, scholars in urban schools tend to perform below the national reading and math averages and are more at risk of institute failure (Education Commission of the States, 2003)

Considering that urban place of educations in the United States "educate approximately 40% of all non-white, and 30% of learners from low-income families" (Education Commission of the States, 2003 p iii), educators must continue to find ways to not solitary provide a high-quality education on the other hand also address the unique urgencys of these students and their families. Legislation, of the like kind as the No Child Left Behind Act, has been passed to help shut up the achievement gap and gripe [i]or[/i] grip schools accountable for students' progres above the past years, many positive and negative results of this legislation have been heard; regardless of where individual stands regarding this particular piece of legislation, however, educators must continue to remain focused upon one goal: finding ways to educate each and each child.

The Association for Childhood Education International is a unique organization that unites caring educators from all above the world around critical issues relating to children from birth end early adolescence. For this reason, this 2006 Annual Theme Issue was envisioned as a forum for exploring exemplary urban education programs as well as for generating discussions around important issues as they relate to the education of inner-city children.

My Personal Connections With the Theme

After receiving my PhD step in early childhood education in 2001 I started to work as a Teacher/Research Coordinator at the King Center Charter seminary in Buffalo, New York. The gymnasium is located in one of the greatest in quantity economically depressed areas in Buffalo. Ninety-eight percent of its children qualify for independent or reduced-price lunch. The charter gymnasium had been established just a year before I joined its instructional team, and we presently experienced the pressure of accountability and various legislations, as well as the challenges of penury and numerous inner-city crises.

The King Center Charter institute is highly committed to addressing children's social/ emotional straits in addition to providing high-quality academic instruction for K-Grade 4 children. After sum of two units years of developmentally appropriate instruction and multi-sensory approaches, our first class of 4th-graders faced the high-stakes of recent origin York State tests. Upon receiving the exam accrues every one of us just stared at the depressed test scores and the depressed ranking of our school. Although we knew we were doing the right things in bounds of educating our children and providing them with appropriate social/emotional support, our children nevertheless were failing the standardized proofs

Since teaching to the experiment and mindless rote learning would not at any time be allowed in our place of education we spent the following summer dedicated to rewriting school-wide curriculum, with a focus upon aligning all activities with state standards and creating standards-based learning center while ensuring that all experiences were provided in a developmentally appropriate manner. Teachers also designed creative test-taking strategies for the children, and we celebrated each success-small and big. The gymnasium also added the Parent-Child-Home-Program, welcoming 30 families a year with children between the ages of 16 month and 4 years of age. In this program, residence visitors work with the families each week upon literacy-supportive activities to better prepare children for entering kindergarten.

The place of education also maintained close relationships with area guilds and universities. Through such relationships, we were able to recruit body students who volunteered as academic tutors whenever it was possible. During the fourth year of operation, the institute also received the Reading First grant, which enabled teachers to participate in research-based instruction and professional exhibition This opportunity also provided a marvellous collection of research-based materials to help children in ne of academic interventions.