Small Schools and Urban Youth: Using the Power of School Culture to Engage Students [Paperback]

This sociological study examines small learning communities and small schools in two major urban cities and highlights the relationship between school culture, personalization, and student engagement.This sociological study examines small learning communities and small schools in two major urban cities and highlights the relationship between school culture, personalization, and student engagement. This book is critical for anyone working to change urban schools to effectively serve all students. Too often we succumb to the notion that substantive change is not possible at the high school level, but this book proves how wrong-headed that concept can be. These authors bring the voices of real teachers and real students to the table to demonstrate how small schools focused on relationship building and 'personalization' can perform miracles! Finally, educators leading the movement to smaller high schools have a resource they can draw upon for guidance and direction. This book offers clear, practical advice on how to create small schools that are effective in meeting student needs. The strengths include the book's readability. The examples are vivid and the students' quotes are powerful. The qualitative research style brings a personal feel that is effective. The book reports on an actual research project and presents numerous quotes from students to support the points being made. It provides a good model of data-driven recommendations. I love the themes of relationships, community, respect, personalization, and small schools. Relevant, individualized, and an insightful read. This book will be useful for any school system working to develop academies. The need for a book on this topic is urgent, and the contributions from the volume are significant. The writing is excellent, the data is engaging, and the conceptualization is insightfull"