This gripping story -a year in the lives of three high school seniors and their school-takes us deep into the hearts and minds of American teenagers, and American society, today. The seniors of Berkeley High are the white, black, Latino, Asian, and multiracial children of judges and carpenters, software consultants and garbage collectors, housewives and housekeepers. Some are Harvard bound; others are illiterate. They are the Class of 2000, and through...

"They don't care about their education." "They are not capable of learning." "I can't work with them." "I can't get through to them." Just as you may have thought these things about your students, they, too, may have similar thoughts about you: "She doesn't care about my education." "He is not capable of understanding me." "I can't work with her." "I can't get through to him." While all students in your class, building, or school district need your...

School improvement begins with self-examination and honest dialogue about socialization, bias, discrimination, and cultural insensitivity. The authors acknowledge both the structural and sociological issues that contribute to low-performing schools, and offer multiple tools and strategies to assess and improve classroom management, increase literacy, establish academic vocabulary, and contribute to a healthier school culture.

Three dramatic innovations are changing the face of reading instruction: (1) response to intervention (RTI), (2) differentiated instruction, and (3), with an increasing impact on classrooms each year, technology. RTI & Differentiated Reading in the K 8 Classroom focuses on these three areas from kindergarten through the upper elementary grades. Whole-group reading instruction in general education classes is no longer an appropriate learning environment...

Leadership practices from the Industrial Revolution are no longer effective in 21st century classrooms. Explore the Leading for Excellence and Fulfillment model, and discover practical, research-based strategies that will be relevant to school leaders today and tomorrow. Integrate ready-to-use techniques into your current leadership practices to maximize innovation and open up an unprecedented world of opportunities for both students and teachers....

What will it take to create equitable educational opportunities for all students? According to veteran educator Vernita Mayfield, teachers and school leaders need to learn how to recognize culturally embedded narratives about racial hierarchy and dismantle the systems of privilege and the institutions that perpetuate them with knowledge, action, and advocacy. Cultural Competence Now provides a structure to begin meaningful conversations about race,...

Ensure students develop proficiency in reading, speaking and listening, writing, and language. Explore 20 lesson frameworks to help teach the Common Core State Standards for English language arts. Discover targeted lessons to help students master critical skills, including how to organize ideas from informational texts, identify similarities and differences, scrutinize words to gain deeper meaning of readings, and write with grade-appropriate language....

Construct a strong foundation for literacy development and academic achievement. Based on a robust analysis of high-frequency words, Dr. Robert J. Marzano identifies more than 8,000 basic, advanced, and academic vocabulary terms for grades K—5. The terms are organized into 444 semantic clusters, which have been carefully curated to provide a rich semantic context for students and aid their learning. Use this resource to help students learn a tiered...

We now recognize that a one-size-fits-all instructional approach is unlikely to maximize achievement for all learners. Indeed, the goal of helping all students achieve high standards demands instruction that is responsive to their varied nature and needs. Supporting Differentiated Instruction: A Professional Learning Communities Approach pragmatically approaches the collaborative spirit of professional learning communities (PLCs) and the rigorous...

Unacknowledged policies and mindsets from the Transatlantic Slave Trade continue to perpetuate injustices and instability, destroying people and the planet. It keeps the world in conquest, terror alert mode shaping human interactions and expectations. To address these issues and define our lens, Parts I and II answers two questions regarding the Transatlantic Slave Trade (1444-1888). The first question, "Where are we?," addresses the remnants of that...