Schooling for Resilience

As a group, Black and Latino boys face persistent and devastating disparities in achievement when compared to their White counterparts: they are more likely to obtain low test scores and grades, be categorised as learning disabled, be absent from honours and gifted programmes, and be overrepresented among students who are suspended and expelled from school. They are also less likely to enroll in colege and more likely to drop out. Put simply, they are among the most vulnerable populations in our schools. Schooling for Resilience investigates how seven newly formed schools, created specifically to serve boys of colour, set out to address the broad array of academic and social problems faced by Black and Latino boys. Drawing on student and teacher surveys, focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations, the authors investigate how these schools were developed, what practises they employed, and how their students responded academically and socially. In particular, they focus on the theory of action that informed each school's approach to educating Black and Latino boys and explore how choices about school structure and culture shaped students' development and achievement. In doing so, the authors identify educational strategies that all schools can learn from. This thoughtful, passionately argued volume promises to influence efforts to improve the achievement and life outcomes of Black and Latino boys for years to come.