City Schools
How Districts and Communities Can Create Smart Education Systems
Edited by Robert Rothman
paper, 253 Pages
Pub. Date: May 2007
ISBN-13: 978-1-891792-41-0
Price: $32.00
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Look Inside the Book
In City Schools, Robert Rothman and his colleagues at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University put forward a vision of “smart education systems” that link a highly functioning and effective school district with a comprehensive and accessible web of supports for children, youth, and families.
One-third of the nation’s children are educated in city schools. Many of these schools face tremendous challenges—rapid teacher turnover, poor academic performance, high concentrations of low-income children, children with disabilities, and English language learners. How can they engage the talents, resources, and support of other community institutions to serve students more effectively?
The book describes ways that urban districts around the country are becoming “smarter” and outlines the components of a smart education system. Drawing from dozens of examples, the authors show how districts can build relationships with cultural institutions, businesses, government agencies, and nonprofits to support student achievement and offer multiple pathways to education for urban youth.
Praise
While there was once a time when a large school system simply kept to itself and the mayor never got involved in education, those days are now gone. The building of ‘smart education systems’ requires the full realization that our schools cannot succeed on their own, and our cities cannot and will not prosper without good schools.
— Bill Purcell, Mayor, Nashville, Tennessee
The thesis of this insightful volume—that smart schools require smart communities, with knowledge of how to leverage family and community capital in service of academic excellence —will require much greater national attention and significant public resources if meaningful and lasting educational transformation is to be achieved.
— Wendy D. Puriefoy, President and CEO, Public Education Network
It really does take a city, and this collection of essays by some of America’s most informed students of urban school reform shows just why, and more importantly just how. Rich in theory, analysis, and example, these essays lay out a vision for smart education systems. The idea is powerful and the vision compelling. We will be talking about this book, and hopefully acting on it, for a long time.
— Don McAdams, President, Center for Reform of School Systems
The school of the 21st century will reach beyond the traditional boundaries of the ‘little red schoolhouse’ to enlist the support of parents and communities. With the publication of City Schools, the Annenberg Institute is again at the cutting edge of school reform.
— Robert Hughes, President, New Visions for Public Schools
City Schools provides a broad analysis of the systems and conditions that must be overhauled if schools are to level the playing field for poor and minority students and educate all students to higher standards. Rothman has assembled a group of thoughtful educators to guide us through the complex issues that challenge public school systems and the communities they serve. It is compelling reading for anyone interested in the work of improving schools.
— Judith Johnson, Superintendent, Peekskill (N.Y.) City School District
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About the Author
Robert Rothman is a principal associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. He is responsible for writing Institute publications and editing the Institute’s quarterly journal, Voices in Urban Education, a “roundtable-in-print” designed to air diverse viewpoints and share new knowledge on vital issues in urban education. He has written for numerous education publications and organizations and was previously a reporter and editor for Education Week. He was also a senior project associate for Achieve, a study director for the National Research Council, and the director of special projects for the National Center on Education and the Economy. He is the author of Measuring Up: Standards, Assessment and School Reform (1995), and numerous book chapters and articles on testing and education reform. Rothman holds a bachelor’s from Yale University.