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What Makes an Urban School

The way we name places reflects what we think of them.

Positive Terms

Cosmopolitan Schools

Worldly sophistication; fashionable (social/cultural perspective)

Metropolitan Schools

Large city and center of population and culture (cultural perspective)

Neutral Terms

City Schools

Center of population, finance, commerce (geographic perspective)

Community Schools

A group of people forming a smaller social unit within a larger one, and sharing common experiences

Neighborhood Schools

People living near one another

Urban Schools

A city with at least 50,000 people (U.S. Census)

Negative Terms

Inner City Schools

Sections of a large city especially when crowded or blighted

Ghetto Schools

Section of a city where many minority group members live or are restricted due to economic/social pressures

Slum Schools

Heavily populated area of a city characterized by poverty and poor or dilapidated conditions

Makeup of Urban Schools

Urban schools typically have a mixture of possibilities, characteristics, and challenges. Our goal is to help our students gain awareness of how different schools can be. Once they reach this understanding, they are more likely to quickly adjust to the roles they will be expected to play, and to take advantage of community resources wherever they teach.

Possibilities

  • Wider range of acceptable thinking and acting
  • More progressive ideas
  • Global awareness
  • Higher concentration of universities
  • Context has served as scaffolding for:
    • Multicultural education
    • Culturally relevant teaching
    • Teaching for social justice
    • Education for people with disabilities
    • Several civil rights initiatives

Characteristics

  • The school has a student population above 5,000
  • More than 60% of students are students of color
  • More than 65% of students are economically disadvantaged
  • More than 11% of students are English Language Learners
  • More than 15% of students have disabilities
  • Graduation rates are less than 65%
  • The school is designated as “Focus or Priority” by NYSED

Challenges

  • High administrative mobility
  • Less access to science and math resources
  • Inadequate funding
  • Factionalized infighting
  • High teacher shortages
  • High level of student health problems
  • Old school buildings

Contact

Pat Russo, PH.D.
Director, Center for Urban Schools
310 Park Hall, SUNY Oswego

315-312-2632
[email protected]
Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.