While race and culture remain important variables in how young people experience schools, they are often misunderstood by educators and school personnel. Building on three studies that investigated schools successful in closing the achievement gap, Tyrone Howard shows how adopting greater awareness and comprehensive understanding of race and culture can improve educational outcomes.

Important reading for anyone who is genuinely committed to promoting educational equity and excellence for all children, this accessible book: 

• Outlines the changing racial, ethnic, and cultural demographics in U.S. schools.
• Calls for educators to pay serious attention to how race and culture play out in school settings.
• Presents empirical data from schools that have improved achievement outcomes for racially and culturally diverse students.
• Focuses on ways in which educators can partner with parents and communities.

“This book will be challenging for some readers and affirming for others. It is at times disheartening and at other times inspiring; sometimes anguishing but always enlightening.”

—From the Foreword by Geneva Gay, University of Washington–Seattle, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Second Edition

“Tyrone Howard provides a multi-dimensional and textured look at why students of color continue to struggle in the nation's schools. However, he does not stop there. This book points toward the solutions we have been seeking--partnerships, principles, and persistence.”

—Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin–Madison