Introduction.

Part One: The Student Experience.

1. Joaquin’s Dilemma: Understanding the Link Between Racial Identity and School-Related Behaviors.

2. The Trouble with Black Boys: The Impact of Social and Cultural Forces on the Academic Achievement of African American Males.

3. And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernández?/Y Qué Pasará Con Jóvenes.

Como Miguel Fernández? Education, Immigration, and the Future of Latinos in the United States.

4. How Listening to Students Can Help Schools to Improve.

Part Two: The Search for Equity.

5. Latino Youth: Immigration, Education, and the Future.

6. Preventing and Producing Violence: A Critical Analysis of Responses to School Violence.

7. Schools, Prisons, and Social Implications of Punishment: Rethinking Disciplinary Practices.

8. Racial Politics and the Elusive Quest for Excellence and Equity in Education.

Part Three: The Schools We Need.

9. Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education With Alan Blankstein.

10. Standards for What? Accountability for Whom? Rethinking Standards-Based Reform in Public Education.

11. Racial Isolation, Poverty, and the Limits of Local Control as a Means for Holding Public Schools Accountable.

12. Transforming Urban Schools Through Investments in Social Capital.

Notes and References.

Epilogue: Joaquin’s Dilemma Revisited.

Index.

Discussion Questions.