Across the nation there are rays of hope:
Schools that prove that city schools and their students can be successful. The Urban Learning and Leadership Center helps other schools learn the real-world lessons behind these successes and put them to work for their students. No Child Left Behind is raising the stake for all schools. The law zeroes in on the very student groups many cities serve – disadvantaged, minority, limited English proficiency and special education students. The requirement that all subgroups make progress toward proficiency – and the threat of sanctions if they don’t – will hit urban schools especially hard.