Language is one of the greatest predictors of personal, social, academic, and professional success. No one is born a reader; instead, learning to read is a process that requires time, effort, and availability. The only way for reading comprehension to develop is through practice: one learns to read by reading. As such, it is integral to acknowledge the importance of knowing how to read and facilitating this skill in schools and at home. Reading is a cornerstone for learning and no child will know academic success if their reading ability is compromised. Modern Reading Practices and Collaboration Between Schools, Family, and Community is a premier reference book that consolidates knowledge on reading competence. It presents the processes inherent in the act of reading and the mechanisms underlying the teaching and learning of reading, as well as all recent research in this area. Covering topics such as communication development, learning motivation, and transliteracy, this innovative title is an excellent resource for preservice teachers, childhood educators, educators of K-12 and higher education, academic libraries, teacher training lecturers, faculty and administration of K-12 and higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Historically, African American communities were marked by a strong sense of community, promoted by limited resources and racial segregation. However, with integration, African American populations grew less concentrated in the same areas, and this population of people began to rely less on each other. In an effort to attain equality, which still at times feels elusive and challenged, the sense of community and impact of education once prevalent among African Americans has suffered. Fostering Collaborations Between African American Communities and Educational Institutions is a pivotal reference source that explores pre-segregation experiences of community and education, as well as the changes among HBCUs and public education in predominately African American and poor areas. The book sheds light on the relationship between racial and educational disparities and reveals the impact of community and cultural co-dependence in moving African Americans toward a more socially equitable place within American culture. Covering topics such as the achievement gap, community relationships, and teacher education, this publication is ideally designed for educators, higher education faculty, HBCUs, researchers, policymakers, non-profit organizers, historians, sociologists, academicians, and students.

This narrative ethnography adopts an aesthetic lens to relay the various lived experiences of a non-traditional, Midwestern public high school during its final year in its original building. Extending upon previous research of high school dropouts, I examine how this one particular high school incorporated a self-paced curriculum with a focus on "family" to address the unique learning needs of students at risk of not graduating. By employing elements of grounded theory, narrative inquiry, and autoethnography, I share the stories of Walgut High School's (a pseudonym) roughly sixty students as they struggle to navigate their respective roles in a dominant cultural narrative to which they've never felt like they belonged. Through the extensive and organic voices of the primary participants-as well as my observations of my own participation in the school culture over the course of a year-this project serves to offer insights not only into the school experiences of marginalized adolescents, but also into Walgut's myriad successes and failures. In particular, this piece highlights the vitality of unconditionally caring or "hospitable" teachers (Derrida, 2000), while ultimately questioning the presumed utility of a high school diploma. The story concludes not by lauding the alternative mine created for Walgut's canaries, but by questioning the purpose and stability of all scholastic minds. As American schools continue making strides to accommodate and support the complex and oftentimes contradictory needs of their students, what it means to succeed as a teacher in (and prepare teachers for) these diversified, inclusive learning spaces is growing increasingly complicated. Indeed, given the shifting paradigm of American public education, teacher preparation programs must continue to adapt their practices and philosophies in order to equip their teacher candidates with the skills needed not only to thrive but also find purpose and meaning in schools similar to this project's Walgut. While this book doesn't claim to offer any answers to the myriad questions concerning the future of public schools, it does endeavor to offer a springboard from which all education stakeholders can continue engaging in healthy and productive discussions of how best to prepare students (and teachers) for autonomous, democratic, curious, creative, and compassionate citizenship both in and apart from their academic communities. To this end, rather than write from a detached, traditionally academic vantage, I have sought in these pages to compose from a personal (albeit limited), passionate (albeit subjective) and participatory (albeit someone marginalized) perspective. In my pursuit of social justice for the characters of Walgut High School, I begin first by exposing my own privileged role in perpetuating injustice. Only through recognizing and naming our own demons can we ever begin to exorcize the System writ large. Thus, in this book's lack, there is possibility; in its futility, hope.