Innovative Voices in Education

Engaging Diverse Communities

Foreword by Edwin Darden Contributions by Shriya Adhikary, Jioanna Carjuzaa, Jesse Bethke Gomez, Waliha Gani, Debra Fulcher, Sean Grainger, Young-chan Han, Ashley Harris, Amineh Ahmed Hoti, Karyn Keenan, Nardos King, Sara Kugler, Graciela Rosas, Jeff Scanlan, Howie Schaffer, Andrea Sobel, Roni Silverstein, Stacie Stanley Edited by Eileen Gale Kugler

Publication date:

12 January 2012

Length of book:

308 pages

Publisher

R&L Education

Dimensions:

240x161mm
6x9"

Diverse schools offer enriched academic and social environments, as students and families of different backgrounds and experiences provide a vibrant mosaic of insights, perspectives, and skills. To take advantage of the unique opportunities that diversity brings, schools must value and effectively connect with students and families of all backgrounds. Committed educators are taking on this challenge with gusto, engaging their diverse communities on a daily basis. This book highlights stories from around the world, as innovative teachers, educational leaders, and community activists passionately share personal accounts of their successes, challenges, and lessons learned. These are unsung heroes, doing vital work each day, with little attention beyond the appreciation of their own school communities. The 17 chapters, each by different authors with unique experiences, provide insights, strategies, and new tools that will be of value to anyone who is concerned about improving education for all. These diverse innovative voices will inform, engage, and most of all, inspire you.

In a book patterned after the need for collaborative relationships to improve education, editor Eileen Gale Kugler brings together 19 creative perspectives on diversity in Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities (2012). Recent demographic shifts in the United States support the need for the discussion of diversity espoused by this book. ... This book has value and possible applications for a variety of stakeholders in the field of education. ... Almost all educators are in classrooms with diverse students and will find both inspiring stories from their colleagues as well as some practical resources for engaging their own students in this book. Part three may be of particular use to administrators and school district personnel in order to initiate school leadership that values diversity from the top down. Education researchers will also find many fascinating stories of innovation in this book that may provide avenues for further research and resources for further inquiry. Individual chapters in this book would even be of value to teaching programs throughout the country dealing with specific issues of diversity. However, the true value of this book lies in taking all five sections together and reading the book as a whole, to enhance the realization that engaging diverse communities involves the much-needed perspectives of all five parts.