Robert Donmoyer is Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership at the Ohio State University. Raylene Kos is Supervisor of the Language Arts Programs for the Westerville, Ohio City School District.

"Without coming to grips with the at-risk student problem, school reorganization, new subject matter, instructional methods, and other forms of curriculum reform are all hollow. As one reads the material in this book, it becomes very clear that larger societal issues are at stake, and need to be solved. Oh, that the "Education President" would/could read this kind of material as a basis of making national policy." — Nelson L. Haggerson, Arizona State University"The case studies of individuals and programs in this book are essential reading for every teacher educator and teacher education student in this country to read over and over again. Every chapter describing the experiences of at-risk students and/or the nature and effect of programs and practices designed to help at-risk students is excellent." — Dorene Ross, University of Florida

• Introduction Part 1. Portraits 1. At-Risk Students: Insights from/about ResearchRobert Donmoyer and Raylene Kos 2. The Purpose of Portraits: Rethinking the Form and Function of Research on At-Risk StudentsRobert Donmoyer 3. "Nobody knows my life but me!" The Story of Ben, A Reading Disabled AdolescentRaylene Kos 4. Ways of Being at Risk: The Case of Billy Charles BarnettThomas Barone 5. Ellen, A Deferring LearnerKarin L. Dahl 6. Andy and Libby: At Risk or Undervalued?Karen L. Ford 7. Karen: An Interaction of Gender Role and Reading DisabilityRaylene Kos 8. "Something to Keep the Relationship Holding": Victoria, a Pregnant AdolescentKathryn Herr 9. Andrew: The Story of a Gifted At-Risk StudentJune Yennie-Donmoyer 10. Alston and Everetta: Too Risky for School?James T. Sears 11. Paul: Differentiating Disorder and InterventionJohn J. Gleason Part 2. Policies, Programs, and Practices 12. Structuring for Idiosyncracy: Rethinking Policies, Programs, and Practices for at-Risk StudentsRobert Donmoyer 13. Placing Children at Risk: Schools Respond to Reading ProblemsRichard L. Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen 14. "Teacher, why am I failing? I know the answers": The Effects of Developmentally Inappropriate AssessmentPamela O. Fleege and Rosalind Charlesworth 15. "A Different Kind of Responsibility": Social and Academic Engagement of General-Track High School StudentsSandra B. Damico and Jeffrey Roth 16. Direction with Discretion: Reading Recovery as an Example of Balancing Top-down and Bottom-up Decision MakingPatricia L. Scharer and Nancy C. Zajano 17. In the Shadow of the Excellence Reports: School Restructuring for at-Risk StudentsAndrew Gitlin, Frank Margonis, and Heather Brunjes 18. Emergent Spanish Literacy in a Whole Language Bilingual ClassroomIrene Alicia Serna and Sarah Hudelson 19. "It's Not a Perfect World": Defining Success and Failure at Central Park East Secondary SchoolMark A. Faust 20. Creating a Culture of Writers with at-Risk StudentsJune Yennie-Donmoyer and Robert Donmoyer 21. A Teacher Reflects on His Urban ClassroomArt Isennagle 22. The Risk of Writing Outside the Margins: A Reexamination of the Notion of AccessBonnie Meath-Lang 23. A Policy Perspective: Overcoming Gridlock Beyond SchoolsBrad Mitchell Postscript: In Search of a Bottom Line References Index