What specific recommendations would you make to improve student achievement in urban schools?

Principals must return to the role of disciplinarians. Too great a number of students are disrespectful to teachers, principals, and other adults in the schools. Teachers cannot teach with disruptive students in the classroom. Teachers cannot teach and other students cannot learn.
Joyce Hooks, Cincinnati Federation of Teachers-Retiree Chapter, OH

Each school should have a nurse, police officer, social worker, truant officer and family counselor.
Victor Ochoa, Chicago Teachers Union, IL

First of all, equalize the playing field! I work in an "urban" school and I have none of the resources or advantages that my kids have in the suburbs. Our books are ten years old and falling apart. The copy machine never works and we have no viable computer labs. The students and I are tired of showing up each day and giving it our all only to be reminded that the powers that be really don't give a damn about us!
Melissa Svigelj-Smith, Cleveland Teachers Union, OH

I would reduce class size in a meaningful way. With the 30+ class load, many teachers are doing nothing but behavior control and babysitting. The opportunities for truly interactive lessons are few and far between because of the ever-expanding student rolls.
Carolyn Stout, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, PA

We must give the students in school what they may not be getting at home—lots of loving, individual attention, a wide variety of experiences, models for nonviolent resolution of problems, and lots of talking and reading to them at a young age. All of this will take massive amounts of funding for extremely high quality early education, where these experiences will have the most impact.
Margaret Plotkin, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, PA

Begin with the youngest first. Create a free, quality, early childhood education program with a heavy emphasis on language development skills. Until we address the language and experience gap faced by the majority of students, we are only playing catch-up at a disadvantage.
Mary Bixler, Alliance/AFT, Dallas, TX

Make sure that every student has access to a computer that is Internet ready. We have enough funds and enough resources in America to make sure that we provide a laptop for each student at school. If we are to keep up with the world economy in the 21st century we need to give our students the tools to succeed.
Toni Beckett, Lake County Education Association, FL

There must be a smaller class sizes in all grades. Less students enable teachers to do what they are paid to do which is teach. It allows them the opportunity to have enough supplies for all of the students in the class. Preparation for smaller groups of students is less costly, less time consuming and more realistic. My son is currently in a 4th grade class of 38 here in Philadelphia.
Lisa Jackson, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, PA

I have seen too many students under-served because administrators and policy makers are asking educators to think of keeping themselves and their schools afloat rather than the education of students. As an educator in an urban school, I am well aware of the pressure. I have seen first hand what teachers are put through in order to make sure a school is not punished; and often those pressures do not induce valuable education. I think it's time that all teachers stand up and take back our schools so that our students can really achieve.
Jon-Michael Hanna, United Federation of Teachers, New York City

Rely on teachers who are closely working with the students to help make policies that influence students. There are too many non-educators that are making decisions for the classroom. There seems to be no compassion or sensitivity to the needs of teachers or students. Longer school hours, days or year will not raise student achievement. Students and teachers are already over burdened and worn out, along with worn out infrastructures, limited resources and too much paper work.
Beulah Cooper, Washington Teachers Union, DC