Extracts from the text: "Why are fifteen million children and youth in poverty not achieving when we know that low-income students excel in the classrooms of "star" teachers (who comprise approximately 8 percent of the teaching force)?".
Valerie Hill-Jackson is a Clinical Associate Professor at Texas A&M University in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture where she serves as a teacher educator. Her research interests include community and adult education. Dr. Hill-Jackson is a 2001-2002 AERA / Spencer fellow and received the national LEAD (poisoning) STAR award for her research in childhood lead poisoning in urban environments with African American mothers. She is also a Geraldine R. Dodge fellow for outstanding teaching and received the 2007 People Magazine / Maybelline, "Women Who Empower Through Education" award. Chance W. Lewis is the Houston Endowment Inc., Endowed Chair and Associate Professor of Urban Education and the Co-Director of the urban education graduate program in the College of Education at Texas A&M University. Additionally, Dr. Lewis is the Co-Director of the Center for Urban School Partnerships at Texas A&M University. Dr. Lewis also serves as the Deputy Director for the Center of African American Research and Policy (CAARP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his career, Dr. Lewis has over 100 publications include over 50 refereed journal articles in some of the leading academic journals in the field of urban education and teacher education. Additionally, he has received over $4 million in external research funds to support his research. To date, Dr. Lewis has author/co-authored/co-edited 4 books: White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms: A Guide for Building Inclusive Schools, Eliminating Racism and Promoting High Expectations (Stylus, 2006), The Dilemmas of Being an African American Male in the New Millennium: Solutions for Life Transformation; An Educator's Guide to Working with African American Students: Strategies for Promoting Academic Success (Infinity, 2008); and Transforming Teacher Education: What Went Wrong with Teacher Training and How We Can Fix It (Stylus, 2010). Finally, Dr. Lewis has provided consultative services (i.e., professional deve
