| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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together have a minimum of 50,000 persons. Urban comprises all territory, population, and housing units located in urbanized areas and in places of 2,500 or more habitants (U.S. Census, 2000). Several demographic factors characterize urban centers besides the large number of people who live there. First, urban centers have been home to large numbers of ethnic minorities. Texas has now joined Hawaii, New Mexico, and California as a majority-minority state, along with the District of Columbia. Five states—Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, New York, and Arizona—are next in line with minority populations of about 40 percent (U.S. Census, 2000). According to July 1, 2004 population estimates, Texas had a minority population comprising 50.2% of its total population. In comparison, 77% of Hawaii's population was minorities. In New Mexico and California, the proportions were 57% and 56%, respectively, while the District of Columbia was 70% minority.
Second, poverty is a key urban issue. Urban centers house the highest level of poor populations, as 21% of all urban children in the United States live in poverty,1 and 50% of urban children are close to the federal poverty line at some time in their lives. The U.S. Census (1999) found that in 1998, the poverty rate of central cities was 18.5%, more than twice that of the suburbs (8.7%). Of the 38 million students enrolled in U.S. public schools, about 10.4 million (27.3% of nation's students) attend urban school districts; about 5.7 million of them (13.5% of the nation's students) have attended central city schools. Forty percent of these urban students have attended high-poverty schools (U.S. Department of Education, 1998).
For the purpose of this study, the definition of the word urban derives from two key factors: ethnicity and poverty. Education in modern times has become the way to prepare all citizens for the task of survival. In theory, success in school depends on factors such as intelligence, effort, and merit and is uninfluenced by social background. However, a fusion of economic and cultural forces has created a class system that has transformed the supposedly egalitarian institution into an institution of class privilege (Milligan, 1993). Adler and Tellez (1993) also questioned the role of schools in replicating dominant culture and disengaging outside