Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-310) and index.

Part one: the structure and culture of inequality in schools -- Introduction: unfinished business : closing the achievement gap at Berkeley High School / Pedro A. Noguera, Jean Yonemura Wing -- 1. Structuring inequality at Berkeley High / Beth C. Rubin ... [et al.] -- 2. Integration across campus, segregation across classrooms : a close-up look at privilege / Jean Yonemura Wing -- 3. The discipline gap and the normalization of failure / Anne Gregory, Kysa Nygreen, Dana Moran -- Part two: Agency in the fight for equity -- 4. Changing teacher practice and student outcomes / Pharmicia Mosely -- Teacher voices / Dana Moran ... [et al.] -- 5. Creating demand for equity : transforming the role of parents in schools / LaShawn Routé-Chatmon ... [et al.] -- Parent voices : Isabel Parra ... [et al.] -- 6. Songs of experience : student reflections on four years at Berkeley High / Elena Silva -- Student voices / Nabila Lester ... [et al.] -- Conclusion : lessons learned : the limits and possibilities of using research to counter racial inequality / Pedro A. Noguera -- Epilogue : Finishing school / Jabari Mahiri.

This book is about unfinished business - the nation's as yet unfulfilled commitment to equality and justice for all. The focus is on the possibilities for achieving these lofty goals through public education, arguably our nation's most equitable and democratic institution. This book is the collective project of the individuals who worked on and with the Diversity Project at Berkeley High School, in Berkeley, California, from 1996 to 2002. It reflects their experiences and the insights they have gained from years of research and organizing to close the gap at this integrated public high school that is nevertheless so segregated from within that it has been described as "two high schools under one roof". This book has been put together and written in ways that hope to be of interest to parents and students, teachers and university educators, school reformers and community organizers, and to all others concerned with public education, racial equality, and democracy. From Preface