How can a 'good' urban middle school that serves primarily low-income students who face personal and environmental adversities foster academically resilient behavior

The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching methods and the academic culture in a "good" urban middle school where students from a low-income urban environment could foster academic resilience and find support. Acquiring academically resilient behavior is an important skill because students who are resilient discover they can cope with adversity at an early age. A three-year-old Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter school was chosen to study for this project because KIPP schools are a primarily urban middle school program that has exhibited long-term pervasive improvement with low-income urban adolescents in over forty schools. It was found that student scores at this school are improving. Students were actively involved in learning during school. At this institution a strong school ethos and effective teaching methods, including "signature instructional practices," appear to have a strong positive influence on students.