The work presented in this volume attests to the innovative and successful educational alternatives designed and implemented by Catholic religious groups to improve educational, career, and life outcomes for urban children, adolescents, and adults placed at risk. These efforts have helped thousands of urban citizens break away from the chains of poverty and poor academic preparation to succeed in high school and beyond and secure a place of meaning and influence in adult society. In this volume, we examine the contributions of networks of schools, such as NativityMiguel and Cristo Rey schools in the U.S. and Canada and Fe y Alegría based in South America and operating in multiple countries, as well as more local initiatives. There is much to be learned from these initiatives that can improve urban education and this edited volume provides this opportunity to educators, planners, funders, and others who are inclined to invest in effective urban education.

The perspectives taken in these chapters include current approaches to critical race theory, faith perspectives that promote justice, and the building of social capital and resilience to succeed academically despite considerable adversity associated with economic poverty. The chapters included here explore educational structures that communicate high expectations for student and teacher performance and provide individualized instruction, caring mentoring, and support beyond graduation in order to help develop men and women of confidence, skill, leadership, and integrity and ensure high levels of success in a world that tends to exclude them more than welcome them.