Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty

This influential book describes the knowledge and skills teachers, school administrators, and other educators need to combat bias and inequity that deny students experiencing poverty the levels of educational access and opportunity their wealthier peers often enjoy.

Written in an engaging, conversational style that makes complex concepts accessible and actionable, this book will help readers learn how to identify and eliminate even the subtlest inequities in their classrooms, schools, and districts. The Third Edition features extensive revisions based on the most recent research and lessons learned from the author’s professional development work. Enhancements include an extended summary of Gorski’s equity literacy framework; several new narrative case scenarios; a new section detailing how schools unintentionally “punish poverty”; a revised Poverty Awareness Quiz; and updated strategies throughout to assist today’s K–12 teachers, school administrators, counselors, and social workers.

Book Features:

• Offers a research-informed alternative to popular books about poverty and education that focus on adjusting something about students experiencing poverty rather than making classrooms and schools more equitable.
• Describes evidence-based strategies and practices that strengthen equitable education access for students experiencing poverty.
• Incorporates narrative case scenarios that help readers practice recognizing subtle bias and inequity in common viewpoints and programs.
• Embraces an intersectional view of poverty and class by addressing how it interacts with race, gender, sexual orientation, and other dimensions of identity and experience.

Paul Gorski is the founder of the Equity Literacy Institute and The Art of Reach. He is an author and educator who has worked with schools in 48 states and more than a dozen countries.

“This book is a thoughtful and empowering wellspring of practical and actionable guidance intertwined with up-to-date research and policy insights. It is a vital resource on serving students experiencing homelessness for all our schools, districts, and communities!"
—Alexandra E. Pavlakis, associate professor of education policy and leadership, Southern Methodist University

“Gorski provides the most lucid and constructive discussion of anyone writing about poverty in education today. After delving into impacts of institutionalized poverty on students and schools, Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty gives teachers a wealth of meaningful and practical actions they can take.”
—Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University Monterey Bay, and coauthor of Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools

“An insightful, penetrating tour de force of Paul Gorski’s major school reform approach ‘equity literacy.’ Via excellent communicative clarity, Gorski presents a solid integration of theory and praxis that shows how teachers can acquire the four characteristics of equity literacy—desire, knowledge, skills, and will. This gem of a book is designed for all educators, but especially for K–12 social justice-oriented teachers with asset-based perspectives who teach students experiencing poverty.”
—Richard R. Valencia, professor emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin, author of Achieving Equal Educational Opportunity for Students of Color

“As always, Paul Gorski's work is as accessible and practical as it is provocative and inspiring. This edition of Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty is his latest clarion call to action with powerful, research-based strategies and vivid vignettes that will stick with readers long after they've turned the last page. Whether you're new to this work or a longtime educator committed to ensuring equity and justice for all students, prepare to be moved and motivated.”
—Katy Swalwell, founder and president, Past Present Future Consulting & Media

"This book is not just informative. It is a blueprint for becoming the kind of educator whose practice is built upon the understanding that sustained academic excellence cannot happen without intentional and strategic caring."
—Cornelius Minor, co-founder, The Minor Collective