SUMMER 2005 9

As a teacher, it is my belief that every child deserves a good education, and every teacher should be committed to meeting every child’s academic needs and providing all with an equal learning opportunity in the classroom. Quality teachers who deliver meaningful instruction have great influence on student learning and success. Knowing the characteristics of at-risk students can help teachers identify the factors in their academic success or lack of success. I am excited to share some research findings involving at-risk students with those who are dealing with these kinds of students on a daily basis to help them un-derstand why at-risk students are not learning at greater speeds. There is more than one way to teach students and not all students learn the same way. Many language-minority students in public schools are classified by the school as at-risk. However, the classification may not be an accurate portrayal of every stu-dent so designated. The classifications are probably based on a sorting paradigm in which some students receive instruction based on high expectations and the rest are relegated to lower quality education and lower quality futures (North Central Re