(Re)imagining a World in Which No Child is Left Behind: the Relationships and Experiences of a Looped Classroom

This study on the practice of looping in one middle school in a high-needs setting in the Bronx from 1995 to 1999 investigates the implications that one innovative educational practice had on a particular group of students both during its initial implementation and as a prospectus for long-term effects for minority students in urban areas. While studying the practice of looping, many related categories began to play a role in my framework for understanding and learning including the importance of middle school education and the trajectory of life cycles for teachers. My story offers a lens for understanding how alternative classrooms structures can be both academically effective and personally meaningful for students. The telling of my story serves as a vehicle for understanding the larger conceptual life cycle many teachers progress through. Finally, my story offers a lens for understanding how alternative classrooms structures can be both academically effective and personally meaningful for students and teachers in an educational arena where the NCLB legislation initially intended to promote growth and change over time are ironically working in opposition to that goal.