Leadership for Social Justice and Morality: Collaborative Partnerships, School-Linked Services and the Plight of the Poor, 10(27)

Abstract

Despite the educational reform initiatives outlined in programs similar to and in the American 2000 plan, conspicuously absent is any in-depth discussion regarding the growing rate of poverty among youth in inner cities. It is a poverty which engulfed one in seven youth in 1970, one in six in 1980, one in five in 1990, and one in four in 2000. Today there are more than thirteen million children living in the below-poverty bracket. Among the critical issues that have received some attention about poverty in inner-city schools are: (a) the demographic factors of the disadvantaged students and their urban communities; (b) collaborative efforts for school-linked services and delivery systems; and (c) social justice and moral responsibilities of school leaders and the urban communities which they serve. Drawing from a review of literature, this article posits that leadership for social justice and morality is imperative as advocates commit to collaborative partnerships for integrating services and delivery of programs for poverty-stricken school populations.