Students of color are consistently underrepresented in honors and gifted programs nationwide. Research suggests that even high-achieving students share many of the risk factors with their low-achieving peers. As a result, their continued academic success is far from assured. In addition, research on academic intervention programs designed to help these students suggests these programs are not widespread or institutionalized in schools in ways that will lead to meaningful gains in closing the achievement gaps at the high end of the academic spectrum. The study presented in this paper employed mixed methods to investigate the relationship between the design of a rigorous college preparatory program, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB), and the socioeconomic status of the students the program serves. The study found that an open admission International Baccalaureate (IB) program was successfully attracting and retaining African American, Latino, and Native American students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Findings are attributed to IB teachers' deeply held belief in the ability of the students to meet the rigor of the program. This IB program also has instituted a number of academic and social support mechanisms to keep students motivated to pursue the challenging curriculum.

This article identifies factors that promoted the successful implementation of an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in an urban high school. The study draws on data from an in-depth case study at a large high school serving an urban community in a Western state. The study investigates seven implementation mechanisms that research suggests encourage local-level stakeholders to eschew existing practices and adopt practices supported by the model. Data suggest six of the seven research-based best practices were present in the IB program. These were staff selection, preservice training, coaching, staff evaluation, program evaluation, and administrative supports. These practices were instrumental in moderating contextual factors that might have hindered model implementation. It is possible for high-quality academic programs to operate in low-performing schools and for a wide range of students to benefit from this type of program.

Purpose: This article presents findings from a study of six schools in the Together Initiative (TI), which facilitates increased school autonomy from districts and expands teacher decision-making authority. This study aims to understand how TI's theory of action changed structures, cultures, and agency as the concepts of site-based management and expanded teacher decision making were interpreted and implemented by district and school leaders and teachers. Research Design: Data were collected over the first 2 years of the initiative using a concurrent mixed-methods design. Field notes from more than 200 hours of observations and transcripts of 231 semistructured interviews with stakeholders were coded using the constant-comparative method. Findings from qualitative data were triangulated with annual teacher survey findings. Findings: Implementation of TI varied across the six schools and depended greatly on school staffs' existing relationships the district, principal support

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Opportunity gaps are not just a phenomenon that exists among low-achieving and average students; they are a significant feature among high-performing students as well. We present a review of research-based practices that support students of color such that they achieve at high levels in middle and secondary schools. We identify five key strategies for success: close monitoring of students’ academic and social growth, access to high-quality curriculum, appropriate scaffolding to ensure academic success, academically oriented supportive peer groups, and opportunities for social and emotional growth.