This timely edited volume examines the education of children and youth in urban settings and offers compelling alternatives for successfully engaging them in school learning. Urban schools serve a large proportion of students who are poor, of color, and speakers of languages other than English. The multiple faces of agency: Innovative strategies for effecting change in urban school contexts is a new and significant addition to the literature in urban education. The editor of the book and contributing scholars are to be commended for assembling such an exciting collection of innovative research for publication. The volume’s central message - the power of human agency - may help transform teaching and learning in urban schools. If this happens, urban school children and youth, who deserve better than they have received to date, stand to benefit the most from this work.