The course will address the following topics: 1. Eradicating the achievement gap in schools in high poverty communities. The achievement gap is often misunderstood leading to ineffective strategies for addressing this issue. The first thing that has to be understood concerning the achievement gap is that it is not merely an academic issue that can be extinguished through academic strategies alone. The achievement gap is an outcome of the whole child; genetics, temperament, environment, and life experiences. Individuals with emotional disorders, difficult or anxious temperaments, from high risk environments, or who have experienced trauma are all more likely to demonstrate poor academic performance contributing to the achievement gap (Sanchez