Topic > educational decisions such as curriculum. A top-down approach is commonly used in these urban districts, and teachers say they feel like the wrong people are making the biggest decisions. Many administrators believe it is necessary in today's urban educational environment due to the number of first-year teachers hired each year. Another reason district administrators create a curriculum is so that the documentation needed to succeed in school is in place. In experimental studies, urban schools using service learning as a curriculum guideline saw attendance and test scores increase while behavioral problems eased. Laws, like No Child Left Behind, that threaten non-compliant schools with punitive fines if test scores don't meet a standard, are fueling the growing pandemic that is causing urban schools across the United States to fail. It must be understood that education in the public school system cannot be solved with an old-fashioned cookie-cutter approach; not all schools should be treated the same. The fact is that all schools are unique because they are filled with individuals from their own unique cultural backgrounds. Motivation and personalization are key; By tapping into their interests and lifestyle, teachers can bridge the gap between success and repeated failure.