Nilda Flores-Gonzalez (Ph.D. Chicago, 1995) is an associate professor with a joint appointment in Sociology and Latin American and Latino Studies. She studies race and ethnicity, identity, education and U.S. Latinos. Her current research focuses on media discourses on inner-city schools, particularly on how the media criminalizes inner-city schools, school activists and students, and how these images shape public opinion and policy. Her book, School Kids, Street Kids: Identity Development in Latino Students (2002) focuses on how kids construct identities in relation to school, how the school and its practices shape these identities, and how these identities influence educational outcomesB high school graduation or dropout. Additionally, she has published several articles on various topics such as Puerto Rican high achieving students, extracurricular participation and retention, race and Latino identity, and most recently about the Puerto Rican community of Chicago. Her publications are included in journals such as Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization, Centro Journal, Journal of Poverty, and the Latino Studies Journal.