This conference paper maintains that to more effectively motivate disadvantaged students certain basic changes within the school system must be made. Educational intervention should not be limited to preschool education. The use of indigenous nonprofessionals in the schools may benefit the older disadvantaged student by providing him with a role model and a sympathetic adult from his own social class. Work-study programs can also be effective with these students. Amother important strategy is specialized training for teachers and administrators in disadvantaged schools. School personnel should learn to recognize and respect the positive, adaptive qualities of the poor, and to utilize these qualities in the planning and execution of lessons. In the classroom teachers might use readers which warmly portray Negro children in urban settings. It is especially important that the classroom not be dominated by a "prissy" middle-class atmosphere. Comments from a discussion period are presented. (NH)