Investigates the effect of a school district's use of formal control mechanisms and the socioeconomic status of the district on principal-parent relations. Results indicate an interaction effect between socioeconomic status and formal control mechanisms with regard to positive sentiments toward parents. Implications are discussed. (Author/JS)

In many urban areas, educators rely on magnet schools to strike a delicate balance between the need to create opportunities for equity in education and the need for parents to have greater choice among schools. But, are magnet schools successful? This document considers whether they fulfill the promises of high achievement and desegregation in…

Presenting a year-by-year account, this paper describes the origin and 10-year development of the Howard Street Tutoring Program, an after-school volunteer-staffed tutoring program in a poor Chicago, Illinois, neighborhood. The paper presents a selective history of the program, designed to assist second- and third-grade children who needed help in…

Written by and about the homeless, the Chicago newspaper "StreetWise" has potential for use in creative writing classes. An urban community college instructor uses the newspaper to provide material from which her students, many of whom are at or below the poverty level, can derive ideas for writing and to raise her students' level of…

The Chicago Public Schools have recently been restructured by the Illinois General Assembly, radically altering patterns of governance (voice) and patterns of choice in Chicago. This paper analyzes the history of the Chicago restructuring campaign and the specific conception of school-based governance enacted into law. The paper also analyzes the…

A publication prepared by the Office of Education is one of a series of four which discuss the education of disadvantaged children. Focusing on grades four, five, and six, this document presents some general background material on the disadvantaged and notes some promising practices. Also included are brief descriptions of special programs in…

Considers the state of the urban public education system in Chicago (Illinois). Addresses the effects of demographic and economic changes, the role of Benjamin Coppage Willis as superintendent of the Chicago schools, and the effects of inequality and plans for desegregation. (CMK)

This report describes the activities of the Documentation and Technical Assistance in Urban Schools Project (DTA) in the Chicago Public Schools. The past and present work of the DTA is outlined and its efforts to improve the educational experiences of black youth are discussed. The report focuses on the DTA's efforts to implement peer tutoring…

The State of Illinois appropriates funds according to a resource equalizer formula which allows a district having a large number and a high percentage of economically disadvantaged school children to gain a sizable bonus in State aid, contingent upon a plan to improve instruction. The Chicago Public Schools have received this bonus without…

Describes Chicago magnet school's use of seminar discussion and classroom dialogue to nurture students' active engagement in the learning process. Draws on experience at a public magnet school in Chicago with a student population that is largely poor and minority. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

This report is presented in terms of issues and recommendations concerning the Federal role in school finance. Two major points of agreement emerged from the forums: (1) School officials, representatives of organizations, citizens, and parents agree that, if the urban schools in America are to survive, the Federal Government must take a strong…

The smaller the school district, the higher the achievement, when the socioeconomic status and per student expenditure are taken into account. Administrative and parental involvement should be determined by the size of the school district regardless of the socioeconomic level of the community. (BJV)

Aided by funding from public agencies, private foundations, and corporate giving, a previously neglected conservatory on Chicago's west side is introducing inner-city students to plants and nature through after school programs, summer day camps, and field trips. Community revitalization efforts include a demonstration garden and assistance with…

The purpose of this report is to explain the procedures by which the Chicago public schools have attempted to equalize local school per-pupil costs. It is a case study designed to illustrate what one urban school system is doing to finance equity among schools. There are five major considerations related to the program to equalize per-pupil costs:…