From the 1890s through World War II, the greatest hopes of American progressive reformers lay not in the government, the markets, or other seats of power but in urban school districts and classrooms. "The Importance of Being Urban" focuses on four western school systems--in Denver, Oakland, Portland, and Seattle--and their efforts to…

This book describes the day-to-day life of students, teachers, administrators and parents in an affluent white school located in Portland, Oregon. It gives an account of the first year of racial integration in the school, 1973-1974, when about thirty students from the black community were bused to and from the school. To describe the process of…