Reviews the role of the federal government in the development of national school desegregation policy over the past 35 years. Concludes that desegregation requires active federal support, but desegregation effects are limited by political backlash and conflicting judicial interpretations. Suggests a future federal role. (FMW)

Discusses the role of the national values of efficiency, choice, and equity in the adoption and implementation of the federal education block grant program and the negative effects on school desegregation. Urges policymakers to consider policy goals, and not just policy instruments, when considering future proposals. (FMW)

Analyzes the experiences of three midsize Michigan school districts in implementing school desegregation programs under the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA). Concludes that effective implementation requires clear goals and objectives, committed leadership, community support, and on-going political support. (FMW)

Discusses the increasing proportion of minority enrollments in urban schools and the ensuing social isolation of Black and Hispanic American students. Reviews four models of metropolitan school desegregation plans. Suggests a federal initiative that would require states to develop plans involving multiple school districts. (FMW)

For several decades, school districts have attempted to anticipate and plan for enrollment fluctuations within 5- and 10-year periods. From a variety of humanistic, educational, and budgeting perspectives, total district and school-by-school forecasts and forecasting models must be as accurate as possible. This paper reviews nine historical…

Hypothesizes that a student assignment plan, such as that approved for Boston (Massachusetts), can be an effective method of using school choice to achieve both educational quality and racial balance. Urges the federal government to increase funds for demonstration planning projects and comparative studies to test the plan's effectiveness. (FMW)

This case study provides an account of one teacher's background, experiences, and perceptions as she has changed curriculum, teaching approaches and methods, and professional roles in consequence of her experiences in the Memphis Urban Mathematics Collaborative. Data are descriptive and presented from the perspective of the teacher. The discussion…

Reviews the negative impact of Reagan-era civil rights policies on housing and school desegregation. Suggests a coordinated federal policy approach that would overcome local political bias. (FMW)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPISU) offered in Richmond (Virginia) a cooperative graduate program to prepare inservice administrators to act as change agents in Richmond-area schools. This paper considers the program's purposes, development, implementation, and future. Section I reviews the program's development, discussing…

Using the state-mandated Texas at-risk criteria to identify students at-risk for dropping out, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) followed those students for three years to determine the accuracy of the mandated state criteria. The study focuses on the classification and follow-up of 25,587 students in 1987-88, 25,292 students…

This paper describes a program that has evolved in District No. 4 in the East Harlem area of Manhattan (New York). There, a system of "choice" at the junior high school level is possible due in part to the latitude afforded local school districts under the current decentralized system of authority. The program permits students and…

Several years ago, a coalition of Chicago civic groups met to determine the scope of the urban dropout problem and develop strategies for dealing with it. The resulting research program rejected both attrition and survey analysis approaches in favor of direct examination of all student records for three graduating classes (1982, 1983, and 1984)…

Increasingly, principals are being viewed as instructional leaders, professional educators active in initiating and planning teacher development programs. While most principals consider instructional leadership a high priority, they spend much of their time solving routine problems and confronting minor crises. Immediate, short-term responses take…

This report discusses national trends in achieving excellence in public education. Although graduation rates have improved greatly since the late 1940s and early 1950s, school restructuring is necessary if the basic skills of the nation's youth are to be improved sufficiently to meet the economic challenges of the 1990s. State governors are…

The Cleveland Collaborative for Mathematics Education (C2ME) intends to change the role and status of teachers of mathematics in Cleveland's public secondary schools. This report presents the perceptions, beliefs, and practices of the teacher members of the collaborative project. This research is based upon descriptive and historical data gathered…