The "David" is Fern Creek Elementary, a small urban school in Orlando, Florida, that serves an overwhelmingly disadvantaged student population. The "Goliaths" are the mountains of problems that many inner-city students face--poverty, homelessness, mobility, instability, limited parent involvement, and violent neighborhood…

By pooling talents and resources of seasoned educators and the private sector, Education Alternatives, Inc. is invigorating school systems in several urban areas, including Dade County, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; and Hartford, Connecticut. A private-public partnership has two advantages over conventionally managed districts: readily available…