Attacks the concept of neighborhood schools as being unsuitable to educate in the twenty-first century. Argues that temporary busing is the quickest way to achieve genuine integrated education. (JF)

The three approaches to bring about organizational change and meet the Los Angeles school district crisis are: administrative reorganization, curriculum and instructional improvements, and staff development. (JF)

Presents two new approaches to improving academic achievement in inner-city schools--group-based, mastery-learning reading instruction and curriculum alignment. Explains why fundamental school reform and incremental improvement, introduced in the 1970s, failed to yield consistent results. (Author/WD)

The Program: Learning According to Needs (PLAN) arose from a Title VII project to help Hispanics succeed in college. Many innercity minority students believe that they have no control over their lives and are powerless to shape the future. PLAN participants are given role models and a realistic picture of college life. Includes nine references.…

Shows how a grassroots, interracial coalition is working to restructure Chicago Public Schools. Under the new Illinois legislation, Chicago's present school board will be disbanded, teachers will be hired by merit, principals will lack tenure, and education rebates to facilitate school choice may be available. Includes three references. (MLH)

Given the breadth and complexity of the current school improvement movement, the upgrading of physical structures may be the only specific reform area demanding a straight-forward approach. The widespread physical disrepair and overcrowding characterizing today's innercity schools provide students with no viable alternative to urban squalor and…

Summarizes a large-scale, systematic study that described and analyzed instructional practices in about 140 classrooms located in 15 poverty-area elementary schools. Teaching for meaning, or instruction promoting comprehension and conceptual understanding, was compared to more conventional methods. Students exposed to meaning-oriented instruction…

Describes several ways to view senior exhibits at an urban high school employing the Coalition of Essential Schools'"graduation by exhibition" assessment method. The coalition advocates a pedagogy combining a personalized, caring environment with a focus on student production. Judges must balance warm regard with cool, critical appraisal…

Cochise Jackson, a Black teacher with inner-city origins, shares two "war stories" to illustrate disillusioning student responses to some innovative critical thinking exercises. According to Cochise, the me-generation, whether rich or poor, wants mainly to be entertained. Suburban kids are as damaged by segregation and quick fixes as…

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, influential in middle-grades policy, advocates a three tiered approach envisioning high-performing schools as academically rigorous, developmentally responsive, and socially equitable. This report discusses pioneering programs, critics' concerns, exemplary Michigan programs, and urban schools'…

The Gallup Organization offers the Urban Teachers Perceiver Interview as a systematic, focused, and organized approach to the staff selection and development process. Outstanding teachers rate high on commitment, dedication, individualized perception, caring, involvement with students, empathy, positivity, student advocacy, student stimulation…

The annotated book list in this article was inspired by the scramble to concoct a college-prep curriculum for all students. The author begins with recommendations for rereading certain classics for inspiration and perhaps also for descriptions of follies and commentaries on them. Other reading suggestions are also included.

In the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era, accountability has focused almost exclusively on basic academic skills. In this article, the authors ask if the accountability system they have is producing the kind of graduates they want. They state that NCLB holds all elementary schools, regardless of student characteristics, accountable for achieving…

Outlines the Mathematics and Science Relicensing Program developed by the New York City Board of Education to resolve problem of a shortage of science and math teachers in New York City schools. Working with nearby universities, teachers already working in the system are retrained. This overcomes high cost of initiating new teachers into a system…

Analysis of formula allocations plus discretionary grants of Chapter 2 funds to the 28 largest school districts reveals decreases in funding in 16 districts formerly receiving the greatest Emergency School Aid Act allocations. These districts generally experienced smaller cuts under the block grants than during the year before consolidation. (MJL)