In New York City, a $25 million Annenberg grant was targeted to 100 individual schools to empower their staffs via innovative networks and accountability structures. However, the changes that graced the proposals did not create the desired momentum. Targeting school-level groups cannot in itself lead to systemwide change. Problems arose from…

In the family support movement, three themes are central: providing success for all children, serving the whole child, and sharing responsibility. The Institute for Responsive Education used these themes to develop a national project (Schools Reaching Out) designed to redefine and expand parent involvement as part of urban school reform. Includes…

For almost two centuries, poor children have been seen as a threat to society because neither parents nor existing community institutions could control their unacceptable behavior. Compulsory education for so-called at-risk children has produced another problem: poor academic performance. This article argues for eliminating graded schools and…

An ethnographic study of an urban comprehensive high school shows that teachers rarely used Channel One as a focus of instruction in their classrooms. Students watched Channel One primarily during an 18-minute homeroom period--a concession to parents, teachers, and administrators reluctant to sacrifice instructional time to show the program. Two…

Project SHAPE is a two-year intervention and enrichment program for underachieving and educationally disadvantaged ninth and tenth graders at Scott High School, in Toledo, Ohio. Student problems are addressed through a systematic program of structural reorganization, teacher empowerment, curriculum development, and the involvement of students,…

Many urban schools should be called cafeterias, recreation centers, or community centers, because more time is spent eating, playing, and socializing than on teaching and learning. "Schools" are day camps with compliant attendees or custodial centers with involuntarily managed inmates. Teacher effectiveness turns solely on classroom-management…

Lesson study, the dominant form of professional development for teachers in Japan, has spread rapidly in the U.S. since 1999. In this article, the authors discuss the growth and success of lesson study at Highlands Elementary School in California's San Mateo-Foster City School District and identify conditions needed for scale-up. They also discuss…

Central Park East school was founded in 1974 in Harlem (NY) as an alternative elementary school within the public inner city school system. In 1984 it had expanded into three elementary alternative schools and added a fourth secondary school. It is considered a progressive school following in the tradition of New York city's private schools. (MD)

States some of the problems caused by bureaucracy in urban schools such as institutional complexity and overload, goal displacement, deficiencies in communication and decisionmaking processes, and social and psychological distances between client and institution. (JF)

Describes a Syracuse, New York, school that removed bureaucratic restraints by emphasizing ends rather than means and by centering responsibility and authority within the school building. (JF)

Reports the results of a study conducted from 1977 to 1980 that observed 24 building principals in the Chicago public schools in order to compile a picture of the principal's workday. Suggests ways in which training programs for principals could be redirected. (Author/WD)

Profiles James Comer's success at directing the Yale Child Study Center and implementing the School Development Project in predominantly black, low-income school districts. Today, a training program called the Comer Project for Change in Education is operating in more than 600 schools in 82 districts and 26 states. Comer's proudest achievement is…

Discusses two areas (the socialization of new teachers and curriculum improvement) that might help urban teachers improve educational quality for urban students. Teachers new to urban schools need experienced professionals' help. The cultural deficit curriculum model must yield to a more challenging, meaningful approach. Includes 27 references.…

Presents five beliefs related to the small schools versus large schools debate: Differences matter more than similarities, a large building offers more opportunities, larger schools attract better teachers and administrators, small schools reflect provincial values, and what matters most is class size. Discusses two implications for advocates of…

A study of Chicago school reform revealed that principals of productive elementary schools skillfully use various strategies to promote parents' and teachers' work with children. These include resolving highly visible problems quickly, focusing on the instructional core, adopting strategic orientation, attacking incoherence, involving parents, and…