For more than three decades, community schools have aimed to improve education and neighborhood outcomes in low-income, urban communities of color. In this article, we position community schools as a place-based reform strategy that pushes back on top-down accountability systems. While most research on urban school reform focuses on improving…

Successful, or at least nonviolent, strategy for school desegregation depends upon the city's social and political structure. Mayors should plan school desegregation policy as part of a total approach to urban renewal. (Author/GC)

Examines local politics, economics, and other factors contributing to the results of the 1987 and 1992 tax elections in a Louisiana city-parish. Results suggest that proponents of educational agendas should couch propositions in terms of developmental policies, because all socioeconomic segments tend to support development. (SLD)

Traces the demographic, economic, social, and political contexts of educational reform in Chicago (Illinois) resulting from its initiative to transfer power to elected councils. Argues that several key problems remain in the areas of minority participation, educator sense of ownership, and conflicts between local councils and the central…