The design, implementation, and eventual failure of a system-wide, long-term comprehensive reform of the Washington, D.C. elementary and junior high schools to improve academic achievement among black students is explored in depth. The struggle for control over policy making and the opposition of teachers' unions and community groups were key…

New theories and paradigms are needed for today's schools to address the changes in society that affect education. They must acknowledge the history of schooling, and they must be informed by ethnographic research on teacher-student relationships. Social science knowledge must be used to create more humanized schools. (VM)

Analyzes Girls' High School, one of the two original secondary schools in the Atlanta public system, in order show that, contrary to the claims of nineteenth century educational boosters, social class and race were important factors which determined how far a scholar advanced up the educational stairway. (Author/JM)

Questions the effectiveness of decentralization of New York City school administration in delivering quality education because of local community boards' susceptibility to political pressure and patronage. (SF)

Outlines the core leadership domains adopted by the Baltimore (Maryland) City Schools, reviews mechanisms used to deliver quality professional development to school leaders, and discusses the accountability challenges facing participants in the Academy for Educational Leadership, an innovative school-business partnership designed to enhance…

Discusses research on possible resegregation effects that busing has had on the Norfolk (Virginia) schools due to "White flight" since desegregation began. Studies of enrollment from 1981 to 1988 show that ending busing after a court decision in 1986 has increased resegregation in Norfolk. (JS)

Investigated whether Chicago public school students were disadvantaged relative to students in other Illinois schools after accounting for background factors. Data on test scores, dropout rates, and school, community, and family characteristics indicated that Chicago's grade schools performed comparably to other schools, but Chicago's high schools…

Describes the intervention strategies adopted in the Liverpool Priority Project and presents a case for closer relationships between education with the social, economic, and political institutions of the neighborhood in which the community school could form the integrating hub. (Author/JM)

Reports on a study that investigated the causes for student truancy and responses to the problem by two urban California secondary schools. Holds that attendance problems are much influenced by organizational structures and that school administrators are inadequately prepared to shape effective attendance policy. (GC)

Describes a study conducted (1) to develop effective strategies whereby inner city schools obtain instructional support from a large proportion of parents, and (2) to examine the effectiveness of developed alternatives designed to maintain parents' continuing participation. (Author)

Appraises the assumptions underlying much of the work in urban education by reviewing the deficit system'' model, the cultural pluralism'' model and the radical vanguard'' model; and by proposing an alternate competencies'' model drawing on ethnomethodology for theoretical justification. (Author/JM)

A critique of the reification of child-centred education arguing that this ideology is found in its purest form in the colleges of education which are ill-equipped ideologically and organizationally for the preparation of teachers for inner-city schools. (Author/JM)

Discusses the activities of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, purportedly one of the most powerful black men in America. His recent emphasis has been on advocating the stability of the black family, the morality of children, and success in the educational system. (Author/JM)

Describes the Lowell Leadership Academy, a 12-year-old partnership between the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and the Lowell (Massachusetts) public schools. Through the Academy, the university organizes professional development for the school district's administrators. The Academy's role as a resource for other urban districts is explored.…