Voter approval of two elementary schools that would replace four existing structures in four inner-city communities in the Des Moines school system was the impetus of an intensive effort at involving inner city residents in the planning and decision-making regarding the design of the new educational program and facilities. The charrette technique was selected to plan the schools. In a charrette, solutions to problems are developed by planning intensively in a compressed period of time while working against deadlines to resolve differences. This report describes what a charrette is and how the Des Moines charrette was structured. An attempt is made to describe the events, and their human dimension, that occurred during the ten-day period. The goals and proposals that were developed in charrette and that represent the "products" of charrette participants are listed. Another "product" of charrette, the reaction of participants, is found in a report of their evaluation of their charrette experiences. Finally, factual information regarding financing and participants is provided. (Author/MLF)