Urban Little Schools (ULS) is a model that presents an alternative to failing urban schools. In these schools, each student's education is planned and guided in trusting teacher-student relationships where students take responsibility for their own learning. Secondary ULS students work alongside people in their community to learn to be self-reliant and versatile, and to work effectively with others to solve problems. An initial chapter traces the evolution of the ULS idea. This book then explores the practical promise and soundness of the ULS idea--why Urban Little Schools will help every child succeed with dignity. Hypothetical elementary and secondary ULS illustrate the author's experiences creating such schools. In the hypothetical secondary ULS, located in formerly unused rooms in an urban church building, young people are helped to plan so they can get the most from their work with community employers and from their traditional high school subjects in the self-directed learning center. Later chapters talk about the practical nuts and bolts of starting Urban Little Schools: how natural-listener teachers might be recruited and trained, how they could learn to individualize each child's learning, how quality pilot schools might be started within a host public school district, and how all of this could be facilitated by a strong backup organization in charge of strict evaluation. Supplemental articles discuss university and ULS partnerships, exit requirements, how every child can be helped to learn with independent skill and satisfaction, and how the ERIC database works. (Contains an index.) (TD)