Describes the goals and methods of the School Development Program, a model for improving academic achievement in the elementary grades, which has been implemented in a Michigan school district as part of a court-ordered desegregation plan. Emphasizes the importance of parent participation. (RDN)

The Valley School, Flint (Michigan), an ethnically and economically diverse private school, involves parents and the community to a remarkable degree, in establishing policies and in hands-on practice in the classroom. The principal's leadership is a major factor in sustaining the involvement planned for since the school's founding. (SLD)