The Chattanooga (Tennessee) public schools are building a national reputation for the work they are doing to improve the city's schools. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, which has promised substantial grants for the reform of urban middle school education in Chattanooga, asked the Southern Education Foundation, through its Focused Reporting Project, to follow the school district's efforts and to report on its progress toward its goals. The evaluating team spent considerable time in 3 of the district's 11 middle schools and reports on its findings in this collection of brief notes. The plan for middle school improvement in Chattanooga is complicated, but it takes into account the essentials of high content of challenging material; high expectations of student achievement; and high support from parents, teachers, and the community. Of particular note is a discussion of how race and social class influence reform, focusing on two existing and one planned magnet schools and their commitments to diversity. Middle schools are the forgotten schools in many cities, but in Chattanooga, the importance of good middle schools, especially for disadvantaged students, is recognized. One aspect of the reforms is the merger of county and city schools. While many residents are concerned about this change, others believe that it is an opportunity to build a world class school system, using the merger as a way to focus the community on what it really wants in the schools. The middle school reforms that have begun in the city, with their emphasis on high content standards, high expectation, and high support, have the potential to influence the merged system to work toward the same goals. As the middle school reform effort continues, a number of barriers are being identified in the schools and the central office. Professional development is essential in overcoming these barriers, and the leadership of principals is critical in encouraging professional development and a focus on student performance. New models of accountability and new ways of assessment are being developed to support the new approaches to education. One figure illustrates district achievement gains to date. (SLD)