The authors set out to organize a small convening of educator-researcher teams from across seven districts engaged in My Brother's Keeper (MBK) efforts. Their goals were to gather a small enough number of participants to ensure deep conversation in a convening long enough to foster authentic connections among us, and to include mechanisms to…

Examination of data from 30 large urban school districts and site visits to several of these cities reveal many successful programs and a deepening concern for needs not well-served by traditional schooling. Some of these needs and programs are presented. (Author/IRT)

Describes Project P.S. 137, implemented in a New York City public school. Affiliated with the University of Oregon's Direct Instruction Model, the project involved kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade classes. Students in the program consistently surpassed mean performance levels of comparable disadvantaged inner-city students on…

The East Oak Cliff Subdistrict in Dallas has sought to improve its educational program through a commitment to making the pluralistic setting of the urban school an asset. The major goals of the district are to create a school and community climate which affirms education and multicultural experiences; to implement a more effective delivery system…

The New Haven Initiative for Excellence in Education is a private sector endeavor to support public schools in New Haven (Connecticut). The Initiative's premiere program is the Grants for Excellence program. Grants of up to $500 are available to teachers, administrators, and parents to fund special innovative teaching projects not normally funded…

Discusses how the Lowell School District (MA) formed a partnership with a university and microcomputer manufacturer to select equipment, created a committee of administrators, teachers, and parents to oversee and implement the plan, and how the implementation efforts will be evaluated. (JN)

The Bronx Education Endowment Fund (BEEF), established in 1985, provides mini-grants of up to $100 to fund simple projects aimed at educational improvement. During the first two years of the program, 18 mini-grants were awarded to 16 teachers, one student, and one parent organization. A large number of both regular and special education students,…

This paper addresses problems in research on urban education and outlines several National Institute of Education (NIE) proposals for dealing with these problems. It is argued that research should not stray too far from the basic educational goals of inculcating literacy, that educational research must become more diverse and sophisticated in its…

Describes New York City initiatives for parent participation in education, including the Parent Involvement Program (PIP), the Parent Orientation Program (POP), and the Parent Leadership Assistance Network (PLAN). These programs incorporate commitment to the family, broadened definitions of parent involvement, varied involvement strategies, and…

Reviews the history of the ten year involvement of the Economic Development Council (composed of approximately three hundred corporations) with the New York City educational system. Discusses the involvement in two phases: the partnership phase which included a feasibility study and the renewal phase which employed organizational development.…

Since 1986, the Centro de Multiservicios Educativos (multiservice educational center) in urban La Paz (Bolivia) has increased educational opportunities of low-income students attending public schools. The center offers a variety of services including vocational programs, legal assistance, health programs, counseling programs, science labs, and…

This feasibility study sought (a) to determine how the University of Chicago, The Woodlawn Organization, and the Chicago Public Schools could collaborate to improve inner-city public education, and (b) to develop an operational plan for such collaboration. Necessary collaborative dialogue was developed and maintained through the creation and…

The series "Self-instructional Notes on Social Participation" is a six volume series intended as teaching aids for adult educators. The theoretical, methodological, informative and practical elements of this series will assist professionals in their work and help them achieve greater success. The specific purpose of each notebook is…

New Jersey's Public School Education Act of 1975 requires local school districts to provide students with "thorough and efficient" educational opportunity. This report describes State initiatives carried out as of April 1986 to help urban districts comply with the act's mandate in the face of the particularly complex and concentrated…

This report describes New Jersey's continuing efforts to help urban school districts comply with the state's Public School Education Act of 1975 in view of the particularly complex problems which the urban districts face in complying with the act's mandate requiring all districts to provide their students with a "thorough and efficient"…