Considers three levels of school change: renewal, making more effective what is already done; reform, altering existing procedures to adapt to new circumstances; and restructuring, changing fundamental assumptions, practices, and relationships to improve student learning and profoundly affect educational practices. Summarizes alternative…

Assesses the Schools Reaching Out programs at two elementary schools in Roxbury (MA) and New York City. Emphasis has been on input goals, not on outcomes, so that little progress in academic achievement has actually been made. Input goals, however, have been met. (DM)

Reviews four lessons for parents and teachers using research to advocate for change: (1) research that changes schools does not belong to academics alone; (2) action research can raise important new issues; (3) advocacy supported by research is empowering; and (4) action research requires persistent activity over time. (SLD)

Summarizes major differences between, and compatibility of, site-based management (SBM) and choice as strategies for restructuring schools. Examines the following areas of comparison: focus; impact timing; nature of impacts; teacher empowerment; empowerment basis; roles assigned parents; professionalization strategy; accountability; change…

A school superintendent describes the restructuring in his Springfield (Massachusetts) school district. The effort to desegregate from the perspectives of race, color, ethnic background, and gender has involved organizational, pedagogical, social, attitudinal, and political transformation. Emphasis is given to the district's choice system. (SLD)

Notes major developments in a more comprehensive approach to school policy reform: increased parental involvement, school and human service collaboration, and supporting families in ways that encourage learning. Addresses concerns and questions regarding these developments and gives examples of recent state and federal policy legislation. (CJS)

Describes the Institute for Responsive Education's Schools Reaching Out project, which attempts to increase student achievement by fostering improved relationships among families, schools, and other community agencies and institutions. These partnerships are seen as crucial in restructuring schools through parent involvement, teacher empowerment,…

To bring achievement scores up to the national average, it will be necessary to restructure urban schools. Describes the School Development Model and the Accelerated Schools Model. Helping each child to succeed, forming school and family partnerships, participant training, and principals' and administrators' support are all part of successful…

New educational technology supports a new vision of learning and teaching at Silver Ridge Elementary School in Silverdale (Washington), part of the Strategy 2020 design of the Central Kitsap School District. Technological and pedagogical innovation features extensive use of computers, flexible building arrangements, and special education in…

School finance is the focus of battles for equity in funding. Issues in equitable finance that focus on the impact on Latinos are discussed. Some reform strategies are considered. As long as funding inequities can be related to achievement gaps, per-pupil expenditures will remain an important focus of discussion. (SLD)

Describes "essential" classrooms, where students concentrate on essential subjects and learn to think for themselves, at Fairdale High School in Louisville (Kentucky). The accompanying interview with T. R. Sizer outlines this new direction in education. The most credible agent for change is a comparable school already involved. (SLD)

Explores the role of experience in educational change in a roundtable discussion with S. Nicolau, D. Davies, and D. Moore. A common thread is the vision of the school as a center of community life and a community of learners that includes students, parents, and teachers. (SLD)

Presents the views of a concerned citizen on reshaping U.S. schools in a peaceful, grass-roots revolution. Emphasis is on the neighborhood school, with parent participation, and a system that keeps students with the same teacher for multiple years. The human and technological resources that the approach requires are discussed. (SLD)

After previous reform attempts failed, the radical restructuring of the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools in 1988 has brought empowered principals, councils for shared power, and increased minority involvement in school governance. However, many participants cite various problems. Never the less, the reform effort has brought the Chicago community…

Parents are being invited to step in to help improve public education, but they enter with neither resources nor power. Real parental involvement requires commitment to organizing parents and restructuring schools, as well as inventing rich versions of diverse educational democracies of difference. Schools must function like meaningful…