Neighborhood-based independent schools are more satisfactory than idealistic attempts to achieve an equitable education for minority and disadvantaged children within public institutions. Instead of assimilation, there is acute alienation from schooling for a large proportion of minority students in poor urban neighborhoods as majority-culture communities relocate themselves, taking with them their considerable educational resources. Independent schools operated by and for minorities allow parents to exercise greater control over the educational fate of their children. These schools serve mainly as "feeder" schools for public and traditional private schools and should be supported because of their expertise in creating achieving environments for the education of minorities. (RDN)