This paper reports on a study of a desegregated Individually Guided Education (IGE) middle school which drew volunteers from throughout a large, midwestern city. Findings are based on participant observation and interviews by the author. The author concludes that the school failed to incorporate all the features of IGE, which calls for alterations in staffing so that staffs are more differentiated and more collegial than in traditional schools, the specification of learning objectives, and the grouping of students according to work needed on skill development rather than more traditional grouping practices. The author found that the IGE model helped the school succeed in minimizing disorder, creating positive relationships between students and teachers, fostering non-hostile and often friendly interracial relationships, and improving test scores. Other characteristics of the school were found to foster positive relationships including extracurricular activities, the "fresh and sweet" quality of the student body, the varied class background of students, and the muting of competition among students. (Author/MK)