Reviews the policymaking activities of the Boston School Committee between 1974-99, a time during which the Committee was focused on issues related to school desegregation. Concludes with a brief analysis of some policymaking activity related to school desegregation by the appointed school committee, a recent phenomenon in Boston. (SM)

One of the designers of the "Controlled Choice" student-assignment plan of the Boston (Massachusetts) public schools presents his evaluation of options suggested to replace the plan. The three options under consideration do not accomplish the main goal of any student-assignment plan, that is, to improve education. (SLD)

Analyzes the lessons learned in urban education planning and governance that came out of Boston's three consecutive desegregation plans. Discusses how the community has profited from these plans as well as the implications the plans have for educational governance in Boston's public school system. (GR)

Uses Boston's (Massachusetts) Controlled Choice plan to explain how multiracial, attractive city schools of achievement are possible when sufficient attention is given to both instrumental and affective goals in education. Characteristics of the learning environment, and the overall impact on reading scores are explored along with the effects race…

Because problems are studied more often than possibilities, educators tend to report bad news. Some studies that bring good news for education are reviewed in a call for more balanced reporting and the assertion that trust and confidence are the basics in effective education. (SLD)