A conscious strategy for educational reform has guided the 1990 efforts of the Boston/Chelsea (Massachusetts) Urban Team. Elements of the strategy include the following: (1) acknowledging that the individual school, not the state or federal program, is the fundamental unit of education; (2) breaking down the compartmentalization of bilingual, special, remedial, and vocational education; (3) using parent choice of schools as an agent for school reform; (4) raising and meeting expectations for poor children; and (5) modeling behavior in the Massachusetts State Department of Education (MSDE) that should be copied in the schools. The nine objectives established for the Boston schools are reviewed, and progress toward each is discussed. Problems with student assignment to schools have been among the roadblocks to reform in Boston. On the plus side, 18 elementary schools and middle schools designated "Schools that Are Restructuring" (STAR) have benefitted from funding and extensive technical assistance. In Chelsea, reform efforts followed and made progress toward eight specific objectives. Nine new objectives are proposed for both cities, and implications for the MSDE are discussed. The integration of bilingual education into the rest of the school program provides a good example of the cooperative and problem-solving model the Boston/Chelsea team advocates. Appendices comprise the following: (1) recommendations on modifications to the student assignment plan in Boston; and (2) materials for the STAR program. The paper includes four references. (SLD)