Both community education and social work from a settlement house perspective focus on empowerment, problem solving, and increasing participation in lifelong learning. Both fields debate narrow versus broader methods. Collaborative university-community approaches show how their combined philosophies and practices offer reform possibilities. (SK)

Holt presents counterevidence about what U.S. high schools do successfully and suggest where reforms should really be implemented. Morris reviews recent reform efforts, concluding that meaningful reform should address real-life issues, be integrated, and address development of the inner self. (SK)

The Coalition of Essential Schools focuses on responsible inclusion and uses a variety of nontraditional methods: flexible scheduling, heterogenous grouping, the philosophy of student-as-worker, integrated curriculum, coaching, self-directed learning, alternative assessments, and interdisciplinary planning. (SK)

It is not that schools are not what they used to be; too many are, while everything else has changed. For public high schools to achieve their new mission, a carefully designed plan for transforming the existing system must address issues of content, rigor, access, and evidence. (SK)

Outlines critical elements of restructuring: three focal properties (curriculum standards, performance assessment, interdisciplinary teaching) and four facilitating properties (block schedules, technology, self-directed teacher teams, and parental involvement). (SK)

Traditional education is irrelevant to current human experience. Displaying reality in disjointed pieces, it denies the essential oneness of things. Students must learn that everything is interconnected, and school reform should start with the reorganization of knowledge. (SK)

Teacher development should focus on student learning, recognize that change affects teachers personally, change the organizational culture, use a systems approach, make learning processes for teachers model the type of instruction desired, and provide time for collaboration. (SK)

A teacher describes her attempts at creative teaching and shows how mandated programs can hinder teachers' attempts to be innovative. (SK)

Ralston (Nebraska) High School's restructuring was helped by participation in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's consortium. Ralston faculty led the change process, holding students to higher standards, altering curriculum beyond arbitrary subject limitations, changing the school year, and increasing staff expertise with…

Describes the experiences of Romani children with schooling in the United States, including their educational beliefs, misconceptions about them, and their parents' concerns about cultural transmission. Ways for schools to respond are exemplified by the Seattle school district. (SK)

Reviews the problems of homeless children in getting education and the solutions attempted in the Orange County (Florida) school district, which collaborates with social service agencies, has an advocate in each school, and involves preservice teachers in educating homeless children. (SK)

This account by a student teacher of her alternative field experience teaching homeless children highlights racial issues, the dependence cycle, and classroom management. (SK)

The shortage of African American teachers may reflect negative schooling experiences that discourage teaching careers. Parental involvement, career awareness, and role models are needed to increase the numbers of African Americans in the teaching profession. (SK)

Neglected children need teachers who are not judgmental, moralistic, or easily shocked; who listen, understand, and recognize their own fears and prejudices; and who enjoy interacting with children and define their work as eliciting effort and growth. (SK)

Studies of children ages 3-14 show that they are aware of status differences and causes of deprivation. With age, children, like adults, legitimize economic inequality with individual or psychological reasons. Educational intervention is critical to combat socially divisive trends. (SK)