An Imperiled Generation: Saving Urban SchoolsWithout good schools, none of America's hopes can be fulfilled. Since 1983, school reform has been at the top of the national agenda; however, there is a disturbing gap between rhetoric and results. After travelling to some of the nation's largest cities and interviewing administrators and teachers, Carnegie Foundation representatives determined the following priorities for improving urban schools: (1) affirm that every student can succeed; (2) build an effective governance arrangement for urban schools that ends excessively centralized, bureaucratic control; (3) introduce at every school a comprehensive system of renewal that emphasizes preschool and early education, breaks schools into smaller units, defines curricular goals, ensures flexible scheduling, and improves facilities; and (4) create a network of support beyond the school that empowers parents, and involves community, business and government participation. A new National Urban Schools Program is proposed which would: (1) incrementally increase funding of Head Start so that all eligible children are served by the year 2000; (2) increase the appropriation for federal child nutrition programs; (3) each year increase the funding for Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act by 5 percent; (4) add to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act a provision enabling poor parents to place their children in afternoon and summer enrichment programs; (5) make summer fellowships available for teachers; (6) make available to school districts low interest loans to improve school facilities; (7) encourage schools to introduce new curriculum or scheduling arrangements; and (8) encourage cooperation between schools and postsecondary institutions. Data are presented in six tables. (BJV) |
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academic achievement adults Advanced Placement Advancement of Teaching Angeles attendance Basic School Bret Harte buildings Carnegie Foundation Chicago child city schools classroom Cleveland coordinated services counselors courses curriculum dropout rates effective learning English enrich enrollment evaluation team facilities failing federal flexibility funds goal grade graduate high school students higher education Hispanic Houston inner city institutions intervention junior high school leadership Locke High School Los Angeles Louis Armstrong Magnet schools McDonnell-Douglas mentors Monsanto National Survey National Urban Schools nutrition Orleans parents participate Percent of Teachers President University Principals and teachers priority problem procedures profes propose public schools Queens College reading renewal report card responsibility scheduling arrangements school districts School Teachers schools we visited social success Survey of School tion urban education urban high school Urban Schools Program urban students urban teachers vocational York City young