It Takes a City

Getting Serious about Urban School Reform

Paul T. Hill, Christine Campbell, James Harvey

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Year: 2001
• eBook ISBN: 9780815723554
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Educational Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Mayoral takeovers of big city public education systems are desperation measures. After decades of decline in school quality, something must be done to make sure city children learn enough to function as adults in American society. But how can city leaders make a real difference?
This book, a sequel to Fixing Urban Schools (Brookings, 1998), is a practical guide for mayors, civic leaders, school board members, and involved citizens. Based on case studies of city reform initiatives in Boston, Memphis, New York City District #2, San Antonio, San Francisco, and Seattle, the book provides practical guidance on how to formulate a plan bold enough to work and how to deal with political opposition to change. It concludes that mayors and private sector leaders must stay engaged in education reform by creating new public-private institutions to support high quality schools.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 The Realities of Urban School Reform
• 2 Lessons from Six Cities
• 3 Beneath the Surface: Theories of Action
• 4 From Wishful Thinking to the Realities of Reform
• 5 Holding a Strategy in Place
• 6 Local Politics of Reform
• 7 Getting Started
• Appendix: Case Studies of Six Cities
• Notes
• Index