System-wide school decentralization is now implemented both in New York City and in Detroit. It is important, therefore, to inquire into alternative explanations of the origins of the school decentralization movement with a view to constructing models of school organizational behavior and change which may have utility either to other school…

Contains a comment rebutting earlier articles (see EA 503 995 and EA 503 731) concerned with the controversy over the ways and means to achieve equal educational opportunity. A reply by the original author is included. (Author/DN)

Defines the concept of comprehensive high school, reviews the inadequac

Some problems have been encountered in large school districts where decentralization has taken the form of community control. The idea of community schools, whereby the schools serve as key institutions in providing services and resources for all its residents, is discussed. (CJ)

The Chicago Public Schools have experienced major reforms since the late 1980s. This has resulted in increased power to local school communities and the creation of local school councils (LSCs) that employ its principals. This paper presents findings of a study that examined principals' perceptions of their changing roles under Chicago's school…

Asserts that community control is not an all-or-nothing situation, but that centralization can co-exist with decentralization. Argues for states to have the responsibility for insuring desegregation and equitable funding and for communities to have control of personnel, curriculum and budget priorities. (Author/AM)

In 1969, the New York City school decentralization law divided the city school system into 31 (later 32) community school districts, each under the auspices of a locally elected board. The findings and recommendations of a large-scale evaluation of the governance of New York City schools in the post-decentralization era are presented in this…

A description and assessment, by the first principal of a newly formed community school in New York City, of the struggle to implement structural, administrative, and programmatic innovations with a special focus on the parent school relationship. (EH)

"Politics" is used in a broad sense to refer to the social, economic, political, and civil forces that impinge on the publicly financed school system. These forces are generated both from outside and inside the educational system. It is the author's view that the big cities and the school systems of most of these cities are in just enough trouble…

The authors identified those Community School Districts in New York City that have a minority population of at least 60 percent and also contain a non-Hispanic white residential enclave. By studying the election results for these school districts, the authors tested the hypothesis that non-Hispanic white middle-class voters had a disproportionate…

This annotated bibliography was compiled as a library research project at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Part I of the listing deals with decentralization as a structural feature of the local political system. Part II examines the process of local citizen participation. Parts III and IV focus on community control in the decentralization…

This study sought to provide an empirical base for a theoretical and public policy analysis of the decentralization movement in urban education. This research includes an analysis of a large number of cities for which comparative demographic and political data could be found or developed as well as a manageable number of case studies.…

Suggestions for developing procedures prior to the implementation of local school control plans were discussed. (Author/RK)

The past 50 years have witnessed a vast transformation of public education from tens of thousands of relatively independent, "grass roots," citizen-controlled school districts to centrally controlled, massive bureaucracies. Ten recommendations are made which would bring public education back under the control of ordinary citizens. (RM)