The status of black children in the schools, techniques developed to eliminate obstacles while facilitating growth, and implications for training at the university level are explored through examination of a case study. The "School Aid Program," a program designed to deliver services to black youths, is described in detail, from its inception. Discussed are: (1) the role of black graduate and undergraduate students as counselors to youths referred to the program; (2) the relationship and attitudes of the schools to the program; and (3) the ways in which the schools functioned to maintain destructive growth in black children. The implications of such a program, the theory behind system interventions, and the problems of training and implementation are also explored. (MC)