Parent participation in the education of their disadvantaged children at Buffalo (New York) Public School 37 resulted in the development of an effective reading program. Desired competencies were delineated; carefully paced and sequenced teaching plans were prepared; and criterion referenced tests were used to measure the levels of mastery of each student. Between the 1975-76 and 1977-78 school years the number of kindergarten through grade 6 students reading at grade level increased by 53 percent. At the end of the 1979-80 school year--the second year in which the program was completely operational--more than 60 percent of the students read at or above their prescribed grade level. In the fall of 1980, the school was converted to a magnet school, and School 37 became known as Futures Academy. In 1983, 82 percent of third-grade students and 85 percent of sixth-grade students were reading at or above state reference points. In addition to mastery learning, particular components which made the program work included the quality of the teaching staff, close and positive parent-school relationships, and an effective learning-oriented student management system which relieved teachers of record-keeping and parent report responsibilities. In sum, Public School 37 evinced the primary requisites for effective schools that are attended by children usually written off as failures. (RH)