This collection of papers addresses three important aspects of professional practice schools: student learning, teacher development, and implementation issues related to collaboration among institutions and state policy environment. The first paper, "The Child as Meaning Maker: The Organizing Theme of Professional Practice Schools" (Ellen M. Pechman), focuses on the implications for classrooms and schools in what is known about how children learn and develop socially and emotionally. The new roles teachers play as mediators of student learning are discussed. The second paper, "Teacher Development in Professional Practice Schools" (Ann Lieberman and Lynne Miller), builds on a concept of professional practice, maintaining that teachers themselves are an important source of knowledge about teaching and equating the renewal of teaching with the renewal of schools. A framework is offered for developing a school culture that supports continuous inquiry and the improvement of teaching. The third paper, "Professional Practice Schools in Context: New Mixtures of Institutional Authority" (Barbara Neufeld), lays out a number of areas of critical importance in implementing professional practice schools, such as issues surrounding collaboration among institutions, definitions of teaching and learning, and the policy context in which design and implementation will take place. The final paper, "Afterword: A Look at Professional Practice Schools with an Eye toward School Reform" (Marsha Levine), discusses the relationship of these schools to the broader school restructuring agenda. (JD)