This conference involved approximately 180 educators and researchers in a dialogue about educational reform and at-risk students. Ten invited presentations organized into general sessions on cultural differences and ongoing reform initiatives provided impetus for discussion. These proceedings are not transcripts of papers, but they do convey the content of the presentations and the discussions that ensued. Participants generally agreed that students are not naturally at-risk, but that risk develops from the interaction of student characteristics and characteristics of the school environment. The conference was divided into three sessions: (1) areas of building on and integrating cultural diversity; (2) encouraging school effectiveness and student persistence; and (3) barriers and incentives to implementing reforms. Summaries of papers on the following topics are included: cultural dissonance; historical experiences of Native Americans; differences and commonalities in the experiences of Hispanic/Latino youth; differences across ethnic groups in the way children learn; the other at-risk youth--the situation in rural America; reform in New York City; changing school environments to create advocates and mentors for students; barriers and incentives to implementing reforms (keynote); the Chicago School Reform Act; and the Philadelphia Schools Collaborative. Group discussions on setting the stage for reform and remedies and reforms are also summarized. (SLD)