Hope and despair in the American city : why there are no bad schools in Raleigh /

Building on a study he published in 1988, Grant (Syracuse Univ.) compares the conditions in Syracuse, New York, with those in Raleigh, North Carolina. During the 1960s, a middle-class school in Syracuse underwent a rapid decline during a period of racial desegregation. Although the school improved in the 1980s, the changes were temporary as businesses moved from the city, segregation increased, and families left the neighborhood in the 1990s. In Raleigh, the city schools merged voluntarily with the suburban schools in 1976. In addition to increasing racial integration, officials took advantage of a consortium for scientific research to attract pharmaceutical companies and improve economic conditions. In the final section, Grant evaluates the 1974 US Supreme Court decision to restrict racial integration among urban and suburban districts. He contends that this decision had tragic consequences because racial segregation accompanies urban decline and educational failure. Readers interested in comparisons of racial integration in northern and southern cities should consult Michael James's Conspiracy of the Good (CH, Jan'06, 43-2984) or Mary Ehrlander's Equal Educational Opportunity: Brown's Elusive Mandate (2002). Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals. J. Watras University of Dayton

Grant (The World We Created at Hamilton High) persuasively argues that "economically and racially balanced schools are the key to revitalizing declining cities." He compares the problem-ridden public school system of his native Syracuse, N.Y., with the superior schools in Raleigh, N.C., arguing that the disparity exists because the Syracuse school district has remained confined to the core city, while Raleigh merged city and suburbs in 1976, creating the Wake County district. Students are assigned to schools to ensure "a healthy mix of children by race and socioeconomic class." Although some parents object to the busing, the majority are reportedly convinced that the results are worth the inconvenience. Whereas nearly half of Syracuse's ninth graders fail to graduate from high school, Wake County students produce high levels of success. Although Raleigh is the prime example here, other Southern schools are similar success stories-a paradoxical twist, as parts of the South, long fiercely resistant to integration, can show the way for struggling Northern cities. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in urban planning, race relations and education reform. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved