monstrates that school success is attainable regardless of a child's social status.
Educators at North Carolina's Teachers Memorial in Kinston have likewise demonstrated that student performance is based, not on social status, but on the intensity of intervention by teachers and parents alike. Kinston is a rural, low income community. Students in the school come from families where 50 percent of the parents are unemployed and 70 percent of the households are headed by single parents (Merina, 1995, p. 11). About ten years ago, Teacher's Memorial decided to restructure and transform itself into a true community school. This effort was facilitated by the state's Consortium for the Advancement of Public Education, a North Carolina project dedicated to school restructuring.
The staff of Teacher's Memorial formed five major committees to handle personnel, finance, scheduling, curriculum, and planning. Everyone on the school staff was encouraged to take part. As a result of the reorganization, the entire staff, not just the administration, is in charge of the
...