ABSTRACT
My implementation of a tutoring intervention in the Dallas schools would never have occurred had it not been for the school reform movement and my involvement in it. The background is as follows. In i989, the Dallas superintendent appointed an "educational excellence" commission of citizens, which held public hearings on school reform. After writing their report, rather than simply going out of business, a number of these individuals ran for the school board on a promise to implement the report. Three of them were elected (the board totals seven people), and their leader eventually became head of the school board. School reform became a central issue, and the new board, in conjunction with a new superintendent, promoted from within as a supporter of the board, undertook three important actions.
