ABSTRACT
Public school systems across the nation are under intense pressure to substantially improve the educational performance of their low-achieving students. In an effort to address the myriad of problems that confront black students in the Memphis city school system, the Inner-City Schools Improvement Project was initiated in the fall of 1987. This project combines the elements of the Effective Schools Movement with the strategies of a holistic community-based intervention/prevention approach. Increased academic standards, as well as the requirements for promotion and retention necessitate that marginal or "at-risk" students receive additional instructional assistance. The New Parents as Teachers Project is designed to share child development and educational information with parents of children under three years of age. Students in the target schools who are experiencing considerable academic difficulty in core curriculum courses will be eligible to participate in the After School Tutorial Program. The major premise that undergirds these efforts is that black children can and must be expected to learn.
