ABSTRACT
At the stroke of midnight, January 1, 2000, celebrations around the world marked the beginning of a new millennium. Despite quibbles about its timing, there was little disagreement about the moment’s significance. As television images reflected a sense of global consciousness in the festivities, feelings of amity and optimism ran high. Among the prominent themes was the importance of education. Distinguishing the educational accomplishments of children from different family backgrounds has been pointed to as a key consideration in social inequality since Coleman’s national survey of educational opportunity in the 1960s. The challenge is one of helping the schools to revisit that historic mission of redressing the social and economic divisions that have become so apparent. An abiding disenchantment with public education, evident in both the homeschool movement and the call for vouchers, seems to represent an inward turn on the part of many families and communities.
