become a visible spiritualsymbol. Positions on both sideswould be hardened and ghettoleaders and community people willbe even more impressed with theimpossibility of achieving changewithin the present structure. Solutions and strategies will becomemore radical and confrontationswill increase. In the end, however,our guess is that there will be manymore Ocean Hill-Brownsvilles totake its plac

The expansion of programs for paraprofessionals shouldalso contribute to an expansion ofcommunity participation

also rather good educational reasonsfor not turning back. The signs ofprogress, limited though they be,offer proof of a larger potential forgrowth and development. The acknowledged failure of the cityschool system has created a constituency for reform and institutional change. And self-determination is integral to the philosophyof this constituency. This is not tosuggest that those with interests inthe standard educational processwill not continue to oppose andconstrain any movement in thisdirection, but rather that changein this direction appears inevitable.There will be continued efforts torestrain the Ocean Hill-Brownsvilledistrict, to limit its power and restrict innovation. The district willin turn strain for expansion of responsibilities needed to continueits search for quality education

raught with awesomeproblems. This experiment hasmade an extremely important beginning. It has been of benefit to othercities. And there is no turning backfrom the experiment. That is perhaps the largest measure of its success. Its preservation during the recent strike in the face of city-wideschool closings indicates the recognition in some quarters of its significance. Brownsville has becomean important symbol of an alternative to urban school reform; as such,it has become a rallying point formiddle- and lower-class blacks. Inghetto areas throughout the countrycommunity people have identifiedtheir own struggle with that ofOcean Hill-Brownsville; we can anticipate movements in other areaswhich will emulate it.

t would be foolish to suggest that- the evidence on Ocean HillBrownsville is conclusive. Therehave been developmental problems.

Somegroups have referred to their youthas "militants" who have access tothe schools, ignoring the purposethey serve and also the governingboard's desire to make them an integral part of the experiment, whichgives them a stake in the community.

A special community training program administered by the governing board calls upon young adultsin the community to work withdropouts and truants and bring

Attendance at meetings in theschools has increased considerably.Parent willingness to come andcomplain or inquire about programsand teachers is also increasing. Tosome observers this may not appearto be a sound basis for judging participation, but it is a first importantstep for ghetto parents who havebeen generally reluctant to approach school officials.

It should be remembered, however, that the initialmood in the district is probably toseek stability and to develop afoundation from which to build. Itshould be remembered that thesubunit has inherited a negativelearning situation. Thus the startingpoint is not zero but minus

Cooperative teaching and joinedclasses are common and the use ofparaprofessionals is quite extensiveand imaginative. There is continuous attention to the need to trainparaprofessionals to fill useful rolesin the schools. In each new programconsideration is given to an imaginative community and paraprofessional input

The diversity, competence, sensibility, and style of these professionals has added much to theeducational policy of the district.For example, the appointment ofthe first Chinese and Puerto Ricanprincipals in the city (if not thecountry) should not be underestimated. Luis Fuentes was the sourceof major educational innovationincluding the much-heralded bilingual program. His recruitment of aSpanish-speaking staff and his rapport with parents and communityhave been of considerable importance to the distric

Some have challenged the electionitself as an indication of nonparticipation. Actually, the election wasone of the first fulfillments of thegoal of community involvement.Without the registration lists ofeligible voters (which were deniedto the planning group by the Boardof Education), the group canvassedthe area and produced a largerturnout of voters than one gets inany local election in the district.Between 25 and 30 percent of thoseeligible voted. It is said that in arecent local election for assemblyman only 400 voters took part,whereas over 1,000 parents votedin the school board election.

hedistrict was created in the summerof 1967 after a full winter of crisisnegotiation related to the Intermediate School 201 controversy inEast Harlem. The Board of Education was desperately seeking ananswer to demands for increasedcommunity participation in schoolaffairs. Ghetto parents were demanding responses to their questions regarding the continued failure of the present system to educatetheir children. What emerged wasclear: Desegregation and compensatory education were not workingand new options in educational reform were necessary. Direct community participation was to be theessential ingredient?not a startlingconclusion for a political systemwhich espoused that doctrine asprimary to its heritage. This impliedthat participation was essential tolearning and growth of children inthe schools and to adults in thecommunity.

The two goals arein mariy respects inseparable. Anyevaluation must take into accountthe underlying assumption in thecreation of the district: that community involvement in the development of educational policy isnot only a politically worthwhilegoal but will produce a new effectiveness in educational achievement.

Through the experimentaldistrict they saw an opportunityfor developing an important revitalizing option to the conventionalsystem

Some, for example, think that theonly thing being tested is the concept of parent participation, andthat all else should remain static.How, then, do you test even thatsingle variable?