Reforming Schools will transform the study of school reform, development and improvement. It not only provides an overview of research findings, professional and political issues, and policy developments and their history; it also relates such thinking to practice, through a rich and multi-faceted case study of school reform. Particular emphasis is given to urban schooling, with a candid look at what can be learned not only from successful school reforms but also from failure. Throughout the book, readers are guided by questions, points for reflection and hypothetical exercises that facilitate interaction with case study material.

This book enables the reader to experience what it is like to be involved in the field as no other book on school reform does. This is the first true textbook in this area, written in an accessible style and supported by thought-provoking questions and useful exercises.
About the Author: Professor Kimberly Kinsler is an African-American, educated within the public school system of New York City. During the 1960s, she taught third grade in a public elementary school located in East Harlem. During the 1970s, while working on her PhD, Professor Kinsler became an educational evaluator for the City's Board of Education. She joined the faculty of Hunter College in the 1980s and soon became the co-ordinator of its field based teacher preparation program, developing close ties with public schools, administrators and teachers in District 4. She has worked to reform several schools in disadvantaged areas that were or are on New York State's list of poorly performing schools. Professor Kinsler has continued to conduct educational evaluations for a number of organizations, including the Mayor's Commission on Black New Yorkers and the Ford Foundation. Mae Gamble works at the City University of New York. Professor Mae Gamble is an Italian-American educated in the public school system of Ohio. Joining Hunter College in 1970, Professor Gamble was a major innovator in field based teacher preparation programs and initiated several innovative mentoring programs to assist new teachers. Upon retirement, Professor Gamble brought Levin's Accelerated Schools model to New York City and helped to create Hunter College's partnership with schools in District 4.