CAN THE ODDS BE CHANGED

There are plenty of examples of small, self-governing schools of choic e that successfully serve high-risk students in both the public and th e private secret: If we pose the problem differently their examples ca n offer systemic solutions. To do so we need to rethink how public ins titutions are held accountable. We need, for example to rely on instru ments of accountability that are consistent with our ends: increasing the intelligent and responsible behavior of the people closest to (and including) the learners. In New York City, an experiment in developin g such a systemic alternative is currently under way with support from the Annenberg Foundation. Unless we find a way to match what we know works on a small scale with what we do on a large scale, we are likely to end up concluding that public education itself is the culprit.