WENDY S. HOPFENBERG is the associate director of the National Center for the Accelerated Schools Project at Stanford University. HENRY M. LEVIN is the David Jacks Professor of Higher Education and Economics at Stanford University. He is also director of the National Center for the Accelerated Schools Project.

• PrologueIntroduction: A Guide to the Guide1. Children in At-Risk Situations2. What Are Accelerated Schools?3. Getting Started4. The Inquiry Process5. Group Dynamics and Meeting Management6. Creating Powerful Learning Experiences7. The What of Powerful Learning: Developing MeaningfulCurricula8. The How of Powerful Learning: Instructional Innovations andRediscoveries9. The Context of Powerful Learning: Supportive OrganizationalElements10. Family and Community Involvement11. How Will I Know If My School Is Accelerating?AppAndix: The Inquiry Process: A Notekeeping Device

"Hopfenberg and Levin provide a powerful resource for creatingschools grounded in community, reflection, inquiry, and the beliefthat all children can be smart. Such schools can move away fromhierarchical, bureaucratic models in which only a few children are"winners" to become equitable and effective learning communitiesfor all. Here, at last, is a "how to" book on school reform thathelps educators confront the values, beliefs, and politics, as wellas the practices, that make changing schools so difficult."----Jeannie Oaks, professor of education, University ofCalifornia-Los Angeles "The Accelerated Schools Project gives us an opportunity to workhard, be successful, and to fight off the temptations ofmediocrity." ----Michael O'Kane, prinicpal, Burnett Academy, SanJose Unified School District "The accelerated schools philosophy takes our dreams and visions aseducators, parents, and students and turns them into reality."----Virginia Lynch, teacher, ARNONE Community Schools, Brockton,Massachusetts