Within School Walls

In the last quarter of the twentieth century an America which envisioned itself as the quintessential leader of the world was forced to recognize that the scholastic performance of American students was anything but laudable. Quick to identify public education as the culprit there followed a mass outcry for school reform. Rochester, N.Y. responded with a ground-breaking teachers contract which included a 40% raise over four years and unprecedented opportunities for instructional decision-making. In the ensuing years while attempts to create break the mold schools here and elsewhere floundered, James P.B. Duffy No. 12 in Rochester not only flourished but became a National Blue Ribbon school. Its principal reflects upon the practices and people which brought it to national attention. Told with the intimacy of a fireside chat, this is Barbara Wagers story.