Abstract

North Carolina Kills Its Dream

A year ago, the North Carolina Advancement School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina bustled with activity as talented young educators worked with eager eighth-grade public school students from all sections of North Carolina in an effort to find new ways of motivating "underachievers." More important, the innovations used by the school's instructors appeared to work. Youngsters who seemed destined to become dropouts got "turned on" and became excited about their studies. But despite the countrywide excitement it created, despite its apparent successes, the future of the Advancement School is shaky. The story of the Advancement School's decline is one of political intrigue. It could also be a harbinger of what lies ahead for the other educational innovations that abound in the country.