The Nation - News from July 5, 1988

Delegates to the National Education Assn. annual convention in New Orleans endorsed a proposal that each state name at least one school district a “learning laboratory” where teachers could experiment and take the lead in improving schools. President Mary Hatwood Futrell said such districts might do away with academic tracking, finance schools by means other than property taxes, experiment with more flexible scheduling, or anything else in the name of reform. In San Francisco, 3,000 delegates at the American Federation of Teachers convention adopted a similar program, calling for “schools within schools” where teachers could try innovative ideas.