At a time when education has become a major concern of the American people, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has published this third essay in a series of essays on issues of critical importance to the black community. Visions of a Better Way identifies the weaknesses of our public school systemoone of which is second-class schooling for black studentsoand suggests ways of eliminating them. The essay looks to model schools, those schools that have succeeded in educating today’s heterogeneous student population, for answers to the hard questions confronting American educators.