high schools, the classes diminished to 409 students by 1968-a 47 per cent drop. This school year, there have been 981 full-year suspensions; 881 of these high school age students are still out of school.

To this may be added another problem, poorly educated adults and their families. The result is a concentration of educationally handicapped residents, young and old, in the area.

The major causes seem to be the limitations imposed by home and neighborhood environments, the failure on the part of educators to respond to special inner city needs, the continuance of ineffective school practices, and s chronic lack of planning and coordination

FIVE YEAR GOALS

To increase the readiness of pre-school children for school, to the point where they hold their own with other children throughout the nation.

To provide an instructional program for children and youths which will bring their academic achievements to a level equal to that achieved by other students.

To provide a comprehensive program for adult education.

To provide educational opportunities for the mentally and physically handicapped, and the socially disadvantaged.

PILOT SCHOOLS (Early Childhood Program)

Four hundred MN children will be served by a comprehensive early childhood program, similar in spirit to the Headstart program. The best of three different educational approaches will be determined in the first two years. Medical, dental, nutritional and other services will also be provided.

This project will be administered by the Division of Urban Education, Kansas City School District (K.C.S.D.). All funds will come from Federal programs.

Twenty-four assistant teachers will be recruited from the MN, and residents will advise the Division of Urban Education on policy and content of the programs.

TRAINING EDUCATION PERSONNEL

Inner-city school problems require specially trained teachers. Under this project, Model Cities will contribute to a training program sponsored by Mid-Continent Regional Education Laboratory (McREL). Intensive training programs will be developed for teachers in Model Neighborhood schools

RESIDENT EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD

MN residents will hold jobs under most of the education projects. But their voices will also be heard as decisions are made and policies determined. So Model Cities will fund a Resident Educational Advisory Board which will develop its own capability to assess existing educational programs and propose new ones.

The project will also develop means to insure that citizens may introduce their needs, desires, and ideas into public school policy. Plans for non-school educational programs will be evolved,

and, in certain cases, those programs will be undertaken if possible.

Many of the Board's directors are MN residents, and all are actively involved in educational activities in the MN. (Directors are listed on page 77.)

URBAN EDUCATION PROGRAM

Model Cities will provide funds to the K.C.S.D. to expand its Title I urban education program to include additional MN children. (Sixty per cent are currently served by the program) The major portion of the program involves intensive Reading. It will introduce special teachers, textbooks, curriculum and equipment more suited to the inner city. Other segments may include social studies, speech, art, music, drama and physical education. The project will be administered by the K.C.S.D.'s Department of Urban Education.

EXTENDED USE OF SCHOOLS

MN Schools now close at 3:10 P.M. But under this program, tutorial groups, adult education programs, and recreation projects will be able to use the schools after regular classes close. Another service would be to open the schools earlier for the convenience of parents who want to bring their children to school, yet must be at work early.

The funds will be enough to keep the schools open for about 3,000 additional hours, exclusively for citizen activities.

OPERATION UPGRADE

This tutorial program for children in first through sixth grades was begun in 1968 on an experimental basis, and proved to be a great

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success both for the students and the tutors. One hundred tutors of high school age will help about 500 young students improve their reading ability. The approach involves a special technique, called "precision teaching," which allows a tutorial program especially tailored for each student.

Programs will be set up at 14 sites, including schools and churches, after school hours.

A non-profit agency, Operation Upgrade, Inc., will administer the program. The 14 program directors as well as the children and the tutors. will be Model Neighborhood residents.

TALENT SEARCH

NPGs have stressed the need for scholarship funds for MN residents who have graduated from high school and are capable of attending college.

Through Metropolitan Area Talent Search, Inc., Model Cities will provide at least twenty one-year scholarships to regional colleges. A board will be composed of residents together with representatives of the K.C.S.D., Talent Search, the Regional Council of Higher Education, and the OA. It will select students eligible for scholarships to help defray costs of tuition, books, and living expenses for recipients.

ADULT EDUCATION

Model Cities will pay tuition for MN residents who would not be able to take advantage of adult education course without such aid. Any MN group of 15 or more who wish to have a new or special course offered can obtain it by requesting it through the Model Cities Resident Education Advisory Board. All costs, including transportation, will be paid, if needed.

The content of the special courses will be developed based on requests by MN residents.