America’s urban communities continue to be plagued with problems of crime, dilapidated housing, lack of jobs and dysfunctional schools, but silver linings are visible, according to a new report issued by the Center for National Policy and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. From the report: “… the real story of cities today is more complex, and more positive, than the constant focus on these problems makes it seem.

The report, “Life in the City: A Status Report on the Revival of Urban Communities in America,” challenges policy makers to consider and “capitalize” on three accomplishments of some urban areas: “finding a new place for cities within a changing economy,” by, among other things, improving metropolitan labor market connections and tailoring welfare reform to fit local conditions; “improving public services,” including public schools; and “rebuilding low-income neighborhoods,” writes the report.

In a brief section on school reform, the report describes a more rosy picture of public education often missed by some commentators. For example, students attending schools categorized as “disadvantaged urban” schools by the National Assessment of Education Progress, over a twenty year period have closed the NAEP-test gap “on their more advantaged counterparts, despite increasingly disadvantaged socio-economic and educational

backgrounds.” The report observes that ” … these statistics tell what for many is a surprising story: The academic

performance by the nation’s least advantaged students has not plummeted. Indeed, overall these students and their schools have made some important strides since the 1970s.”

The report also points to a RAND Corporation study that found in 1994 that general national test-performance gains can be “attributed in significant part to increases in the number of college educated parents during the 1960s and 1970s,” writes the report. This finding makes the progress of disadvantaged students even more extraordinary. “Students in disadvantaged schools improved their proficiency despite the fact that their

families did not have the same increase in parental education and incomes as the rest of the population.”

Syndicated columnist David Broder reviewed the report in his WASH POST column, with a view from Chicago (4/23). He cited the work of Dr. Richard Tolliver, of St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church, located in the blighted Washington Park area of Chicago. Tolliver was able to open the doors of an independent, nonparochial school with four classes, located in his church building. He also notes the work of the Resurrection Project, a coalition of Pilsen neighborhood churches, which has made a day care and social service center located in a building donated to the group by the Catholic Archdiocese.

Despite these successes, the report mentions that the most recent NAEP data indicates a stagnation in overall achievement scores between 1992 and 1994.

The report includes case studies on six urban areas: South Bronx, Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. It discusses the role of neighborhoods and presents recommendations that include calling for effective tax credits and continuing targeted programs that provide critical leverage.

Copies of the report are available by contacting the Center for National Policy; 1 Massachusetts Avenue NW; Suite 333; Washington, D.C. 20001; 202/6682-1800.

– David Broder