Education: Vicksburg, Miss.: Ending White Flight

How did this district get its parents back? It gave them more power. But it also engaged black families and wooed the white ones back

If you want to glimpse true parental devotion, head to the local mall in Vicksburg, Miss. Just past the JCPenney and the KB Toys, right across from the Corn Dog 7, you'll find a storefront occupied by Redwood Elementary School. A mannequin in the school's red-and-blue uniform presides over a spread of student-made dioramas and papier-mache, painstakingly displayed by Redwood parents in an all-day decorating marathon. On a recent Saturday, the school's choir serenaded shoppers while a troop of parent volunteers was on hand with brochures extolling the virtues of a Redwood education--and urging shoppers to sign up their kids. "I...

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