Published: February 1, 1995

Connections: Listening To Dewey

It is not entirely clear how Rusk--which is by no means unique in this country--deteriorated to the point of "chaos.'' There's plenty of blame to go around. Teachers blamed the principal and the problems of coping with a student body that was mostly poor and from immigrant Hispanic families; one-fifth came from two nearby homeless shelters. The principal blamed the teachers and the district for not providing adequate resources....