CLASS WARFARE.

SCHOOL closings; SMALL schools; MIDDLE schools; SCHOOL districts; EDUCATIONAL change; CHARITABLE uses, trusts, & foundations; ACADEMIC achievement

OAKLAND (Calif.); CALIFORNIA

The article focuses on the decision of the Oakland Unified School District of California to close Roots International Academy, a small public middle school in East Oakland. Topics covered include how the small school reform movement led to the establishment of Roots, role of private financing or foundation cash in the decision of Oakland to close several large schools and create small schools between 2003 and 2007 and the academic performance of students in Oakland's small schools.