Four multiage groupings affecting all but the last two years of high school would be created: K-3, 4-6, 7-8, and 9-10. Teams would have authority to decide how to spend money in such areas as textbooks, software, equipment, and even support services such as counseling and truant officers.

The teams would take on many of the functions of those specialists, as well as the duties of social workers, instructional aides, and remedial-education specialists. Schools would also have more authority over hiring.

Trial Runs

The systemwide structure spelled out in the strategic plan builds on a handful of reforms already in place in Cincinnati. Team teaching and multiage student grouping are being tried in 29 schools, for example.

In a change consistent with that approach, the district ended so-called social promotion in 1991 and adopted a new standards-based system for determining when pupils may progress to the next level.

Standards in math, reading, science, and social studies were set for each of three multiage levels--primary (K-3), intermediate (4-6), and middle (7-8)--and students must meet them before advancing.

And as part of a "pilot mini-district" of 10 schools that began in 1991, six schools have converted to K-8 neighborhood schools.

In support of its proposal to abolish middle schools, the district points to figures showing lower suspension rates and better attendance in those schools than in middle schools.

Among 7th and 8th graders in the K-8 pilot schools, the district reported 32.8 suspensions per 100 students and an 89 percent attendance rate last year, compared with 87.7 suspensions per 100 students and attendance of 81.8 percent in the middle schools.

"Our middle schools are not working," Monica S. Curtis, the district's director of public affairs, said. "We really believe that by putting 7th and 8th graders into smaller, more nurturing environments that they will first come to school, and then behave better when they're there."

The district is swimming against the tide by abandoning its middle schools, said Sue Swaim, the executive director of the National Association of Middle Schools, an advocacy organization based in Columbus, Ohio. For the past quarter-century, she said, many districts have sought to address the distinctive needs of 10- to 14-year-olds in stand-alone schools.

But she said her group is less concerned about a school's grade span than about whether its staff follows practices that have been shown to help young adolescents. "Merely changing the grade configuration is not what will make the difference," Ms. Swaim said.

Teachers Wary

The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers has yet to take a formal position on the plan.

But the move to K-8 schools is one of the features that provoke the most skepticism among teachers, according to Tom Mooney, the union's president. A recent union survey showed city teachers almost evenly split over whether K-8 schools would ease discipline problems, boost achievement, or cut the dropout rate.

In general, most teachers feel the reforms are on the right track, reflecting the cooperative relationship between teachers and the district in recent years.

But as they enter talks on a contract to replace the one that expires Dec. 31, union leaders have complained that the plan demands more sacrifices from union members than administrators.

Training Needs Cited

Margaret Holbert, the president of the Cincinnati branch of Parents for Public Schools, an advocacy group based in Jackson, Miss., said many parents believe the plan will improve a district that already has many unsung strengths.

But she said some parents view it as ironic that the district's top brass is seeking to impose massive structural changes, all in the interest of devolving authority to the educators who are closest to the children.

The only way that strategy will work, said Allan Odden, an education professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is if the district delivers on its promise to do away with bureaucratic impediments to local autonomy and innovation. On that front, he said, so far so good.

"It's at the cutting edge of districts trying to figure out how to organize to get higher performance," said Mr. Odden, who has been advising district officials as they draw up their plan.

Another authority on school restructuring, Ann Lieberman of Teachers College, Columbia University, cautioned that an agenda so sweeping must be accompanied by extensive retraining.

"The big idea in theory is quite impressive," said Ms. Lieberman, an education professor and a co-director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching. "I hope the process for getting there is equally impressive."

District officials say they've addressed those concerns. Though some teachers criticize the district for failing in the past to give them enough training to meet evolving standards, the superintendent vowed that will not be the case this time.

But Mr. Brandt added that he does not have the luxury of waiting until everyone is fully on board before making changes.

"You have to make decisions based on what's good for kids, not adults," he said. "We just can't wait for everybody to say, 'I'm ready to ride the train.'"

For more information, see the New American Schools Development Corporation in our organizations listing.

Read more about New American Schools and what they are doing in Cincinnati.

See more on education in Ohio from the Ohio Department of Education and state board of education Web sites.

See the Reinventing Education: Cincinnati Public Schools Web page for more information about the IBM Reinventing Education Grant Partnership with the Cincinnati Public Schools. This site includes facts about the Cincinnati public school system.

For more information, see Parents for Public Schools in our organizations listing.

For more information, see the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools , and Teaching in our organizations listing.

Education Reform Overview. This Web site from the Center for Education Reform provides a description of school-reform efforts. Includes a state-by-state summary.