Magnet schools are schools which accomplish racial desegregation<br >on a voluntary basis; they attract volunteers by offering innovative<br >education. This book is a study of three magnet schools and the<br >school system， or school district， of which they were a part. It<br >tells the story of the Heartland school system and three of its<br >magnet schools in some detail. The information on which it is<br >based was gathered as I studied each of the three schools for a<br >semester， and the district for over three years. I attempt to portray<br >the life of each of the three schools as a whole， to convey the<br >texture of the experience of adults and students in the school， and<br >the feelings and as well as the actions of the participants. From this<br >whole， I have attempted to identify the most important influences<br >which shaped the schools lives.<br > The major purpose of the book lies in the search for an under-<br >standing of these influences， the links among them， and their<br >effect on the experience of the schools" participants. While the<br >school district and the schools were each in some ways unique，<br >they were in most ways very typical of American urban school<br > systems and schools. Influences which were important in Heart-<br > land should be important throughout American schools and school<br > districts.<br > The book is addressed to researchers and students interested in<br > understanding schools and school districts， and to policy-makers<br > and practitioners concerned with operating and perhaps changing<br > them. I am a sociologist with training in the study of organizations<br > more generally， as well as of schools; I bring a perspective from<br > the sociology of organizations to bear upon the issues. However.<br > vii<br >