JSD: During the 2000-01 school year, you did a survey of middle and high school students in highperforming suburban school districts to better understand racial and ethnic achievement disparities in those districts. Before we get into the results of this survey, I’d like to learn about the Minority Student Achievement Network for whom you did the study. Ferguson: The network was convened a few years back by Allan Alson, who is the superintendent of the high school district in Evanston, Ill. The district had been working to address the gap between black and Latino students, on the one hand, and white and Asian students on the other hand. It occurred to him that other districts must be facing the same challenges. He identified 15 potential