This article summarizes qualitative research on Catholic elementary schools in Chicago's black inner city. It describes jour categories of schools that emerged as a result of in-depth interviews with pastors and principals of thirty-three schools. These categories represent the basic approaches schools used as they attempted to adapt to radical changes in their populations and environments. The paper analyzes the factors influencing approaches to adaptation and examines the organizational effectiveness of each mode. Using an organizational framework, the author explores the relationship between resource dependency, autonomy, and institutional legitimacy.
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