the late 2000s, and now serves as a traditional high school. John Marshall High School closed in 1987 after just eighteen years of service. It later reopened as a middle school in 1993, and in 2008 was converted a high school before returning as a middle school in 2016. Crispus Attucks High School closed in 1986, but reopened as a middle school. George Washington High School and Thomas Carr Howe High School both closed in 1995, which both reopened their doors in 2001. Socioeconomic issues (1990s - 2000s) Throughout the 1990s, worsening budgets contributed to problems common to inner city school districts. While the city had a graduation rate higher than the national average in the 1950s, it now had the worst dropout rates in the state. Test scores declined precipitously. Citizens' task forces studied how to combat school violence, low academic achievement, and persistent racial segregation. In 1992, then-superintendent Shirl Gilbert initiated a "Select Schools" plan, allowing parents the option of selecting which school they wanted their child to attend within the district. While theoretically promising, in practice the plan did not lead to general improvements. Gilbert was removed from his post by the school board in 1994 and replaced with Esperanza Zendejas in 1995. Zendejas pursued an aggressive program of reform and improvement, removing several administrators from their positions and attempting to implement performance standards upon remaining school administrators. After repeated conflicts with administrators, school board members, and parents, Zendejas resigned from her post in 1997. The succeeding superintendent was Duncan N.P. "Pat" Pritchett, who had occupied the superintendent's seat in a locum tenens capacity between Gilbert and Zendejas. Under both Gilbert and Zendejas, Pritchett had been an assistant superintendent for facilities management. Under Pritchett, the district saw eight years of steady academic improvement thanks to a number of initiatives, including a partnership with the National Urban Alliance to strengthen literacy and a math/science initiative that set algebra as the eighth-grade gateway math course. Pritchett also brought the concept and planning of the Small Schools Initiative to the district's traditional comprehensive high schools, turning five campuses into 24 schools within a school. Upon Pritchett's retirement in 2005, the post was offered to and accepted by Eugene G. White, who had been serving as superintendent of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Marion County. White began to implement several reforms, including re-establishing high school programs at two