Failed Breakup of H.S. in Denver Offering Lessons

The impending closure of the Manual Education Complex in Denver is sparking a conversation about what can be learned from the experience at a time when the nation has pinned high hopes on improving secondary schools by turning them into smaller, more personalized environments.

The Denver high school, which subdivided into three schools in 2001, will shut its doors in June after persistent, poor academic performance. The conversion of the comprehensive high school was among the first financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As such, Manual has been in a fishbowl since its reorganization into small schools. Policymakers, scholars, and activists have been watching...