School & District Management Series

High Hopes

This occasional series, launched in January 2005, looks at the growing push to reform secondary education.

Vanessa Skrat, a language arts and social studies teacher at the Options Complex at the Margaret A. Ireland School in Cleveland, reads a story to her class.
Vanessa Skrat, a language arts and social studies teacher at the Options Complex at the Margaret A. Ireland School in Cleveland, reads a story to her class.
Phil Long/PRL Photographics for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Keeping Overage Students in H.S. Proves Tough
Hanging onto kids who might otherwise leave school is the mission of Cleveland's Options Complex at Margaret A. Ireland School, a program for students in grades 6-12 who are behind in school by two or more years.
Catherine Gewertz, June 14, 2005
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8 min read
Senior Tamika Hughes, 20, uses school bus transportation to take her son, Jeremiah Holt, 4, to day care while she attends Middle College at Bennett in Greensboro, N.C. The high school, based at Bennett College, strives to engage underachieving students.
Senior Tamika Hughes, 20, uses school bus transportation to take her son, Jeremiah Holt, 4, to day care while she attends Middle College at Bennett in Greensboro, N.C. The high school, based at Bennett College, strives to engage underachieving students.
Photo by Sarah D. Davis for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness College-Based High Schools Fill Growing Need
Small, college-based high schools give students who are struggling in traditional schools a second chance at learning.
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, May 24, 2005
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8 min read
Christian J. Auger, right, advises teachers and students on math strategies.
Christian J. Auger, right, advises teachers and students on math strategies.
Eddie Seal for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Several States Making College-Prep Courses The Default Curriculum
As they prepare to enter high school next fall, 8th graders in public schools across Texas are being given a choice of three different academic plans to follow through graduation, two of which are distinctively tougher than the third.
Sean Cavanagh, April 19, 2005
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9 min read
Megan Duclose, a senior at North Providence High School, is working with an event planner at the Providence Biltmore Hotel to fulfill a graduation requirement.
Megan Duclose, a senior at North Providence High School, is working with an event planner at the Providence Biltmore Hotel to fulfill a graduation requirement. State policy encourages such jobs.
Photo by Joe Giblin
School & District Management R.I. Downplays Tests as Route to Diplomas
While about half the states require high school students to pass tests to graduate, or have plans to do so, policymakers in the nation’s smallest state have struck out on a path that values multiple ways of measuring achievement.
Jeff Archer, April 12, 2005
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8 min read
Mathematics Math Emerges as Big Hurdle for Teenagers
Experts agree that if the goal is for all students to graduate from high school ready for college or other postsecondary study, schools have their work cut out for them, at least in mathematics.
Debra Viadero, March 22, 2005
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7 min read
Teacher Traci Burks meets with a small group of students.
Traci Burks, center, a teacher at Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kan., meets with a small group of students she advises. Such close relationships are key to the First Things First approach.
Susan Pfannmuller for Education Week
School & District Management ‘First Things First’ Shows Promising Results
No one is calling it a miracle, but the Kansas City, Kan., district’s experience with First Things First—with backing from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation—is offering hope that the redesign of urban high schools is not a lost cause.
Caroline Hendrie, March 8, 2005
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10 min read
School & District Management District Making ‘Transition’ to Bigger Supply of Schools of Choice
By 2008, Philadelphia school system plans to make a transition from about 55 high schools to between 70 and 80 smaller ones of choice.
Lynn Olson, February 8, 2005
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2 min read
Seppy Basili peruses course materials in the cramped district offices out of which three Kaplan employees support teachers.
Seppy Basili peruses course materials in the cramped district offices out of which three Kaplan employees support teachers.
Michael Branscom for Education Week
Curriculum For-Profit Writes Mandatory Courses for Phila. High Schools
A new, standardized college-preparatory curriculum crafted by Kaplan K12 Learning Services Group is a critical element in Philadelphia's plan to improve secondary education.
Lynn Olson, February 8, 2005
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12 min read
Sophomore Jessica Moore waves to friends in the hallway.
Sophomore Jessica Moore waves to friends in the hallway as students walk past posters showing successful graduates of the school.
Photograph by Jay Paul
Assessment One Subject at a Time
At Norview High School in Norfolk, Va., teachers used their academic departments to map out higher standards for teaching and learning. The result: soaring scores.
Catherine Gewertz, February 1, 2005
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10 min read
Students at New Vista High School
Students chat between classes at New Vista High School in Boulder, Colo. After focusing on elementary and middle schools, reformers are turning their attention to what many view as the more complex nature of secondary schools.
Michael Lewis for Education Week
School & District Management Calls for Revamping High Schools Intensify
From President Bush on down, the pressure is on to fix America’s high schools. But despite a broad consensus that something is seriously wrong with the institution, deep fault lines remain about the remedies.
Lynn Olson, January 25, 2005
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14 min read