Specialized Schools

Coverage of schools, public and private, that don’t fit the traditional mold, including career academies and alternative and micro schools
Nakaya Domina pictured at her home in Las Vegas, Nev., on Aug. 12, 2022. After dropping out of school during the pandemic, she returned to a credit recovery program, where her "graduation candidate advocate" has helped her stay engaged. She expects to graduate this summer, and will then enter a postsecondary program in digital marketing.
Nakaya Domina dropped out of her public high school in Las Vegas in 2019 but managed to graduate this year with the help of a "graduation advocate" and a dropout recovery program.
Bridget Bennett for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness What It Took to Get This Teenager Back on Track to Graduate
Nakaya Domina had been disengaging from school for years before she left Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas in 2019.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 29, 2022
•
3 min read
Blaine Franzel, 17, and his mother, Angel Franzel, pictured at their home in Stuart, Fla., on Aug. 15, 2022. After struggling during remote learning and dropping out of public school, Franzel is now thriving at an alternative school where he is learning about aviation.
Blaine Franzel, 17, and his mother, Angel Franzel, live in Stuart, Fla. After struggling during remote learning and dropping out of public school, Franzel is now thriving at an alternative school where he is learning about aviation.
Josh Ritchie for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Anxiety and Isolation Kept Him Out of School. How an Alternative Program Helped
After years of worsening anxiety that kept him from school, Blaine Franzel’s prospects for high school graduation are looking up.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 29, 2022
•
3 min read
LaTosha Walker knocks on the door of a home where a student lives that has dropped out of school due to attendance records to talk to them about enrollment in Lowcountry Acceleration Academy in North Charleston on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
LaTosha Walker, an enrollment coach for Lowcountry Acceleration Academy, knocks on the door of the home of a student who dropped out of school in Charleston, S.C.
Henry Taylor for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness 'Graduation Counselors' Go Door-to Door to Find Missing Students
On tree-lined streets and trailer parks, workers knock on doors to offer students a second chance at graduation.
Eesha Pendharkar, August 29, 2022
•
6 min read
Teacher Dawn Mathis works with student Rylee Humphries, 16, during an after school program at Mountain Education Charter High School in Woodstock, Ga. The Mountain Education Charter High School system has a program that pairs struggling students with adults who have faced similar challenges.
Teacher Dawn Mathis works with student Rylee Humphries, 16, during an after school program at Mountain Education Charter High School in Woodstock, Ga. The 18-campus school, which serves returning dropouts and other at-risk students, has expanded since the pandemic due to rising student need.
Dustin Chambers for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Dropouts Now Face a Steeper Climb to Earn a Diploma Post-Pandemic
Recovery programs say they have seen more students, further behind, than in prior years.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 29, 2022
•
7 min read
Image of artificial intelligence.
claudenakagawa and iStock/Getty
Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence Is All Around Us. So This District Designed Its Own AI Curriculum
A new high school in Georgia will give students a critical window into how AI is reshaping nearly every corner of the economy.
Alyson Klein, August 15, 2022
•
9 min read
Casey Rimmer, left, is the director of innovation and ed-tech for the Union County School District in North Carolina. She's helped both staff and students navigate the glut of tech tools and applications that became a part of daily life during the pandemic. Andrew Houlihan, right, is the superintendent in Union County and developed a high-dosage tutoring strategy to combat student learning loss. Pictured here on Dec. 16, 2021.
Casey Rimmer, left, and Andrew G. Houlihan have kept Union County, N.C., steps ahead of the pandemic's disruption. Rimmer, an innovation and ed-tech leader, helped staff and students navigate the glut of tech tools that became a part of daily life, while Houlihan, the superintendent, developed a tutoring model to bolster academics.
Alex Boerner for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From Their N.C. School District Was Pandemic-Ready. Here’s Why
The Union County district went big on technology training, tutoring, and mental health supports before the pandemic.
Alyson Klein, February 16, 2022
•
10 min read
Lateshia Woodley, the superintendent of student support for the Kansas City public schools, speaks with Jareon Brown, 17, and other students in Southeast High School's restorative-justice class.
Lateshia Woodley, the assistant superintendent of student support for the Kansas City public schools, speaks with Jareon Brown, 17, and other students in Southeast High School's restorative-justice class.
Julie Denesha for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Leader To Learn From How Putting Students’ Welfare First Can Transform a District
For Lateshia Woodley, a relentless focus on supporting students facing trauma comes from her own lived experience.
Eesha Pendharkar, February 16, 2022
•
9 min read
Student attending class from a remote location.
E+
School Choice & Charters Full-Time Virtual Schools: Still Growing, Still Struggling, Still Resisting Oversight
Nearly 500,000 students now attend full-time online and blended schools, says a new report from the National Education Policy Center.
Benjamin Herold, May 6, 2021
•
6 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Video The World of Careers Is Changing. This Superintendent Aims to Get His Students ‘Future Ready’
Students get a postsecondary jump-start through Hamilton County, Tenn.’s Future-Ready Institutes, led by Superintendent Bryan Johnson.
Jaclyn Borowski & Catherine Gewertz, February 25, 2020
•
3:56
College & Workforce Readiness Leader To Learn From A Superintendent’s Commitment to Getting Students ‘Future Ready’
Bryan Johnson, the superintendent of Hamilton County Schools in Chattanooga, Tenn., has created an array of “future-ready” institutes, where students gain real-world exposure– through mentorship, job-shadow opportunities, and rigorous coursework—to in-demand jobs while they are still in high school. He is recognized as a 2020 Leader To Learn From.
Catherine Gewertz, February 19, 2020
•
9 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Leader To Learn From An Unorthodox Strategy Closes Academic Gaps
In a test-obsessed K-12 system, Superintendent Shari Camhi has taken a holistic view of education without sacrificing rigorous academics. The Baldwin Union Free School District, N.Y., leader has helped close graduation gaps, and black and Latino students in the district far outpace their peers in the county and state. Her secret ingredient: themed career academies open to all students. She is recognized as a 2020 Leader To Learn From.
Andrew Ujifusa, February 19, 2020
•
8 min read
States How States Handle Arts Education in Charter and Magnet Schools Varies Widely
Arts education is an often-neglected but frequently critical component of what schools can provide to students, and there's a diverse set of approaches to how states and school systems approach the subject in schools of choice.
Andrew Ujifusa, May 27, 2019
•
1 min read
Junior Rochelle Borden, 17, (right) walks with her boyfriend, Archie Grant, 17, (left) to her art class at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago. The pair have been dating for two years.
Junior Rochelle Borden, 17, (right) walks with her boyfriend, Archie Grant, 17, (left) to her art class at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago. The pair have been dating for two years.
Taylor Glascock for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Photos One Student’s Day at an Elite Public High School
Chicago's selective enrollment high schools come closer to reflecting the diversity of the community.
Education Week Photo Staff, May 7, 2019
•
1 min read
Teacher Samantha Griffith works with Kevin Vazquez at Christel House, a dropout-recovery charter school in Indianapolis.
Teacher Samantha Griffith works with Kevin Vazquez at Christel House, a dropout-recovery charter school in Indianapolis.
AJ Mast for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness In Many Charter High Schools, Graduation Odds Are Slim
Nearly a quarter of all charter high schools are graduating less than half of their students, according to an Education Week analysis of federal data.
Arianna Prothero & Alex Harwin, February 26, 2019
•
9 min read
Load More ▼