Erick Ramos, second from right, a senior at Mission Early College High School in El Paso, has a laugh with friends at his school. The group belongs to the Smash Club, where they play Super Smash Bros. on a TV they bring from home. Ramos has already earned enough credits through the school’s dual-credit program to be a junior at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Bryan High School senior Ashley Gomez, far left, shadows the zookeepers in the lemur exhibit at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha. Ashley says the school program spurred her interest in a zoology career.
William Watkins, a 10th grader at MC2 STEM High School in Cleveland, explains his group’s capstone project, on the evolution of the bicycle, during a demonstration at the city’s museum of contemporary art. Students at MC2 do hands-on classes and mentorships at museums, higher education institutions, and businesses around the city.
Students eat lunch in the common area at the high school. One benefit of the three-story “community commons” is that it allows sunlight throughout the day.
Many of the classrooms at Fayetteville High School feature movable walls and double doors so that groups of teachers or students can collaborate and gather in common spaces.
From left, Trinity Tyler, Oliver Treven, and Gabrielle Johnson work on installing LED lights in the speaker they built for their freshman engineering capstone project at Cleveland’s MC2 STEM High School.
A midday karate class warms up at Denver’s Northfield High School. Students continue to have the opportunity to take part in physical education classes every day.
Junior Noah Eckstein makes a point during a leadership team meeting with educators at Harwood Union High School. Students play an unusually large role in developing core policies at the Moretown, Vt., school.
