The purpose of this study was to explore how a career academy featuring an information technology (IT) theme approached the adoption of the model and the particular curricular focus. We used a case study design to explore the experiences of school personnel and community partners associated with the implementation of the career academy. We found…

The focus of this study is on the readiness of higher education institutions in the Philippines to the implementation of the Senior High School program of the new K-12 curriculum. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire. The findings reveal five predisposing factors, namely: eligibility, staffing guidelines, course streamlining,…

Many school systems across the United States have begun redesign efforts by investing in smaller high school settings (Cawelti, 1999). Transforming schools into structured academic or career-themed academies has been associated with increased student achievement and more personalized learning environments. Ongoing collaboration of district level…

This paper examines the options available to states to redefine their accountability systems as they begin to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The new law provides the possibility that states can create more balanced systems of support and accountability focused on educating young people so they can become productive, engaged…

The purpose for this study was to use the "KSH analytic framework" as a tool to provide insight into the organizational change process that, when considered, might result in lasting and significant school change. In this qualitative multi-case study of two urban comprehensive high schools, the researcher not only described the initiation and…

During the past decade, New York City undertook a district-wide high school reform that is perhaps unprecedented in its scope, scale, and pace. Between fall 2002 and fall 2008, the school district closed 23 large failing high schools (with graduation rates below 45 percent), opened 216 new small high schools (with different missions, structures,…

To address concerns about low graduation rates and a lack of workforce readiness, states and districts have been experimenting with different models of high school reform. One of the most popular models has been the Early College High School (ECHS) model, small schools that blur the line between high school and college. Since 2002, over 200 ECHSs…

This research is a collection of comparative case studies that examine the perspectives of four principals in their 1st year of implementing the High School College Collaborative (HSCC), which works to provide traditionally underserved high school students with the opportunity to receive college credit, possibly an associate of arts degree,…

The purpose of this study was to use the "KSH analytic framework", a blend of the work of Kotter (1996), Senge (2006), and Heifetz (1994, 2002), as a tool to provide insight into the organizational change process that, when considered, might result in lasting and significant school change. Leadership, vision, teamwork, and action implementation…

The Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) is one of the first urban districts in the country to undertake large-scale high school reform, phasing in small learning communities by opening new high schools and transforming large, comprehensive high schools into small high schools. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a…

There is growing concern that almost 20 years after the 1988 Education Act, top-down, large-scale reform has stalled. The policy mix of choice, competition, markets, regulation, accountability and leadership seems not to have closed the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged areas and individuals, while most variations in school performance can…