In 2003, Dr. Freddie Thomas Middle School in Rochester, New York, was in serious trouble. In 2000, it had been labeled a "school under registration review" by the New York State Education Department and was under a directive to make significant progress or face serious consequences. Three years later in 2003, only 3% of eighth-grade…

Stonington High School in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, adopted an alternating day (A/B) block schedule in 1998. The shift in schedule has resulted in less movement throughout the building and fewer instances of disruptive behaviors. In addition, the initiatives that Stonington has been able to implement have caused the daily attendance rate to increase…

One of the most challenging tasks a principal must accomplish every year is the construction of the master schedule. Free from the magnetic scheduling boards and wall charts of yesteryear, principals now have technological tools--such as programs that offer schools solutions for their scheduling needs--that can save time and enable them to work…

Regardless of where they live, incoming freshmen face the same problems nationwide, such as anxiety about entering a new school, social pressure, and increased academic pressure and responsibility. Freshman academies have been introduced in many larger schools to offset these issues. A typical freshman academy isolates freshmen from the rest of…

Flexible modular scheduling (flex mod)--a schedule philosophy and system that has been in place at Wausau West High School in Wausau, Wisconsin, for the last 35 years and aligns nicely with current research on student learning--is getting more and more attention from high school administrators across the country. Flexible modular scheduling was…

Describes a year-long, high school reading and writing literacy course developed by the National Center on Education and the Economy, designed to be delivered in a 90-minute, double-block period 5 days a week. Identifies several things principals can do to successfully implement the course. (PKP)

In education, there is no one best way to do anything. There are compelling reasons why some courses should be taught in longer segments of time, which the block schedule provides. There are also compelling reasons why some classes should be taught in shorter segments. At Watauga High School in Boone, North Carolina, an alternative schedule that…

This article describes the revised summer school program developed by the Anchorage (AK) School District for students who received poor grades in their core classes or low scores in the Alaska Benchmark Examinations or California Achievement Tests. More than 500 middle school students from the district spent five weeks during the summer honing…

Elements aiding block-scheduling implementation at an Ohio Catholic school include a supportive principal, systems thinking, adequate time and resources, benchmarks for quality, responsible faculty decision making, readiness-based staff development, democratic process, process/content coordination, a nonthreatening learning environment, and…

This article features James D. Donnelly Jr., principal of James A. Green High School in Dolgeville, New York. Donnelly, recipient of the MetLife/NASSP 2004 National High School Principal of the Year, exemplifies the foresight to think ahead, the wisdom to collaborate with colleagues, the resolve to take a stand, and the courage to take risks. His…

This article profiles Gail Awakuni, principal of James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, who was named the 2005 MetLife/NASSP National High School Principal of the Year. From the beginning, Awakuni had a dream for the students of James Campbell High School. She knew that they had untapped potential, despite the fact that the school had…

Principals must structure their schools' learning environments with high expectations for achievement and behavior and for positive student-teacher relationships to ensure safer, more inclusive, and higher achieving schools. Personalizing high schools as to size, groupings, schedules, tutoring, and conflict mediation is essential. (Contains 27…

In 1995, after years of conflict between Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts and its adjacent neighborhood, the university traded "barriers for partnership and collaboration" and became part of the University Park Neighborhood Restoration Partnership (UPP). UPP was established primarily to stabilize the community by…