In 2017, one of the largest investments in education reform in California's history came to an end. The James Irvine Foundation announced that it was shifting its investment focus from Linked Learning, a college and career readiness high school reform, to other projects (Linked Learning Alliance 2017). Unlike the Gates Foundation's well-publicized…

In 2006, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell unveiled the Classrooms For the Future (CFF) technology initiative. The stated outcome of the program was to provide a vehicle for high school reform which transforms Pennsylvania's schools into a more engaging atmosphere that equips students with the necessary skills for the 21st century. The study…

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…

Over the last decade, New York City (NYC) has been the site of a systemwide high school reform effort that is unprecedented in its scope and pace. Since 2002, the school district has closed more than 20 failing high schools, opened more than 200 new secondary schools, and implemented a centralized high school admission process in which…

College and career readiness offers a distinct purpose to the high school experience. This experience must provide a variety of options with a clear focus on fruitful opportunities for success. Meaningful citizenship in any learning community demands that all students participate in a pathway of sequenced, practical, related classes and achieve…

In the study reported here, I explored the notion of teacher leadership as described by individuals participating in a district-wide school reform initiative, the Accelerating Student Achievement Project. Through the district-wide project, teacher leaders were identified at each of the middle and high schools to further develop the schools'…

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…

Noting that many of the nation's high schools are beset with major problems, such as low student reading and math achievement, high dropout rates, and an inadequate supply of effective teachers, Steve Fleischman and Jessica Heppen survey a range of strategies that educators have used to improve low-performing high schools. The authors begin by…

"First Things First" is a reform model intended to transform elementary, middle, and high schools serving significant proportions of economically disadvantaged students. Its three main components are: (1) "small learning communities" of students and teachers; (2) a family and student advocate system that pairs staff members and…

For nearly a decade, the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative (CHSRI) has worked to improve educational opportunities for Chicago adolescents by opening and supporting small high schools across the city. While the overall results of the initiative have been mixed, several CHSRI schools have successfully improved students' outcomes. This latest…

This paper examines Breaking Ranks, a proposal for school reform and restructuring intended to improve the effectiveness of America's high schools. The review drew upon memo writing, a personal interview with an administrator utilizing the Breaking Ranks blueprint, a review of periodicals and books on Breaking Ranks and on school restructuring, a…

In 1990, Kent-Meridian High School in Kent, Washington, decided to implement four schools-within-schools, each with its separate academic and career focus. The first school, focusing on the area of health science, was implemented in 1992. A second school-within-the-school, the International Business and Global Studies (IBGS) School, was…

Background/Context: This study builds upon research on teacher professional communities and high school restructuring reforms. It employs a conceptual framework that draws upon theories of "community of practice" and "community of learners." Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study analyzes how teachers' professional inquiry…

Whether organizational and curricular changes introduced through restructuring endure and/or result in long-term benefits for students and teachers is hard to determine. Using a longitudinal case study of a restructured high school, this paper argues that the dynamics of "institutionalization" and "renewal" drawn from earlier…

Outcomes of a restructuring program implemented in the Fluvanna County High School, Help Instructional Growth Happen, are reported in this paper. Program goals were to: (1) establish a cooperative steering committee; (2) develop a cooperative learning language; and (3) implement interdisciplinary teacher teams. Three areas were…