School reformers are often searching for a program that will have a positive and far-reaching effect on a school campus. Researchers and writers have described the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB DP) as a largely positive influence on a school campus, providing a rigorous and standards-based curriculum to IB DP students. However,…

This case tells the story of James Madison High School, which became the epicenter of a debate over the future reorganization and control of large secondary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The LAUSD, recently taken over by the newly elected mayor, was fighting for control of this 3,000-student high school with a charter…

A House system is planned for Cypress Junior College, California, for an expected enrollment of 12,000. This idea of a residence hall where students live and work together may be organized around a major field (science, engineering, arts) or for a deliberate interdisciplinary mix. Usually a House plan brings living and learning together to…

Santa Maria High School reorganized its management structure so that the comprehensive program for 2400 students requires only four line administrators. Students and teachers are grouped into three learning units, organized around the graduation proficiency requirements of California law AB 65. An organizational chart is provided. (SJL)

Searching for ways to help students feel more connected to one another and to the school community as a whole, a junior high school implemented the social house approach. Social houses divide students into multiple social units, rather than into separate academic entities. Each unit has its own identity and theme.The different groups mix during…