Research in veterinary medical education has illustrated the challenges students face with respect to mental and emotional wellness, lack of attention to physical health, and limited opportunities to meaningfully engage with persons from different backgrounds. In response, the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine has…

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 dissertation explores unexamined assumptions linking the context of small learning communities to the outcome of quality civic education. Civic education scholars and advocates for small learning communities espouse similar visions of education based on democratic ideals; the purpose of this study was to explore whether and in what ways small…

This qualitative multisite case study examined how three high schools within one large urban district supported ninth-grade students' needs through interdisciplinary teaming. Data collected during the 2006-2007 school year included observations, interviews, and archival evidence of 67 participants. Findings suggest teacher communication as a…

Although the number of high school students not graduating is alarming, a successful transition from middle school to high school can place students on the path toward graduation. In 2009, a large, suburban high school implemented a school-within-a-school program to help ease this difficult transition for incoming, at-risk freshmen students. The…

No study has comprehensively examined what types of students are attending new small schools in New York City and whether these students have different characteristics, on average, than students at the schools they replaced. This study fills this gap by comparing the characteristics of entering new small high school students with those of all…

The second year of operation of Hilo High School's "School-Within-A-School" [SWS] program is evaluated in this paper. Planning, training, and program implementation are described in the document. The following are the results of the program: There was an improvement in attendance among project students when compared to their record in…

First in a series of successful innovations reported by readers, the article describes the "House Group" concept at Shoreham-Wading River (New York) High School. The House Group emphasizes the individual relationship between a student and an adult adviser who serves as advocate and mature "friend." (Author/MLF)

Given the widening achievement gap between whites and students of color in US schools, Small Learning Communities have emerged as a reform measure claimed to boost achievement in general and among racial minorities. This article examines this claim by reviewing the major policy documents and literature on SLC and analyzing SLC using Frank's (1972)…

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 section of this paper outlines the 3-year evaluation plan for the Health/Science School (1992-1995), with a focus on identifying program outcomes and developing assessment measures.…

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…

The Ninth Grade Houses Program of the New York City public high schools is described, and evaluation outcomes and recommendations are presented. The general goal was to help ninth graders adjust to high school. The purposes were to: (1) generate student engagement; (2) provide opportunity for sustained, meaningful interaction with respected…

In this article, the author discusses small learning communities (SLCs), a term that is used to refer to the practice of organizing secondary schools into smaller units. Features of SLCs include small structure, curricular specialization and choice, a focus on the learner and learning, and, in particular, the active and collaborative nature of…

The School Within-a-School Program (SWAS) of the Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools was established as an intervention/reform program, which became part of the court-ordered desegregation program, for at-risk students in grades 7 and 9. In the last year of evaluation, the group consisted of 678 students. This summative longitudinal evaluation…

Career academies are characterized by these three basic features: a school-within-a-school organizational structure, curricula that combine academic and career or technical courses based on a career theme, and partnerships with local employers. In a 10-year longitudinal study of the academy model, begun in 1993 in 9 schools around the country,…