This report contains the results of a formative evaluation of the subschool system at Hamilton Senior High School in the state of Western Australia. To implement the subschool system, the school, housing grades 8 through 12, was divided into smaller administrative and social units. In the final stages of reorganization, the school was made up of…

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…

Des Moines, Iowa's School within a School is locally funded program of instruction in basic skills, career guidance, and counseling support to meet needs of at-risk seventh- to tenth-grade students attending city's comprehensive middle and high schools. Program evaluations indicate declining dropout rate, increased attendance, and progress toward…

Discusses findings of two studies conducted in the Poudre District in Fort Collins, Colorado, which had experienced rapid implementations of in-district choice, a school-within-a-school, several public alternative schools, and a charter school. Debate rages over relationships between public schools and their communities, school choice and academic…

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.…

Five years into an eight-year study of its high school improvement efforts, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is shifting its strategy for evaluating the $1.3 billion grant program. The foundation's initiative, which is underwriting change efforts in more than 1,800 schools, is the nation's largest privately funded attempt to improve high…

This practicum report describes a year-long effort to reorganize a large urban junior high school according to the "house plan" concept, in which the school is organized administratively and geographically by grade level, rather than by academic department. The reorganization plan involved five major changes, including relocation of departments…

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…

This report concludes that the house plan should be the centerpiece of a systematic restructuring of New York City neighborhood high schools to reduce the dropout rate and improve academic achievement. The house plan is based on the subdivision of one or more grades into smaller schools within schools. Long-term monitoring of New York City dropout…

This study reports the results of 3 years of implementation of a Partnership Academy, a restructuring model for at-risk high school students at J. Sterling Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois. Based on the California model, the partnership academy is distinguished by four features: a multi-year, school-within-a-school structure from 10th…

This evaluation of the 1988-89 Public Private Partnership (PPP) program in Washington (District of Columbia) was seriously limited by the unavailability of statistical data on student progress and internship performance. PPP was designed to improve the preparation of high school students for the world of work by involving community businesses in…

This interim report evaluates the implementation of the "House Plan," a plan to create small personalized schools within the 110 large comprehensive high schools in New York (New York) by subdividing all ninth grades into separate units. This evaluation covers only the 37 "dropout prevention" high schools which had been…

This interim evaluation compares the initiation, design, and curriculum of two school-based "academy" programs in Oakland (California) high schools and examines their links to the school district and the business community. The academy model of schools-within-a-school originated in Philadelphia. The Health Academy at Oakland Technical…

In this book, the findings of a study on schools within schools are described. The professional research and literature on alternative public education, with a focus on schools within schools, is explored. Based on the research, a list of elements characteristic to and useful for the implementation and perpetuation of optional alternative programs…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds a 5-year program supporting the start-up of new small high schools of no more than 400 students and the conversion of larger high schools into smaller, more personalized schools or learning communities. This report focuses on the program's first year and compares new small schools, large high schools…