Public high schools today are faced with the challenge of preparing a diverse student population for both post-secondary education and entering the work force. However, they are doing so under the constraints of an educational structure that was developed years ago and one that has failed to adapt to the many changes in society. Schools are…

The citizens of Norfolk, Virginia, challenged educators to preserve a large, comprehensive high school while implementing a small-school concept. Staff responded by establishing four academies within the larger school that conveyed the feeling of smallness. Administration is decentralized, and special classes and computer labs are held outside the…

De-departmentalizing the high school into smaller integrated quads would make possible the necessary frequent review and revision of the curriculum and facilitate change with greater ease. Inflexibility could give way to creativity and provide a humanistic environment to meet the needs of adolescents. (Author)

Four secondary teachers, long accustomed to working in isolation, joined forces to provide an interdisciplinary program with flexible scheduling and common planning periods. This article describes their school-within-a-school program, its acceptance by the Coalition of Essential Schools, and the program's benefits. A sidebar provides restructuring…

The American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) annual meeting stressed school restructuring, schools within schools, in which groups of teachers work within the system to change the system. The delegates passed a number of resolutions that called for extending current services or initiating new ones. (MLF)

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)

In this article, the author advocates co-educational residence halls for college/university campuses. He argues that this living arrangement is more natural and promotes the fullest possible development of the individual through meaningful relationships with the same and opposite sex; it helps to teach the residents personal and social integration…

Discusses "pods,""team areas," and "houses" as middle school physical environments that support the type of learning opportunities young adolescents need. Offers examples of such school designs from Cleveland, Tennessee; British Columbia; and Milledgeville, Georgia. Concludes by suggesting specifications for new middle school buildings. (EV)

At their annual meeting, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) proposed that school reform begin with schools within schools. The arrangement would involve groups of teachers who plan and set up experimental schools within existing schools. (MLF)

Proposes a modified English "house system" to personalize American high schools, thus increasing individual guidance and student sense of belonging. (DW)

This newsletter briefly discusses the question of whether or not large secondary schools suffer from more problems than smaller schools and then examines the possibility of subdividing large schools through use of the "school-within-a-school" approach. Two different variations on the school-within-a-school approach are described, including…

The conversion of large urban high schools into small, focused learning centers is gaining currency as an education reform strategy. This publication provides guidelines, along with guiding questions, for those considering such a conversion. The first section explores the structural, organizational, and political challenges involved in converting…

Large school size adversely affects attendance, school climate, student involvement. Dividing large schools into small units creates a learning and teaching context that is more stable, intimate, supportive, interdisciplinary. Kohn-Holweide, a comprehensive German secondary school, groups all students at a given grade level with the same teachers…

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…