High school is an inescapably vocational institution whose occupational focus is largely hidden. Integration of vocational and academic education through academies, occupationally focused schools, and occupational clusters may eliminate "shopping mall" course selections, improve teaching of all subjects, enhance student engagement with learning,…

Presents results of a school-restructuring case study involving a high school participating in the Coalition of Essential Schools and RE: Learning Project. Nine common coalition principles were implemented, primarily within the school-within-a-school program. Barriers included staff jealousy, political controversy, decreased staff development…

Through dedicated educators' efforts, positive climates can be established even in schools with challenging conditions. This article describes two southern urban high schools that beat the odds. The first, a public high school for African Americans, adopted site-based management; the second features an optional creative and performing arts program…

Discusses the growing array of school choice options, including: magnet schools; schools-within-schools; alternative schools; charter schools; and school voucher programs. The paper examines the impact of and potential problems with school choice and recommends that public school advocates recognize the need for public schools to continue to…

Describes Noble High School, the largest in Maine. The $33.6 million project has 15 separate, 100-student "communities" within the school, which accommodate the district's project-based, team teaching methods. In addition, the facility provides space for myriad community functions. (EV)

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 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…

Longitudinal data from two cohorts of over 4,000 students, followed from grade 7 through grade 9, reveal that schools differed in track structure, criteria for student assignment, assignment flexibility, and the effects of tracking on student growth in achievement over time. Implications for the school choice debate are discussed. (SV)

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…

An alternative schools "explosion" is currently producing a large number of diverse educational choices for parents and students. Alternative schools, or those schools that offer all students a distinctive choice of educational programs, can be classified by philosophy, curriculum, or governance. This report defines, explains, and…

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…

Three high schools in Minnesota's Twin Cities area exemplify impressive educational equalization gains stemming from a 1971 law shifting school funding from local taxes to state income and sales taxes. Although the schools vary in structure, populations, and leadership style, all are accomplishing major restructuring efforts via flexible…

Health professionals concerned about children's mental health say schools have become more stressful places and that many students cannot handle the pressure. Factors contributing to students' stress include high-stakes testing, fear of failure, parent pressure, and large impersonal schools. To combat the effects of a large school, Venice High…