In order to assess how completely a Small Learning Community (SLC) and/or Career Academy is implemented in any given site, and to connect the degree of implementation with the amount of improvement in student performance, two kinds of information are needed. The first is information on the quality of implementation, which can be collected by…

Research has shown that there are essential scheduling practices for high-performing schools that have been able to implement innovative "nontraditional" schedules. What these have in common is the focus on personalized learning environments for students. Personalized learning can mean career academies/smaller learning communities (SLCs), in which…

This document presents the basics of the career academy, a method of integrating vocational with academic educational systems and of providing a contextually valid education. The first section outlines the problems that the academy systems attempt to address, the four major principles essential for the success of career academies, and the nine…

The Urban Teacher Academy Project (UTAP) promotes the recruitment and preparation of qualified and diverse teachers for urban schools by expanding a school-to-career approach through high school teaching career academies. The UTAP has documented the best practices and developed practical information to guide the formation of career teaching…

This document, which is based on the findings of case studies of how four high schools from across the country have successfully implemented the schoolwide career academy model, presents recent developments and best practices in schoolwide career academies. The document consists of a brief introduction describing the case studies and one chapter…

This publication describes the following six programs designed to improve education and employment preparation for adolescents and funded by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds: (1) High Schools that Work, a national initiative that assists more than 1,000 high schools in 22 states as they upgrade their rigor and improve their quality of…

This document examines issues in schoolwide application of career academies. Part 1 reviews the three defining features of career academies: (1) a career academy is a small learning community in which a cluster of students share several classes each year that are taught by the same team of teachers over a period of 2-4 years; (3) each academy…