The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program was established in response to growing national concerns about students too often lost and alienated in large, impersonal high schools, as well as concerns about school safety and low levels of achievement and graduation for many students. This brief report presents highlights from the Final Report,…

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…

The Accelerate Online/OPTIONS alternative certification program provides those possessing a degree an option leading to certification that can be completed in 18 months. The program consists of an online curriculum, an early field experience, and a year-long paid internship. To determine program effectiveness across five years, five benchmark…

The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program was established in response to growing national concerns about students too often lost and alienated in large, impersonal high schools, as well as concerns about school safety and low levels of achievement and graduation for many students. Authorized under the "Elementary and Secondary Education…

This booklet summarizes research on best practices for implementing successful small learning communities and career academies. When well implemented, improvements in instructional and personalization strategies in combination with structural supports have demonstrated improved student attendance and learning. "From High School to Learning…

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…

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…

There is an urgent need not only to attract more people into the teaching profession but also to build a more diverse, highly qualified, and culturally sensitive teaching force that can meet the needs of a rapidly changing school-age population. This Toolkit takes best practices from high school teacher academies around the United States and…

A case study of a large nonselective urban high school in Baltimore (Maryland) describes the design and implementation of a comprehensive package of school reforms, the Talent Development Model with Career Academies. Qualitative and quantitative evidence is provided on significant improvements in school climate, student attendance, promotion…

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 book examines the capacity of the career academy--one of the initiatives spawned by the school-to-work movement--to address academic reform in terms of increased education and workplace skills. Qualitative data collected as part of a 7-year local evaluation of career academies and a data set that contains transcript data on a population of…

This first report from a national evaluation of Career Academies describes the program's scale (1,953 students and their teachers, at 10 sites), scope (educational, developmental, and employment-related results), and random assignment design. Chapter 1 describes the Career Academy approach, explores why it has attracted the attention of education…

This paper's title summarizes the authors' two main aims. For a number of years, the authors have been helping high schools and districts that are attempting to create or improve career academies. Their assistance includes developing the schools' own capacity to keep track of results for students, relying mainly on information that is ordinarily…

Career academies are high school programs that frame academic learning around a career focus in order to increase student motivation and achievement. They generally have three defining features: a school-within-a-school structure, a college preparation curriculum with a career theme, and partnerships with employers, the community, and higher…

This document presents four case studies illustrating how selected high schools from across the country have implemented the career academy model schoolwide. The case studies profile the career academies of the following schools: (1) Ben Franklin High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); (2) Oak Grove High School (San Jose, California); (3) South…