Expanding high school options: Gates Foundation identifies first steps for transforming existing schools and creating new ones

School Administrator, Oct, 2003 by Tom Vander Ark

* Acknowledge students learn in different ways and engage them.

Students are motivated by different environments and experiences. They, along with their parents, should have the opportunity to select among a variety of high-quality, coherent options. This implies a different view of choice. Rather than simply choosing between a hundred unrelated courses, students should be able to choose the school that is best for them.

* Give students the personalized support they need to succeed.

All students should receive the time and attention they need to succeed. All students should have the benefit of an adult advocate at school--someone who knows how they are doing in every subject, provides a single point of contact for parents and provides individual guidance.

Every good high school we've visited is different, but they all integrate each of these assumptions into their work. They engage students in a rigorous curriculum, they provide sustained support and guidance, they are all small and personalized, and they cultivate a culture of respect and responsibility. They also are schools of choice either within public districts, public charters or private schools.

Beginning Steps

With strong K-8 literacy programs in place, many school districts have turned their attention to high schools. More than half of the major urban districts in this country are working hard to improve high schools and high school outcomes. With this much work under way, we can draw some important lessons from the leaders on the front lines of the high school revolution.

These high school pioneers have shown us four steps to changing our schools: (1) frame the problem; (2) engage teachers and parents in identifying solutions; (3) begin the process of transforming existing high schools and starting new ones; and (4) provide portfolio leadership.

* Frame the problem.

Standards and testing have begun to expose the failure in American schools. The achievement gap is widely recognized and frequently discussed. However, the graduation gap remains largely invisible. Few teachers, not to mention community members, realize the gravity of the high school dropout problem.

For those students who do graduate, many find they are not adequately prepared for college, work or citizenship. According to "Reality Check," a 2002 report released by Public Agenda, most students and teachers believe that receiving a high school diploma means students have learned the basics, while fewer than 40 percent of employers and professors attach the same value to a secondary school degree. While this may have been acceptable two generations ago, in today's world, it's a crisis--a civic, social and economic crisis.

There are two sources that help frame the problem:

* Student voices: The best place to start is by talking to a cross-section of students: top students, dropouts and recent graduates. Surprisingly, you're likely to hear the same thing from each group: No one cared about me, school was boring, and nothing made sense. In other words, anonymity, irrelevance and incoherence.