Last month, the Alliance for Excellent Education held a Webinar about the lessons learned from the New York City (NYC) “small schools of choice” (SSCs) initiative.  As part of this initiative, New York City closed more than 20 underperforming public high schools and in their place opened new small nonselective schools of choice. The new schools served on average 100 students per grade level and were personalized not only…

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“When students are actively involved in their education, they take ownership of their learning.” This concept is what Sheila Harrity, principal, and Mary O’Malley, assistant principal, of Worcester Technical High School (WTHS) in Worcester, Massachusetts, say is the key to ensuring its students achieve success in their postsecondary endeavors. They offered insight into WTHS’s focus on authentic learning to approximately 50 attendees as part of the School Showcase component…

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In an era of increasingly constrained budgets, schools across the nation are looking for creative ways to cut spending without compromising the quality of the education they deliver. Energy efficiency offers a solution by freeing up funds that can be used elsewhere and by providing invaluable opportunities for hands-on learning for students inside their own school building. Through the application of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), students are empowered…

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In late October, the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) and the Harvard Graduate School of Education co-sponsored the 2011 National Convening on Expanded Time and Learning in Boston, MA. The event was attended by over 450 education leaders from 30 states who came together to discuss and share strategies for more effective use of time during the regular school day as well as expanding learning time…

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The American Institutes for Research (AIR), as a partner in the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd, has been working with the California Department of Education’s (CDE) K-12 Office of Innovation and Improvement (formerly the Middle Grades Improvement Office) over the past year to identify key strategies California schools use to help students transition from the middle grades to high school and graduate.  They have recently authored a report, Making…

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In past blog entries we have written about the importance of increased learning time in high school to help students get on track for graduation. However, it is also important to start these opportunities earlier than high school to ensure students do not fall off-track, and instead obtain the skills they need – especially in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) – to get ahead in high school when…

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This is the last in a series of four posts on using career and technical education (CTE) to turn around low-performing schools.  Click here to read the previous posts: CTE’s Role in Turning Around Low-performing Schools, CTE’s Role in Turning Around Low-performing Schools: New Britain, Connecticut, and CTE’s Role in Turning Around Low-performing Schools: Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD, Texas.

As an urban Title I school that had not made adequate yearly progress…

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