Secondary Schools
The outcomes of secondary schools today are far from what we would like them to be. Far too many students drop out of school, and even those who graduate are typically ill-prepared for post-secondary education or the world of work. The effects of poverty, the needs of diverse student populations and learners, and the effective support of an ever-growing English language learner population continues to prove challenging for most schools and districts. These challenges are perhaps most pronounced in urban settings, where the drop out rate can be near or greater than 50%, and student achievement drastically less than other schools and districts in the state.
With a clear focus on challenges and a laser-like focus on meeting those challenges through systemic and strategic strategies and systems of support the outcomes need not to be so dire. The Alliance works with schools and districts to increase student achievement by using an integrated and mutually supportive set of strategies that attend to the structures, leadership practices, personalization activities, and use of professional learning communities to continually enhance teaching and learning throughout the school. This requires a deliberate and focused use of a district's and school's resources that supports a specific and ongoing plan of development. The plan needs to be based on a careful analysis of the school's needs, strategic mapping of its challenges and the implementation of strategies to overcome those challenges. Along with ongoing monitoring of outcomes and the effective use of leadership, these combined efforts can lead to significant change.
Our work focuses on the following topics:
Related Work
- Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Support and Capacity Building Program
- Smaller Learning Communities Technical Assistance
- Secondary School Redesign Technical Assistance (Breaking Ranks Process of High School Reform)
- Secondary School Redesign - High School Graduation Requirements
- Personalized Learning Project
- Providence High School Restructuring
Related Publications
- Changing Systems to Personalize Learning: A Workshop Series
- Building a Portfolio of High Schools: A Strategic Investment Toolkit
- Big Buildings, Small Schools: Using a Small Schools Strategy for High School Reform
- From Large to Small: Strategies for Personalizing the High School
Related Professional Services
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