New models for high school

Imagine this: Take a group of teenagers who have been listening to their own playlist of songs on MP3 players and creating their own music videos for YouTube. Then try to get them to choose music from a selection put together by their parents and available only on vinyl.

Think you’d have trouble engaging them? Of course.

Yet in many ways, that’s what high schools do when they take a traditional approach to teaching. They offer young people accustomed to shaping their own worlds a one-size-fits-all education – an experience that fails to take into account their interests, talents or learning styles.

It isn’t effective.

That’s why we are helping create a supportive environment for new models for high school in Ohio – whole new ways of teaching that can engage today’s students and prepare them for a world that will demand entirely different kinds of abilities and skills.

Small schools, personalized education

The Ohio High School Transformation Initiative (OHSTI), one of the boldest school reform projects in the country, launched 73 new high schools in 11 urban districts. By dividing existing large schools into campuses of specialized schools with only 400 students – and molding those schools into vibrant, demanding places of learning – we changed the course of failing schools and failing students. We continue to support small schools that personalize learning and to push for public policies that

Schools that blend high school and college

Early college high schools make college a reality for students who otherwise might never aim beyond a high school diploma. By creating the opportunity and expectation for students to attend college while still in high school – and offering broad support to help them succeed – early college schools launch students from disadvantaged backgrounds into better lives. We helped introduce early college high schools to Ohio and built a network of nine schools where students can earn up to two years of college during high school.

Real-life stories of high school reform

Reinventing high schools is hard work, and large-scale change can’t happen without the dedication and effort of countless teachers, administrators and students. We recognize how important it is to understand what it’s like for those on the front lines of change – and to learn from their experiences. So we employ a new strategy called storytelling to capture what’s going on in innovative schools, up close and personal.