Ohio High School Transformation Initiative

Redesigned high schools

ImageIn 2002, the problem was clear. Ohio’s inner-city high schools weren’t meeting the needs of their students. Far too many graduated without a path to a sustainable career or dropped out before graduating.

The reason was also clear. Large high schools designed for the industrial era didn’t offer students experience and knowledge relevant to their futures. These schools weren’t asking enough of teenagers, and their size allowed many to fall through the cracks.

Small schools, personalized education

KnowledgeWorks Foundation took on the challenge of creating urban high schools that would engage young people with demanding, relevant education and prepare them for 21st-century careers. Working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners, KnowledgeWorks created the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative (OHSTI), one of the boldest school reform projects in the country.

Over the course of four years, we launched 73 new small high schools in 11 urban districts across the state – schools that were shaped by practices drawn from the best research available, deep involvement by their communities and extensive professional development to help educators put new ideas into practice. 

Personalized education works. The move to small schools produced real results. Within three years, the graduation rates in OHSTI schools had increased by more than 31% and nearly 90% of schools reported improved test scores in both reading and math.

With the need for effective high school strategies greater than ever, we continue to support small schools and to help districts find better ways to reach today’s students.

What is the small schools model?

KnowledgeWorks developed a comprehensive approach to redesigning large, impersonal high schools into campuses of effective small schools that means:

  • Existing campuses are divided into independent schools of no more than 400 students, the number shown to be most effective.
  • Each school has its own identity – often an area of focus, such as business or creative arts, or a curriculum model, such as expeditionary learning.
  • Each school has its own leadership, and leadership is shared by administrators and teachers. School leaders have broad authority for resources, staffing, curriculum development and instructional strategies in their individual schools, but are trained in techniques that allow for collaboration across the campus.
  • A rigorous, standards-based curriculum is combined with new teaching methods. Students benefit from such instructional approaches as real-world learning experiences, longer class periods, project-based learning and cross-curricular study.
  • The benefits of small size are magnified through other techniques that nurture close working relationships between teachers and students, such as teachers serving as student advisers.

OHSTI campuses

McKinley High School, Canton City Schools

Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District

East High School, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Brookhaven High School, Columbus City Schools

Shaw High School, East Cleveland City Schools

Lima Senior High School, Lima City Schools

Libbey High School, Toledo City Schools

Scott High School, Toledo City Schools

East High School, Youngstown City Schools

Chaney High School, Youngstown City Schools