This article describes a class room activity introduced at Unionville High School in Kennett Square, PA. Humanities teacher Daniel Lipowitz partnered with engineering teacher Michael Berkeihiser and other STEM teachers to put the humanities (H) in "SHTEM." Sophomore English students were asked to re-engineer the conflict in common works…

Larissa Pahomov teaches students English and Journalism at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school opened its doors to students just seven years ago and was designed to encourage both inquiry and critical pedagogy. To those ends, there is a thematic curriculum for each grade level--for sophomores, it's…

In this article, Joshua Block states that his high school students are creators discovering how to express their ideas and emotions in multiple, complex ways. He teaches students who write their lives through words on pages as they fill journal after journal. There are others who constantly write and create in the form of tweets, photos, videos,…

Penn State Hazleton sits at the very edge of town, on the top of a large hill, literally, as far removed from Hazleton as it possibly can be. Only a handful of professors actually live in Hazleton, and nearly all students return home for the weekend. Compared with the main campus, the student population at Penn State Hazleton is quite diverse.…

A visit to any classroom at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) or The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children reveals a host of amazing things--all at the same time. Visitors see dedicated and passionate teachers presenting engaging and relevant material. They see an all-inclusive communication environment, where…

As they wait to see how the latest push for common national standards plays out, some states are putting off or slowing the revision of their own academic standards to avoid wasted effort and spending. At least four states--Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania--have halted revision of their standards for mathematics or English/language…

This series of reports, "Teachers Are the Center of Education," was developed to highlight the importance of teachers and the quality of their work. This specific report, a partnership among the College Board, the National Writing Project and Phi Delta Kappa International, shines the spotlight on one aspect of teacher work: the…

Philadelphia made early investments in reforms designed to address the challenges of large neighborhood high schools, including supports for the critical ninth grade transition year. Well over a decade later, our research shows that freshman year interventions are frequently not implemented in ways that maximize their effectiveness. This policy…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report is…

Each year more than 572,500 international students enroll in more than 3,300 colleges and universities in the United States. Currently, about 84,000 of these students attend community colleges. Why do so many international students choose to pursue higher education in the United States? First, U.S. colleges and universities welcome and value…

Pennsylvania's instructional support initiatives for secondary students with special needs include collaboration, curriculum-based assessment, learning strategies, and instructional adaptations. A learning strategies model for low achievers is described, followed by one school's experience using instructional supports in regular English classes…

A staff development program was conducted to provide adult educators in Pennsylvania with information about adults with learning differences and information about using alternative instructional tools and techniques to instruct such adults. The following four training sessions were developed: (1) Teaching GED (General Educational Development) Math…