Case studies of two high schools that have been turned around from failing to successful show different ways in which failing high schools can be made to succeed. Both high schools concentrated on first helping incoming freshman, and both reforms were driven by data. They differed in staffing and the focus of their first year of reform.

A speculative story that outlines the organization and curriculum of an ideal high school in the future. (IRT)

Motivational factors affecting decisions to discontinue existing minicourse programs or to not consider the adoption of minicourse programs tend to be programmatic and administrative rather than philosophical. (Author/IRT)

Familiar high school problems include unprepared and apathetic students, inadequate teachers' salaries and benefits, and outmoded grade-level systems. Improvement requires new schooling models including clearer goals, advancement linked to skills mastery, promotion of thinking skills, less fragmented school time, elimination of age-grading, less…

First in a series of successful innovations reported by readers, the article describes the "House Group" concept at Shoreham-Wading River (New York) High School. The House Group emphasizes the individual relationship between a student and an adult adviser who serves as advocate and mature "friend." (Author/MLF)

Proposes a modified English "house system" to personalize American high schools, thus increasing individual guidance and student sense of belonging. (DW)

As suggested by standard indicators--truancy, dropout rates, graffiti, vandalism, violence--youngsters in small schools rarely display the anger at the institution and its inhabitants that typifies Columbine and many other comprehensive high schools. Educators must cultivate learning communities and qualities (like empathy and compassion)…

Near destruction of the city's school plant had a single merit: Londoners could rebuild from scratch. One result is England's highly regarded comprehensive secondary school system. (Author)

Horizon High School combats student dropout rates in Bakersfield (California) by maintaining a small enrollment, high community involvement, close student-teacher relationships, flexible scheduling, and attention to individual students' educational needs and interests. Student attendance, graduation rates, and standardized test scores are…

By redeploying staff members and students so that teachers can concentrate on teaching students rather than "covering" classes, American high schools can reduce class size and foster a more productive learning environment. The "Copernican" reorganization plan features macroscheduling, individualized instruction, accommodation…

The Carnegie structure, involving seven-period days and nine different locations daily, is an ineffective system. The Copernican plan changes school scheduling by lengthening instructional periods for fewer and smaller classes. The system should improve teacher-student relationships, lighten workloads, and introduce innovative evaluation and…

Students who neither cause problems nor display giftedness tend to receive little attention in high schools. Research findings from thousands of observations in fifteen high schools suggest that the varied curricula that support special students allow average students to drift through school. Schools must be restructured to motivate average…