The School Questionnaire was administered as part of the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is a state and nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The selected school samples include about 10,600 traditional and…

In this article, I analyze the formation of Shearwater High School in St. Louis, Missouri and I explore the identity work involved in building the school. Diverging from standardization trends in urban education, the school came to fruition through a creative process, which was in-flux and supported by diverse communities in St. Louis. This…

In this quantitative study, the perceptions of safety and preparedness of Missouri's high school administrators after participating in active shooter training as mandated by Missouri's Senate Bill No. 75 were analyzed. As school shootings continue, states have passed legislation to prepare schools to provide safety for students and faculty members…

This chapter explores the evolving landscape of the urban college from the perspective of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. It frames innovative and creative ways to develop unique partnerships with local high schools and employers, exemplified by the best collaborative practices of Cuyahoga and other community colleges.

The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative study was to examine the extent to which attending an alternative educational program at some point during high school could likely influence the graduation rate of at-risk students in an urban school district in the state of Missouri. Four years of nonrandom samples of graduation data from 2006…

Every step in a student's life is important for future success. Schools are building stronger frameworks of curricula, instruction and assessments to prepare students to move from one learning environment to another with maximum results as they journey toward adulthood. This issue of "High Schools That Work" contains examples of…

This report compares the demand for public education in St. Louis during the 2007-08 school year with both the supply and location of public schools operated by St. Louis Public Schools and charter schools. The geographic areas of analysis are the city of St. Louis and its zip codes. The first four sections of this report contain background…

Schoolwide support for higher achievement is essential. Students need a nurturing environment where they feel secure about learning, where the goal is success for every student and where students are confident they will receive mentoring and encouragement to prepare for their futures. Many schools are reinventing themselves to motivate students to…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Nation's Report Card": Reading Scores Flat for Fourth Graders; Eighth Graders Improve by One Point; (2)…

Reports the results of a survey of a random sample of 250 Missouri high school American History teachers, 88 percent of whom responded to a questionnaire mailed to them. (JM)

St. Louis schools are served by five major programs funded by Title I of the Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965. The Reading Improvement Teams help those children whose reading deficit is the greatest. Each team is composed of a principal, a reading assistant, a remedial reading teacher, a reading aide, and 10 classroom teachers. The Rooms…

This document presents case studies of three excellent schools (one each at the elementary school, middle school, and high school levels), and describes the methods by which these schools achieved recognition in order to offer suggestions for community members working to improve their own schools. The book is organized into six chapters. The first…

The purpose of this small study is to describe and consider the perceptions of various individuals and groups--particularly teachers and students involved in or familiar with the general situation at Southeast High School (a pseudonym) and the work of the Grievance Committee in particular. The study was conducted by interviewing several key staff…

Because of the extensive and sometimes costly expansions in the educational offering of the rapidly growing secondary schools, the present need for interpretation is probably more insistent at this level of the educational ladder than at any other. It will be helpful to those in charge of secondary education to know what high schools are doing to…

This study examined differences in nine factors between a group of the highest-performing needs high schools (HPHN) and a group of the lowest performing high-needs (LPHN) high schools using teacher responses from a national dataset. The factors are: (1) shared mission and goals; (2) professional development; (3) collaboration among teachers (4)…