The objective of this study was to ascertain the reasons why a specific urban Catholic high school was successful with a highly at-risk population of students. The school examined in this study was named Dylan High School. A common phrase discussed at this school when referencing student success was a phenomenon called the "Dylan Way." However, it…

This qualitative single-site case study examined the philosophy, decisions, and behaviors of a particular male school principal who subscribed to a form of care-based leadership practice. A Pennsylvania high school principal with a distinct leadership philosophy centered on the ethic of care was chosen to participate in this study. The purpose of…

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.

Literature that discusses transformative change in schools typically draws on experiences of renewal and change in existing schools. This report explores the shaping of a new school with the intent, established at the very outset, of offering a curriculum for the 21st century. The report discusses four key aspects of curriculum innovation at this…

This case study describes how Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), a rural school district in California's Central Valley, began to fulfill its vision to transform high school and career education through the implementation of Linked Learning. Linked Learning is a state-wide initiative for redesigning large comprehensive high schools into…

School reformers hope that converting comprehensive high schools into collections of small schools will produce results similar to those realized in freestanding small schools. This comparative case study revisits two "conversions" as they complete the grant funding that supported the reform, in order to explore the extent to which…

Analyzes the scheduling process in four San Francisco Bay Area high schools as a study of stratification. Finds that the processing of clients takes precedence over the delivery of educational services, especially for the less advantaged. (DM)

This study examines the leadership and management skills needed to improve urban high schools. Information was drawn from a national survey of 178 urban high school principals whose schools had been conducting serious improvement efforts for up to 4 years and in-depth case studies of five large high schools in the following urban areas: (1)…

This study is based on an external assessment of the School Self-Renewal Program in New York City. The program represents the largest and longest running Organization Development (OD) program in the country. Twelve of 24 high schools participating in the program in 1977 were sampled. The renewal model employed for school based change was found to…

After an extensive study of school organization and discipline in a large number of schools, the author summarizes some of his findings about the way in which school organization can influence student behavior and teachers' coping skills. (Editor/RK)

Using participant observation, interviews, and other ethnographic methods, the author examined organizational structures and administrative processes and behavior in an innovative senior high school located in a large urban area and known for its implementation of individually guided education. Data analysis yielded theories grounded in the…

This study compares open education groups and traditional education groups with respect to student attitudes toward high school; creative thinking of students; collaborative behavior among students; and student preferences for intellectual activities, activities involving change or sameness, and activities involving autonomy or dependence. Groups…

This study assesses community-sponsored Jewish supplementary high schools, and its implications were analyzed and applied to proposed closings and mergers among Catholic schools in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Data were gathered via administration of a questionnaire, follow-up interviews, an examination of published articles and reports and…

Studies the complex layers making up a school culture and their effect on the routine organizational decision in handling truancy. Findings suggest school cultures, although unified at the organizational level, are inconsistent at the subcultural or individual level. Members can exercise greater flexibility within the organization but also can…

A two-year qualitative study of mathematics and English teachers in two urban comprehensive high schools investigated how teacher community serves as resource for teacher development and school reform. A school engaged in whole-school reform sustained high teacher commitment and school-level community by constituting professional community…