Publications
Case Study: Summit Technology Academy
This case study details how Summit Technology Academy offers rigorous programs of study that blend classroom instruction with real-world, hands-on experiences to get students college- and career-ready.
Case Study: Blackman High School – Raising Expectations of All Students
Blackman High School (BHS) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is committed to raising expectations, enhancing academic studies and providing extra help for students. Administrators ask all teachers, regardless of the content area, to integrate reading and writing into their lessons. This case study details how BHS used the HSTW school improvement model to increase its graduation and retention rates and prepare students for both college and careers.
Case Study – Fort Mill High School: A Culture of Continuous Improvement
This case study details Fort Mill High School’s dedication to a culture of continuous improvement. The school has established “The Power of I” redo/reteach and relearn policy, an extra help center, a mastery algebra program, and enriching career-technical studies linked to rigorous academics. It has helped Fort Mill earn an on-time graduation rate of more than 90 percent.
HSTW Profile: Louisiana High School Weathers the Storm to Become a Leader in Student Achievement and High Graduation Rates
Warren Easton Charter High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, has weathered changes of many types, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After having to close for the 2005-2006 school year, the school reopened as a charter school with a board and stepped up its efforts to raise student achievement. Now the school is receiving attention for the academic successes of its 100 percent minority student body. This profile describes how Warren Easton has implemented the HSTW improvement model to realize higher achievement scores, an attendance rate of more than 96 percent, a graduation rate of 98 percent and a dropout rate of less than 1 percent.
HSTW Profile: Queens Vocational and Technical High School and High Schools That Work — Improving SLCs in NYC
Queens Vocational and Technical High School (QVTHS) serves a culturally diverse student population of 1,200 students from across New York City. The school is a part of a cohort of New York City schools that were awarded a United States Department of Education grant to reorganize into small learning communities (SLCs). This profile explains how QVTHS used theHigh Schools That Work framework not only to organize into effective SLCs but also to implement a variety of improvement efforts to ensure success for all students.
More Than 20 Years as a High Schools That Work Site
William Byrd High School (WBHS) in Vinton, Virginia, is a dynamic place for learning and preparing students for college and careers. General track courses have been eliminated. Hundreds of students take Algebra II even though it’s not a state requirement. Students participate in cooperative education. Parents are deeply engaged in helping students select programs of study. Ninety percent of students graduate on time, and 83 percent go on to postsecondary study.
Literacy Design Collaborative and Struggling Readers:
A Perfect Match
A common misconception is that Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) is not a good fit in classes geared toward struggling readers and writers. Nicole Craig, a reading intervention teacher at Avalon Middle School (AMS) in Orlando, Florida knows firsthand this is not true.
Actions States Can Take to Place a Highly Qualified Career/Technical Teacher in Every Classroom
Besides presenting actions for states to take to strengthen the preparation of their career/technical teachers, this report also addresses five key questions with respect to recruitment, preparation, induction and support of career/technical teachers: 1) What is the route for becoming a high school career/technical teacher? 2) What would an improved system to prepare these teachers look like? 3) What does the current system look like in selected states? 4) What can states do to close the gap between current and improved systems? 5) How can states work to support reciprocity?
Measuring Technical and Academic Achievement: Employer/Certification Examinations’ Role in High School Assessment
As states continue to recognize the important role of career/technical education in school reform, they will need new methods for measuring students’ technical and academic achievement. One assessment option states have is to allow students to pass approved employer certification examinations in lieu of certain academic examinations, in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics.
To assist states in identifying potential alternative examinations, SREB reviewed and evaluated more than 200 employer certification examinations, using stringent criteria. In total, 177 examinations are recommended for approval, 86 of which are recommended without reservation and 91 of which are recommended on a provisional basis. The full report contains a brief description of and observations about the nature of these examinations.
Ready for Tomorrow: Six Proven Ideas to Graduate and Prepare More Students for College and 21st-Century Careers
Evidence from SREB’s High Schools That Work initiative confirms that more students can be prepared for postsecondary opportunities — college, advanced career training or both — when schools combine rigorous academics, authentic projects and assignments in academic and career/technical classes, and guidance and extra help. This report identifies six clear-cut conditions that schools can create in their career-focused programs of study to increase students’ college and career readiness.
Improving the Quality of Career and Technical Alternative Teacher Preparation: An Induction Model of Professional Development and Support
The demand for effective career/technical education — and CT teachers — has grown as the nation seeks a more highly skilled and educated workforce. The U.S. Office of Vocational and Adult Education funded SREB and the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education to develop and field-test an induction model to prepare individuals who want to leave their mid-career industry jobs and become career/technical education teachers. This document is the Year 4 and 5 Research Report on the model, which includes professional development, workshops, coaching and other components.
Case Study: Fred J. Page High School
Fred J. Page High School in Franklin, Tennessee, provides a high-quality learning environment for students in rural Williamson County, just south of Nashville. Th e staff sets high expectations, meets students where they are academically and challenges them with rigorous coursework in preparing all students to succeed in college and careers. The school has traveled an upward path from 2003, when it was targeted by the state as a “C” school, to 2012, when it became an “A” school. Also in 2012, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) identified Page High School as one of 16 High Schools Th at Work (HSTW) schools in the nation to receive a Platinum High Achievement Award. Th e award is presented to model HSTW sites that deeply implement the HSTW design, teach students a rigorous curriculum and meet high achievement standards. In 2013, Page High School Principal Andrea Anthony was named the best principal in Tennessee by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Case Study: Wren High School — Closing the Graduation and Readiness Gap
This South Carolina High School has eliminated all low-level courses, exposed students to a rigorous curriculum and added Advanced Placement classes. It has also strengthened its advisory and guidance programs to ensure all students take the courses that prepare them for college and careers.It was one of 16 high schools to receive the HSTW Platinum High Achievement Award in 2012.
Case Study – Lee’s Summit West High School: Empowering Students to Succeed
Lee’s Summit West (LSW) High School in Kansas City, Missouri boasts of a 99 percent graduation rate; 93 percent of its students are bound for college. This case study details how the High Schools That Work model was instrumental in helping LSW students achieve.
Credentials for All: An Imperative for SREB States
SREB’s Commission on Career and Technical Education offered eight actions states can take to build rigorous, relevant career pathways. Supported by policies and practices described in the report, these actions can help states increase the percentage of young adults earning valuable industry and postsecondary credentials.
Five Years of Enhanced HSTW in Texas
Raising Achievement and Preparing Students for College and Careers Through Dedicated Implementation of the Key Practices
This report describes the results of a partnership between SREB and the Texas Education Agency to enhance implementation of the HSTW improvement design in the state. Between 2005 and 2010, nearly 50 high schools in five cohorts joined the Texas Enhanced Network to adopt this intensive improvement design.
