Best Practice Schools 

Breaking Ranks II focuses its strategies in three key areas:

1. Collaborative leadership, professional learning communities, and the strategic use of data
2. Personalizing the school environment
3. Curriculum, instruction, and assessment

Baltimore (MD) City College High School, Urban, Magnet School.  One-third of students took one or  more IB or AP courses.

Boston (MA) Arts Academy, Urban, Pilot Boston Public School.  Student schedule include a full college preparatory course load in addition to the 12+ hours week spent in arts classes.

Brighton (MA) High School, Urban.  Transformed a large high school into one with career pathways and in 2002 into SLC's.  The ninth-grade academy is separate from the rest of the high school, and in the upper grades, students choose their pathway.

Brockton (MA) High School, Urban.  Has implemented SLC's for all ninth and tenth grade classes.

Champion Charter School, Brockton, MA.  Is a high school specifically designed for out-of-school youth.

Chapin (SC) High School, Rural (20 Miles from Columbia)...implemented the "humanities" program because teachers saw a need for a coordinated effort by the social studies and English departments to integrate the two disciplines by grade and subject area.

Fenway High School Boston, MA, Pilot school within Boston Public Schools.  Students are grouped into "houses" each with its own faculty and support staff.

Foshay Learning Center, Los Angeles, CA, Urban.  All of its high school students have access to and enroll in AP courses.  A significant percentage of juniors and seniors are either concurrently enrolled in community colleges or have paid internships.

Fuquay-Varina (NC) High School, Rural...linksninth-grade social studies and English teachers into Freshmen Houses.  The school originally intended to provide additional counseling services to promote positive behavior and greater acceptance of diversity;however, they found that ninth graders attach very negative connotations to "being counseled."

Gateway Regional High School, Huntington, MA, Rural...started Personal Learning Plans that allow review of student progress.

J.E.B. Stuart High School, Falls Church, VA, Suburban ...students are able to attend school year round and have a five year plan.

Kingwood (TX) High School. 10-12...implementing SLC in a two 7-period day, two block days, and one day that starts at 9:30 to allow teachers common planning time and professional development opportunities at least once per week.

Lincoln (NE) Southwest High School, Suburban...block schedule...implemented Breaking Ranks recommendations from the beginning.

Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, Providence, RI, alternative high school...blends school-based learning with outside experiences to highten the student's interest.

Mount Abraham Union High School, Bristol, VT, Rural...students have the opportunity to connect school with "real-life experiences" by participating in service learning, career academies or work-based learning.

Needham B. Broughton High School, Raleigh, NC, urban, Magnet...has two programs to help students of all academic levels learn more about career choices.

Poland (ME) Regional High School, Poland, ME...meet 30 minutes daily to discuss issues of concern.  Challenges on the way have included maintaining consistency in grading developing a system of common assessments, and challenging all students.

Rex Putnam High School, Milwaukie, OR, Suburban...was restructured in 1997 into SLC's for the ninth and tenth grades in order to help each student feel like "my teachers know me..." Has implemented block schedule.

Roosevelt High School, Yonkers, NY, Magnet... Is the only Bilingual school in the district.  All ELL are sent here.  The school believes that it is organized with the caring of an elementary school, the schedule of a middle school, and the curriculum of a high school.

Sierra Vista (CA) High School, Urban...has used a variety of methods to assess student progress and has used that assessment to inform curriculum and instructional strategies choices.

Sir Francis Drake High School, San Anselmo, CA, Suburban...Students choose to participate in the SLC program.  Academy uses projects directly applicable to the working world.

Souhegan High School, Amherst NH...based on the idea of creating a democratic school.

Southeast Raleigh High School, Raleigh, NC, Urban...developed an "Academic Coaching" (AC) model in which every student belongs to an AC team headed by a staff "coach".  The team and the coach stay together throughout high school meeting daily.

Southside High School, Rockville Center, NY, Suburban...has increased its support of high expectations for all students over the past decade by accelerating students in mathematics, open enrollment to AP and IB, and using inclusion for virtually all students.

Stranahan High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL, urban...the Urban Teacher Academy, two magnet programs, use learning-style inventories for students.

Urban Academy, New York, NY, Urban ...challenging and diverse, and 95% of graduates go onto four-year colleges.  Questioning is the basis of an inquiry approach to teaching and learning at this school.  Teachers and students respond to questions together by exploring ideas, conducting research, evaluating information, debating points of view...

Wahluke High School, Mattawa, WA, Rural...community struggles with poverty and transience.  All AP classes are open to all students.  

Waukesha North High School, Waukesha, WI, Suburban...sought to personalize learning for each student through several programs.  Failure dropped and 92% graduate.

Woodburn (OR) High School, Suburban / Rural...Trilingual, teachers trained to meet needs, ninth and tenth greade students have the option of accelerated coursework.  Summer academy helps ninth graders make successful transition.

All information is taken directly from the text on pages 133 to 147 for the expressed purpose of helping teachers target, view school web pages and visit schools that have implemented best practice.  The goal is to extend best practice.

Please refer problem links to E. Buch