ASCD 1 of 9 https www ascd org portal site ascd template MAXIMIZE menuitem 45 10 31 2008 8 02 AM ASCD 2 of 9 https www ascd org portal site ascd template MAXIMIZE menuitem 45 May 2008 Volume 65 Number 8 Reshaping High Schools Pages 14 21 Creating Excellent and Equitable Schools Linda Darling Hammond and Diane Friedlaender The right design features and policies can promote exceptional high schools on a broad scale May 2008 A business maxim holds that every organization is perfectly structured to achieve the results it achieves We could say the same of schools And when outcomes are particularly problematic as is true for many large urban high schools that lose most of their students before graduation attaining substantially different results in our schools will require more than just teachers trying harder within traditional bureaucratic constraints Such a shift typically requires new organizational structures Some high schools that have made those changes offer an education that not only helps students achieve academically but also can dramatically transform students life prospects Take the case of James Williams 1 As a young black male moving from one low income neighborhood in San Francisco to the next James faced the kind of challenges that lead many young people to drop out of school His mother who experienced health problems was out of work for several years and struggled to raise a family on her own Although James was raised around drug use and alcoholism he never succumbed to gang violence or street life and always wanted to go to college However college seemed like a far off dream James could not get into any of the collegepreparatory high schools in San Francisco so his mother decided to enroll him in a new small high school June Jordan School for Equity The school combined a college preparatory curriculum organized around social justice issues with highly personalized instruction and a strong advisory system With two other young children to care for James s mother could not easily attend parent conferences so June Jordan teachers went to her home James s advisor provided emotional academic and even financial support to help him get through rough patches when his family faced a number of hardships James developed a passion for writing as a result of the school s continual emphasis on writing and inquiry Now a freshman at the University of California Santa Cruz he is considering a major in literature or writing He noted June Jordan got me ready for a four year college we had a lot of help and people had our backs at June Jordan but they also made sure that we were able to take care of ourselves when we needed to My life is just beginning and it was a great thing to have June Jordan to start High Schools for Equity James s story reflects those of many other students attending one of five California high schools we recently studied that have beaten the odds in supporting the success of low income students of color Friedlaender Darling Hammond et al 2007 The schools Animo Inglewood Charter High School Los Angeles Stanley E Foster Construction Tech Academy San Diego June Jordan School for Equity San Francisco Leadership High School San Francisco and New Technology High School Sacramento are located in California s largest cities and are nonselective in their 10 31 2008 8 02 AM ASCD 3 of 9 https www ascd org portal site ascd template MAXIMIZE menuitem 45 admissions yet they have graduation and college going rates significantly higher than the state average A majority of the student body in each school is composed of low income students of color All five schools have developed innovative settings and practices that offer distinctive opportunities for learning For example Animo Inglewood offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum coupled with strong academic supports to ensure that all students meet high expectations Animo s equally high expectations for its teachers are reflected in its intensive professional development model based on that of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Construction Tech Academy integrates academic study in college preparatory courses with applied projects and internships in construction engineering and architecture June Jordan School for Equity provides its students with a project based college preparatory curriculum infused with social justice and civic engagement themes Students participate in community service internships and complete portfolios of their work that they present in exhibitions Leadership High School focuses on creating community leaders by infusing the core values of critical thinking effective communication and personal and social responsibility throughout their college preparatory curriculum and portfolio assessments Staff members also take considerable time in professional learning communities to analyze student work and other data with the goal of ensuring equitable outcomes for all students New Technology High School offers fully implemented interdisciplinary technology intensive project based learning that is completed in self directed small groups Students supplement their learning at New Tech High as they do at the other four schools by taking several classes at the local community colleges These schools are in many respects anomalies in the current landscape of secondary education All of them send 80 to 100 percent of their students to higher education exhibiting college going rates more than twice the state averages for the kinds of students they serve Equally important these schools engage students in intellectually stimulating relevant and personalized learning that empowers them to contribute to their communities and learn throughout their lives The High Schools for Equity study conducted by the School Redesign Network at Stanford University in collaboration with Justice Matters Institute Friedlaender Darling Hammond et al 2007 describes the school practices that support this extraordinary student success The study also focused on the policies needed to develop and maintain such schools on a broader scale so that they become the norm rather than the exception for students of color Successful By Design The 20th century factory model remains the pervasive model for high schools in the United States especially in cities Factory model schools were designed to process a great number of students efficiently selecting and supporting only a few for thinking work while tracking others into a basic skills