During the 2008-2009 school year, faculty members at New Fairfield (CT) Middle School examined relevance and student engagement in relation to student achievement. Subtle clues indicated that students were not fully engaged in their learning: many students did not relate their classroom experiences to their personal reality or to their vision of…

Comprehensiveness, local control, and public funding combine to create public secondary schools that serve the educational needs of all students and are open to influence from people outside the school structure. From these sectors come demands for accountability; community influence; and a heavy commitment of resources to maintaining good…