The New American High School Initiative coordinates with the Blue Ribbon Schools Program and key organizations to identify schools committed to achieving high, universal academic standards, preparing all students for postsecondary education, and providing career exploration opportunities. This article honors past NASSP Alliance members recognized…

An Oregon high-school principal facilitated teachers' development of a student-run technology company to provide Internet access to the community and all district schools. A cadre of students now trains teaching and support staff to use technology and the Internet. Administrative risk taking made the difference. (MLH)

Changing to a trimester 3 X 5 schedule at Westfield (Indiana) High School made time for more focused academic activity, individual learning opportunities, and teacher development activities. Parents, students, teachers, and administrators find the schedule highly effective; academic achievement, attendance, and graduation rates have improved. (MLH)

The Home Connections program aims to induce ongoing, meaningful parent-adolescent dialogue at home and follow up on those discussions at school. Students are assigned provocative weekly questions to ask parents and requested to turn in written results, which are discussed and tabulated. Implementation steps are outlined. (MLH)

"Countering society's negative messages requires a planned, comprehensive approach that involves students, support staff" and the community, says Linda McKay, director of the Personal Responsibility Education Process (PREP) for St. Louis, Missouri, schools. Area schools have selected 49 different values as a focus for character…

Discusses journal entries of Meranda and Susan, Milpitas (California) High School students exploring difficult issues about social justice, fairness, and participation in their Facing History and Ourselves class. Developed in 1976 by Massachusetts middle-school teachers, this program provides a model for teaching history in a way that helps…

Cognizant of individual learning differences, the Rhinebeck (New York) School District refused to settle for mandated Regents exams. Staff developed a successful exhibition program requiring all students in the 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th grades to demonstrate their knowledge through a performance judged by using various rubrics. (MLH)

At Pottstown (Pennsylvania) High School, educators and community members have formed a community action team that cultivates relationships with parents; honors students' achievement in academics, attendance, and citizenship; and strives to improve every student's performance. Home visits are used to jumpstart and conclude yearly efforts. (MLH)

Teachers deserve objective evaluations that will help them to improve. Delaware uses a four-point rubric ranging from "unsatisfactory" to "needs improvement,""effective," and "exemplary." Teachers' placement depends on frequency of demonstrated behaviors identified in each rubric. For lower ratings, the…

A Pennsylvania district's Student/Community Enrichment Activity Program involves students in both after-school and cocurricular activities in multicultural programs that continue the educational process. Programs such as American History Profiles, the American Landscape, Motown Night, and Poetry Night were carefully planned by students and their…

Troy Academy at Green Mountain College, in Pultney, Vermont, was a three-year experiment that allowed responsible area high-school juniors and seniors to take challenging college-level courses in a supportive environment providing for their needs. Despite the program's unqualified success, Green Mountain ended the arrangement because of financial…

Urban African American males face complex barriers to learning and achievement. A Washington, D.C., school has designed a ninth-grade program that effectively enhances youngsters' self-concept and allows them to succeed academically. Ninth graders attend most classes in the Annex, a personalized, caring environment that subverts negative aspects…

At the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence, Rhode Island, a committee of educators and community members developed a new program and house plan that reinforces building relationships, doing group and individual projects, having individual space, and connecting to the world. Learning Through Internships activities are…

To include students with more severe disabilities, a California high school devised a buddy system, facilitated collaboration among special-education staff, matched students with appropriate teachers, and used grading and curriculum adaptation. A sidebar describes how functional behavioral assessment can help students gain control. (MLH)

Port Washington-Saukville (Wisconsin) School District created the Bright Beginnings Committee to identify effective teaching strategies to engage all students in relevant learning. Brain-based strategies include use of movement, music, metaphors, personal stories, humor, color, brainstorming, prime teaching time, and project demonstration. (11…