NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED477274
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 13
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Case Study: POLYTECH High School, Woodside, Delaware.
Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA.
POLYTECH High School in Woodside, Delaware, has gone from being among the worst schools in the High Schools That Work (HSTW) network to among the best. Polytech, which is now a full-time technical high school, has improved its programs and outcomes by implementing a series of organizational, curriculum, teaching, guidance, and leadership changes, such as the following: applied learning; integration of academic and career-technical curricula; smaller learning communities with common time for teacher planning; flexible schedules with longer class time; state-of-the-art technology; a strong student advisement program; community partnerships; work-based learning experiences; and alternative assessments. In 1993, POLYTECH was a shared-time high school where occupations were taught in isolation from academic subjects, a general academic curriculum was offered, and expectations of students were low. By 2003, POLYTECH had been transformed into a full-time high school where occupations constitute the core of an integrated, college-prep curriculum and expectations of students are high. The impact of this transformation has been reflected in improvements of students' average scores in the reading, mathematics, and science sections of the HSTW assessment and on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Another factor credited for POLYTECH's turnaround are its reorganization into five small learning communities/academies (educational foundations, industrial, modern technology, professional services, and health/medical); more rigorous graduation requirements; and new emphasis on curriculum integration and coordinated instruction/assessment. (MN)
For full text: http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/publications/case_studies/03V01 _POLYTECH.pdf.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A