Site Index | Site Options | Contact Us Search for:
	Schools | Departments | About ASD | School Board | myASD

High Schools in the 21st Century Research: High Schools in the 21st Century Compiled by the Anchorage School District Return to High School Concepts Link The successful high school focuses on the unique needs of its students as well as the relationship of student development to learning. "Breaking Ranks: Challenging an American Institution" was released in 1996 by The National Association of Secondary School Principals, in partnership with the Carnegie Foundation, for the advancement of teaching in a high school of the 21st Century. The report offers recommendations in meeting the educational needs of high school students. The following are selected highlights from the study, which may help to define the facility needs: Curriculum | Technology | Organization and Time | Relationships | Five Aspects of the Restructured High School | High School Curriculum Trends CURRICULUM Offering Essential Knowledge, Integrating It, and Making Connections to Real Life The core of the high school curriculum must offer both the substance and the practicality to prepare students for an uncertain future. The curriculum should resist artificiality and strive to meet individual needs without compromising larger goals. Each high school community will identify a set of essential learningsóabove all, in literature and language, mathematics, social studies, science, and the artsóin which students must demonstrate mastery in order to graduate. The high school will integrate its curriculum to the extent possible and emphasize depth over breadth of coverage. Teachers will design work for students that is of high enough quality to engage them, cause them to persist, and when successfully completed, result in their satisfaction and their acquisition of learnings, skills, and abilities valued by society. The content of the curriculum, where practical, will connect itself to real-life applications of knowledge and skills to help students link their education to the future and to life long learning. The content of curriculum will be driven by state and national standards. Each student will have a Personal Plan for Progress to ensure that the high school takes individual needs into consideration and to allow students, within reasonable parameters, to design their own methods for learning in an effort to meet high standards. back to top TECHNOLOGY Making Way for Electronic Learning Technology is revolutionizing education and educators cannot afford to regard it as a frill or simply as an add-on. Careful planning should begin immediately in each high school to employ technology throughout the schools and to integrate it into all aspects of the program. Boards of education must provide funds for the purchase of current technology, integrating technology into the learning process, and for enabling teachers to pursue ongoing education in technology. Schools will make technology integral to curriculum, instruction, and assessment, accommodating different learning styles, and helping teachers and students to individualize the learning process. High schools will equip individual classrooms with the technology necessary to prepare students for life in the 21st century. back to top ORGANIZATION AND TIME Restructuring Space and Time for a More Flexible Education The manner in which a high school organizes itself and the ways in which it uses time create a framework that affects almost everything about teaching and learning in the school. High schools will create small units in which anonymity is banished. High schools will develop flexible scheduling that allows for more varied uses of time in order to meet the requirements of the core curriculum. The high school will reorganize the traditional departmental structure to meet the needs of a more integrated curriculum. back to top RELATIONSHIPS Reaching Out to Form Alliances in Behalf of Students A high school builds its success on a series of strong and positive relationships with and among those both inside and outside the building. These relationships start with the ways in which teachers, students, and others in the school relate to each other and continue through the links that the school forms with parents, public officials, community agencies, business representatives, neighboring schools, and others on the outside. A high school will regard itself as a community in which members of the staff collaborate to develop and implement the schoolís learning goals. The high school will engage studentsí families as partners in the students' education. High schools, in conjunction with agencies in the community, will help coordinate the delivery of health and social services for youth. The academic program will extend beyond the high school campus to take advantage of learning opportunities outside the four walls of the building. High schools will incorporate systems and methodology, which encourage efficient and effective restructuring. The high school will foster productive business partnerships that support and supplement educational programs. High schools will form partnerships with agencies for youths that support and supplement the regular programs of the schools. High schools will foster productive student to student relationships. back to top FIVE ASPECTS OF THE RESTRUCTURED HIGH SCHOOL Curriculum of the Future must be at the center of the restructured high school content standards, student involvement and performance expectations, instructional strategies, and performance assessment(s) are the critical structures that must be incorporated, and the school facility should facilitate and encourage these academic programs. The following table was developed based on the restructured high school research completed by Dr. Gordon Cawelti. Incentives Job Satisfaction Individual or Group Financial Incentives Human Resource Development Professional Teaching Schools of Choice Curriculum of the Future Curriculum Content Standards Graduate Expectations (Performance) Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Interdisciplinary & Integrated Active Learning Performance Assessment Varied Instructional Strategies School Organization Self-directed Teams House Plans Block Scheduling Heterogeneous Grouping Site-based Management Decentralized/Shared Decision-making Accountability Technology Distance Learning Integrated Learning System Modems Computer Networks CD-ROM Teacher Phones Multimedia Systems Community Outreach Corporate Alliances Youth Services Shared Decision-making Community Service Volunteers Parental Involvement School/College Partnerships The trends of the future will require school systems to build effective organizational infrastructure, prepare leadership to manage and facilitate change, implement sound educational practices, and integrate appropriate 21st century technology. back to top HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM TRENDS The dictum of Louis Sullivan, "Form Follows Function", should be particularly noted in the design of school buildings. The function is the learning that takes place, and the building must be planned to support and facilitate that function. A recent search of educational research sources yielded the following trends in the various high school curriculum areas. As the major themes indicate, there is a sweeping impetus toward integration of the curricula. If people need to work together, they need to be physically near each other. All of this learning cannot effectively happen in groups of 25-30. Different sized spaces will be needed to support learning groups of all sizes. Social Studies Integrating literature More time to explore topic in depth Focus on diversity Writing, writing, writing! Foreign Language Task oriented learning Communication is the organizing principle Using the language for real purposes Math Integrated reading and writing experiences Connections with Science, Social Studies, the Arts Science Inquiry, not just process Describe objects and events Ask questions Construct explanations Test explanations against current knowledge Communicate ideas to others Administration/Guidance Computer assessment Computerized record-keeping Cooperative learning Group problem solving Social skills Cross-age tutoring Media Center Networking and telecommunications Interactive, multimedia & Kinko's model Shift from acquisition to access Information skills for electronic resources Arts Integration of Music, Dance, and Art Emphasis on experiential learning Physical Education and Health Integration of Science and Health Lifetime sports and fitness Increased use of computers Special needs students Major Themes Curriculum integration Active learning Pervasive technology Reaching out to all learning styles "Real-world" experiences Community involvement & Mentoring Interactive video/distance learning back to top		Schools New & Renewed Menu Renewal Home Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Alternative Schools Other resources Capital Request Advisory Committee Pathway to a school

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2000-2007

Anchorage School District 5530 E Northern Lights Blvd Anchorage, Alaska 99504-3135 907-742-4000