Comprehensive reform programs are works in progress

Three nationally known 'whole-school reform' models are in place at a number of Philadelphia high schools.

by Ros Purnell and Liza Herzog

Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, when addressing the nation's governors in February, called American high schools "obsolete" and "designed 50 years ago to meet the needs of another age."

Gates and other reformers are pushing for a complete overhaul of the present structure and the creation of an equitable system that results in all students being prepared for post-secondary success - whether in college or the workplace.

In Philadelphia, though high schools' overall performance remains dismal, several high school reform efforts have long been underway, and in some cases they show signs of positive change.

Supported by federal Department of Education's Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) grants, three nationally recognized models - High Schools That Work, the Coalition of Essential Schools and Talent Development High Schools - are being implemented in a number of Philadelphia schools to help deliver "whole-school reform."

The CSR program and "whole-school" models are intended to introduce a coherent set of schoolwide improvements covering virtually all aspects of a school's operations, rather than piecemeal, fragmented approaches to reform.

However, as noted in a January 2005 report, the national CSR Quality Center found, "The evidence of effectiveness for most approaches is inconclusive because of a lack of studies, flaws in the methodologies used in available studies, and mixed evaluation results."

Here are details of the three most widely used models in Philadelphia.

High Schools That Work

Led by the Southern Regional Education Board, High Schools That Work (HSTW) fostered an idea that was nothing short of radical when in 1987 it called on schools to eliminate the so-called "general track" - that "Neverland" populated by non-college, non-vocational or technical students.

Locally, Bok, Dobbins, Randolph Skills Center and Swenson use HSTW, which is premised on the conviction that all students can master higher-level academic content - historically taught to only the best students - if given the opportunity to learn that material, and taught in engaging ways.

HSTW provides intensive professional development to teachers and principals, training them to deliver meaningful, higher-level courses to students who previously had not considered taking college preparatory or advanced courses. According to Gene Bottoms, HSTW Executive Director, "It takes three to five years to learn how to teach Algebra 1 and 2 to all students."

Students are required to take four years of college-prep English, three years of math starting with Algebra 1, three years of laboratory sciences (two at a college-prep level) and either a concentration of courses in fine arts, a foreign language, or a planned career sequence and at least one Advanced Placement core course.

According to Benjamin Di Tullio, veteran teacher at Bok, HSTW "focuses the entire school staff on infusing higher levels of achievement in mathematics, science and language arts in vocational/technical curricula."

Signs of the program's strength in Philadelphia include that Swenson staff regularly act as leaders for school-based, citywide and statewide professional development; and that Bok made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2004.