Waite, Chelsea; Pangelinan, Cara

Y

High School Students, Case Studies, Organizational Change, Dropout Rate, Graduation Rate, Disadvantaged, Achievement Gains, Academic Achievement, School Districts, Administrator Attitudes, Principals, Instructional Design, Nontraditional Education, Educational Opportunities, Program Effectiveness, Decision Making, Equal Education, Career Readiness, College Readiness, Students with Disabilities, Race, English Language Learners, Minority Group Students, Student Characteristics, Competency Based Education

Between 2015 and 2019, Holyoke Public Schools in Massachusetts cut its dropout rate nearly in half and increased its graduation rate by 10 percentage points, with notable gains among historically marginalized student groups. The district cites Opportunity Academy (OA), an alternative education program within the district's high school, as a key driver of these improvements. OA surrounds students with supportive relationships and provides multiple pathways to graduation, including a competency-based pathway in which students earn credits through flexible learning experiences inside and outside traditional classrooms. But for OA's design team, getting students to graduate isn't enough. Real success, the principal said, means students have "the ability to live a choice-filled postsecondary life." This case wrestles with what's needed to achieve this higher bar for students who often just want to get high school over with, but whose success beyond the K-12 system depends on life skills, supportive relationships, and concrete postsecondary plans in addition to a diploma. The case concludes with key questions for high school leaders and design teams in both traditional and alternative education. [For the corresponding Case Studies in High School Redesign, see ED626303 and ED626304.]

As Provided

High Schools; Secondary Education

2023

ED626305