John Thompson: What Can We Learn From Alternative Schools?
Guest post by John Thompson.
Education Week's special edition, "Second Chance: Turning Dropouts into Graduates," reports that the nation's graduation rate has increased to nearly 75%, and it may be approaching our all-time high point. This good news is the result of innovations that are the antithesis of test-driven "reform." They point the way towards humane policies that could be the cornerstone of the next era of school improvement.
One of the successes was described by Lesli Maxwell, in "Chicago Charter Network Specializes in Dropouts."These schools began in 1972 and they have "mostly kept their distinctive instructional approaches and practices for re-engaging students." For instance, students are captivated by aquaponics, or the raising of fish in a sustainable urban food network. This is precisely the type of project based learning that teachers used to see as a real reform, as opposed to the faux "reform" of high-stakes testing.
Ironically, these hands-on, real-world methods of making school relevant have helped save the bacon of data-
Education Week's special edition, "Second Chance: Turning Dropouts into Graduates," reports that the nation's graduation rate has increased to nearly 75%, and it may be approaching our all-time high point. This good news is the result of innovations that are the antithesis of test-driven "reform." They point the way towards humane policies that could be the cornerstone of the next era of school improvement.
One of the successes was described by Lesli Maxwell, in "Chicago Charter Network Specializes in Dropouts."These schools began in 1972 and they have "mostly kept their distinctive instructional approaches and practices for re-engaging students." For instance, students are captivated by aquaponics, or the raising of fish in a sustainable urban food network. This is precisely the type of project based learning that teachers used to see as a real reform, as opposed to the faux "reform" of high-stakes testing.
Ironically, these hands-on, real-world methods of making school relevant have helped save the bacon of data-