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Smart List: 100 Middle and High Schools Worth Visiting | Getting Smart

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Smart List: 100 Middle and High Schools Worth Visiting | Getting Smart

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School visits are a great way to learn. After a lot of visits of our own and a lot of recommendations, we're excited to share this list of 100 secondary schools that can give educators a refreshing outlook on what schools can do. This list includes schools that achieve extraordinary results for underserved communities, create powerful learning experiences, and/or are innovative blended and competency-based models.

Middle & High Schools

1. Partnerships with business leaders. , in Cambridge Massachusetts, is an innovative school based on a project-based studio model lead by coaches who are leaders in their industry, experts in diverse fields, and passionate thought leaders.

3. Blended character development. Valor Collegiate AcademiesinNashville has two middle schools that will add a grade each year through high school. Their balanced approach combines blended learning, character development and expeditions.

6. Museum. Grand Rapids Public Museum School is a partnership between a museum, three colleges, the city, and the school district. The XQ grant winner will grow into a 6-12 configuration.

10. Blended. Desert View Middle & High School in Yuma Arizona was a pioneer in blended learning with an effective combination of personalized online learning in a lab setting and workshops taught by master teachers.

11. Leadership. Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders serves 800 Austin girls in grades 6-12 in Austin, Texas. All graduates attend college, most in STEM fields.

12. Girls in STEM. Young Women's College Preparatory Academy opened in 2011 in Houston in partnership with the Young Women's Preparatory Network (one of eight other similar schools in Texas). They gave a terrific presentation at SXSWedu on coding and robotics.

13. Community Center. Gary Comer College Prep, part of the 17 school Noble Network, is doing great work in providing new opportunities and a safe learning environment to students in one of Chicago's toughest places to grow up (see our recent feature).

High Schools

18. Zoo. Science and Math Institute (SAMI) at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma is a great STEM school with built in zoo internships and outdoor science (below). They collaborate with SOTA (above) on academic and extracurricular opportunities.

19. Library. e3 Civic High is located in San Diego's spectacular new downtown library. Students learn through a mixture of self-paced online instruction, teacher or student-led small-group instruction, direct instruction, and problem-based and project-based work. They benefit from strong supports and extended learning opportunities ( featured here).

20. Mindset. While in San Diego, visit Kearny High School of Digital Media & Design. The student-centered, project-based school stresses productive "Habits of Mind."

23. Health. Cornerstone Health+Technology High School in Detroit combines individual goal setting, project-based coursework, online learning, internships and teacher support.

31. Travel. THINK Global School students use the latest equipment to "record, report, and share their global education online as they travel the world."

32. Challenge. NYC iSchool blends computer adaptive learning with challenges that require students to work together to present real solutions to real problems.

36. Journalism. The nation's biggest and best journalism program is Palo Alto High School. Esther Wojcicki asks her students to write at least 250 words every day. Students produce professional quality publications.

39. Gradual release. Huntley High School,northwest of Chicago, features a blended learning program where teachers set the number of days in class needed from week to week depending on how the class is doing, or how individual students are progressing. Students can study in the HUB (below) in individual or team spaces. (See our feature and blog on innovation leadership.)

41. Entrepreneurship. Also in Philly is Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, a cool private school with a partnership with Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

48 . New Tools. E.P.I.C.C. Academy at East Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia, is a dynamic blend launched by @JohnHardison1 and documented weekly on Getting Smart.

52. Alt Early College. Beaverton Early College High School is part of the a network sponsored by Portland Community College where at-risk students can earn a high school diploma and an associate degree (see Early College High Schools).

59 . Tech Jobs. IBM launched the Pathways in Technology Early College High School ( P-TECH) in Brooklyn in 2011 in partnership with CUNY and City Tech. The 9-14 model has been replicated to 37 schools in NY with 70 industry partners. Staffing, scheduling and the strategic use of data are key to their success.

66 . Career High. Carl Wunsche Sr. High School in Spring, TX, puts students on one of three industry career paths (technology, health and professions), and supplements their curriculum with real-world experience (see our feature).

67. Career Skills Development. The Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS), south of Kansas City, takes an innovative business-partnership approach to giving its students professional and business skills that help them succeed in a range of industries.

69. Hospitality. Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Academy of Hospitality & Tourism in North Miami is also an NAF academy. Every student completes a 150-hour internship between their Junior and Senior years. The school has a productive relationship with the adjacent Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism at Florida International University.

71. Design. Design Tech High School (d.tech) is a new charter high school in San Mateo merging blended learning and design thinking with a focus on success skills to help students forge an identity that will help them as students, professionals, and citizens. A new facility on the Oracle campus is being built.

72. SEL. Fusion Academy, founded in Solano Beach, California, is a network of 33 nontraditional, alternative, one-on-one schools educating middle and high school students with particular attention to social emotional learning.

73. Humanities. Humanities Preparatory Academy, in NYC, is one of hundreds of new small coherent high schools formed in NYC in the last decade. Launched in 1997 with support from New Visions for Public Schools, the Humanities Prep team embraced a mission "to provide a philosophical and practical education for all students, an education that features creativity and inquiry, encourages habitual reading and productivity, as well as self-reflection and original thought." As a democratic community, they strive to exemplify the values of democracy: mutual respect, cooperation, empathy, the love of humankind, justice for all, and service to the world. It's also a member of the NYPSC.

76. Essential. Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School, west of Boston, has been in the vanguard of progressive, student-centered public education for over twenty years, and draws most heavily on the work of Ted and Nancy Sizer and the Coalition of Essential Schools ( featured by Springpoint). It's a good place to learn about advisory, assessment, and habits of learning.

78. Flexibility. D-B EXCEL in Kingsport, Tennessee is a small blended and project-based high school with a cool campus and lots of community connections.

82. Urban. Urban Academy Laboratory High School uses performance-based assessment tasks as graduation requirements. The school was a founding members of the New York Performance Standards Consortium that share a rich performance assessment system. It was approved as an alternative to state tests by the Board of Regents in 1995 and reaffirmed in 2008 when additional schools were added ( see feature).

Founder Ann Cook negotiated an early and nationally visible co-location of six schools at the Julia Richmond Education. Cook also cofounded the NY State Standards Performance Consortium (see our feature).

K-12 Schools

83 . College prep. E.L. Haynes was founded in 2004 by now Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles. When Eric Westendorf was principal, he started creating instructional math videos with his staff-it caught on and became LearnZillion (listen to our podcast with Eric). The college prep program features a longer day and year with lots of enrichment opportunities.

84. Show & Tell. High Tech High has four K-12 feeder patterns-two on the main campus in San Diego, one in north San Diego Country and one near the border in Chula Vista. All are great examples of integrated project-based learning and spectacular student art.

85. Full court press. Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy Charter Schools provides data-driven instruction, Student Advocates who work with children one-on-one and collaborate with parents and teachers, and full wrap around services.

89. Travel. Democracy Prep students have the opportunity to visit five continents while attending this high performing network of 17 east coast schools. Democracy Prep Charter Middle School, opened in 2006, became the highest performing school in Central Harlem and was ranked the number one public middle school in New York City. The network is developing K-12 feeder patterns in New York, Camden New Jersey, and Washington DC.

Cool private schools

92. Achievement and art. Harvard-Westlake School is a 7-12 school located in Los Angeles with an impressive selection of extracurricular arts and sports. It ranks among the top high schools in the country in number of National Merit Semifinalists.

93 . Life Skills. Vistamar School is a high school south of LAX, founded in 2005, where students engage in Life Planning instead of college counseling. A high-quality, college preparatory learning environment serves a student body reflective of the diversity of Los Angeles.

94. Milton Hershey School (MHS) was founded in 1909 by chocolate maker Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine. MHS is a private boarding school where the cost is free for those students who qualify. The school focuses on maintaining small class sizes and innovative technology (see our feature).

95. Place-Based Education. Teton Science (K-12), in Wyoming, is on the leading edge of Place-Based Education. They have a wide range of school and professional development programs, and their students love it.

96. Top shelf. Avenues: The World School is the NYC anchor to what will become an international network of K-12 schools. Teachers at the elite private school use a combination of flipped classroom and station rotation strategies. The dual language (Mandarin or Spanish) school make extensive use of open content, and eduClipper is crafting a next-generation platform for qualitative social assessments.

97. EduMakerCincy. Cincinnati Country Day School was an early 1:1 leader. The private elementary has a Montessori option. The middle school has an interdisciplinary focus.

98. Whole child. Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, a private school in Santa Monica founded 40 years ago by Dr. Paul Cummins with a focus on whole-child education, is a pioneer for social-emotional learning. Twenty years ago Cummins opened New Roads School, a similar but more diverse school with a strong commitment to financial aid.

International Bonuses

99. Active learning. Singapore American School. A great school takes a "culture of excellence, possibility and extraordinary care," said Dr. Chip Kimball. SAS is one of a handful that does does all three well. Through school visits and PLCs, the 4000 student school was transformed from a school with great test scores to a place that is preparing great people (see case study).

For more great schools to visit, check out our other recent Smart Lists: 85 Middle & High Schools Worth Visiting, 30 School Districts Worth Visiting and 75 Top School and Charter Networks.

We're sure we missed hundreds of great schools. Who did we miss? Share in the comments section below, and don't forget to check out our other recent Smart Lists at our Smart List Series Page.

This Smart List brings to an end our March editorial focus of "Creating Powerful Learning Experiences". Join us in April, when we will be focusing on "Scaled Impact," looking at how networks all around the country are achieving great things.

We're sure we missed hundreds of great schools. Who would you add? Share in the comments section below, and don't forget to check out our other recent Smart Lists at our Smart List Series Page .

Our Smart Lists are some of our most popular posts, and upcoming sponsorship opportunities are still available. Interested in learning more? Contact Megan: [email protected]

This Smart List is sponsored by Getting Smart Services , Getting Smart's consulting division that helps schools, districts, networks and impact-oriented partners create, implement and amplify thought leadership campaigns, education initiatives, powerful learning experiences and forward-leaning strategies. Learn more about what they can do to support your education initiatives here .
Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update . This post includes mentions of a Getting Smart partner. For a full list of partners, affiliate organizations and all other disclosures, please see our Partner page

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Smart List: 100 Middle and High Schools Worth Visiting | Getting Smart

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School visits are a great way to learn. After a lot of visits of our own, and a number of community recommendations, we're excited to share this list of 100 secondary schools that can give educators a refreshing outlook on what schools can do.

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Mastering Assessment Language: Trusty Tips and Tools

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Mastering Assessment Language: Trusty Tips and Tools

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Equation Editor using "Math" language.

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Now, edit the formula quickly and easily expressed in your Chrome browser

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Using Google Classroom to Support PBL | Blog | Project Based Learning | BIE

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Using Google Classroom to Support PBL | Blog | Project Based Learning | BIE

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May 31, 2016
Using Google Classroom to Support PBL

Project Based Learning has been a revelation for me. It is the first instructional "plate" I have encountered that simultaneously blends significant content and 21st century skills, and meets my teaching philosophy. I have come to believe however, that utilizing the PBL "plate" with my sixth graders is akin to going through a buffet line at your favorite restaurant. Without a predetermined method of organization, your food (or instructional) choices run together into a cluttered mess impossible to separate. I knew I needed to find a way to organize my project into a singular entity that did not cause my appetizer (entry event), main course (significant content) and dessert (final presentations) to become confusing and inaccessible for kids.

Over the past few years I have experimented with several learning management systems in an effort to find the best method of organizing information for students that is quick, simple, and intuitive to use. Google Classroom has become my personal favorite for three reasons: 1. It has a simple interface to post assignments 2. It supports narrative feedback 3. It integrates with Doctopus/Goobric from New Visions CloudLab.

Why I like the Google Classroom Interface

1. It's easy to post anything you want. With a few short clicks, Classroom allows me to select a Google Drive document, video link, or file from my computer and share it across multiple Classroom sections in a matter of seconds. For example, I will typically create and post a Project Overview page that includes links to all required readings, assignment descriptions, and helpful resources for students.

2. You can provide students with individual copies of an assignment template in the blink of an eye. When selecting the document you want to post, by selecting "make a copy for each student", Classroom will automatically create a copied template for each student enrolled in your class. Students can then submit or unsubmit their work at will, and teachers can electronically grade and return papers all through the Classroom section of Google Drive.

How Google Classroom Supports Narrative Feedback
I have recently become a convert of narrative feedback. Narrative feedback is the process of providing students specific and actionable feedback in the form of a paragraph. I particularly like the SE2R model by Mark Barnes. When grades are detached from the assignment, I believe narrative feedback helps make the shift from grading to learning. Google Classroom supports narrative feedback in two different ways:

1. Having the ability to place private comments on student work in the Classroom platform itself. While adding comments to work is not a specific perk of Google Classroom (as it is available through Google Drive itself), the benefit is that students can still share their work with others, while the specific feedback/comments remain privy to the students themselves. In addition, the running narrative that can be created between student and teachers using this comment ability can be quite powerful.

2. Although not a feature of Google Classroom itself (can currently do in Google Drive), I prefer engaging in narrative feedback with the students by commenting on specific locations within the shared document itself. When making the comment, I will typically begin it by typing a "+" and then the student's email address (if he/she is already a contact of yours, their email address will show automatically) and then typing the comment. By adding the "+" in front of the email, Google will automatically notify the student via email that a comment has been placed. I have found this easier to manage than the private comments mentioned above.

Ingesting Assignments Using Doctopus/Goobric:
Doctopus is a Google Sheet add-on that can be installed from the sheet itself. Once Doctopus is opened, it provides you the option to share a template with a roster or to ingest an assignment from Google Classroom. When you select "ingest" the add-on will populate the sheet with student names, emails, and links to their individual assignments. The most beneficial feature is that Doctopus then allows you to attach a Goobric (rubric) that, once filled out, will copy itself to the bottom of the student document, as well as email the student notifying them that a rubric has been attached.

I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg with Google Classroom. I can only imagine that over time, it will continue to evolve into a better tool than it already is. Do you have any other tips on how to effectively use Google Classroom? If so, I'd love to hear them. Feel free to comment below!

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Project Based Learning has been a revelation for me. It is the first instructional "plate" I have encountered that simultaneously blends significant content and 21st century skills, and meets my teaching philosophy. I have come to believe however, that utilizing the PBL "plate" with my sixth graders is akin to going through a buffet line at your favorite restaurant.