Exam Schools

Exam Schools
Author: Chester E. Finn, Jr.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2012-09-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1400844576

An in-depth look at academically selective public high schools in America What is the best education for exceptionally able and high-achieving youngsters? Can the United States strengthen its future intellectual leadership, economic vitality, and scientific prowess without sacrificing equal opportunity? There are no easy answers but, as Chester Finn and Jessica Hockett show, for more than 100,000 students each year, the solution is to enroll in an academically selective public high school. Exam Schools is the first-ever close-up look at this small, sometimes controversial, yet crucial segment of American public education. This groundbreaking book discusses how these schools work--and their critical role in nurturing the country's brightest students. The 165 schools identified by Finn and Hockett are located in thirty states, plus the District of Columbia. While some are world renowned, such as Boston Latin and Bronx Science, others are known only in their own communities. The authors survey the schools on issues ranging from admissions and student diversity to teacher selection. They probe sources of political support, curriculum, instructional styles, educational effectiveness, and institutional autonomy. Some of their findings are surprising: Los Angeles, for example, has no "exam schools" while New York City has dozens. Asian-American students are overrepresented—but so are African-American pupils. Culminating with in-depth profiles of eleven exam schools and thoughtful reflection on policy implications, Finn and Hockett ultimately consider whether the country would be better off with more such schools. At a time of keen attention to the faltering education system, Exam Schools sheds positive light on a group of schools that could well provide a transformative roadmap for many of America's children.

Out of Darkness

Out of Darkness
Author: Ashley Hope Pérez
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab ®
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1467776785

A Michael L. Printz Honor Book "This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people who enforce them. But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines. And the consequences can be explosive. Ashley Hope Pérez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion—the worst school disaster in American history—as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people. "[This] layered tale of color lines, love and struggle in an East Texas oil town is a pit-in-the-stomach family drama that goes down like it should, with pain and fascination, like a mix of sugary medicine and artisanal moonshine."—The New York Times Book Review "Pérez deftly weaves [an] unflinchingly intense narrative....A powerful, layered tale of forbidden love in times of unrelenting racism."―starred, Kirkus Reviews "This book presents a range of human nature, from kindness and love to acts of racial and sexual violence. The work resonates with fear, hope, love, and the importance of memory....Set against the backdrop of an actual historical event, Pérez...gives voice to many long-omitted facets of U.S. history."―starred, School Library Journal

Tomorrow’s High School

Tomorrow’s High School
Author: Gene Bottoms
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2022-04-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416630880

How do some high schools produce graduates that consistently achieve at high levels? Would you believe there's a set of proven strategies that could help you deliver similar impressive results and better prepare students for the world after high school? High schools in the United States face a startling reality: many graduates are unprepared for success in postsecondary studies or for high-demand, well-paying jobs in a rapidly changing economy. Although this situation is alarming, the high schools that have embraced new ways of learning show us what is possible. Drawing from his experience with the High Schools That Work initiative, Gene Bottoms offers educators a path forward by urging them to pursue bold goals and outlining bold actions for achieving those goals. His vision is clear: replace the traditional model of secondary education with one that engages students in a rigorous curriculum that combines a solid academic core with intellectually demanding career pathway courses. The notion that nearly all students can achieve at high levels is borne out by numerous examples of high schools—including those with traditionally underperforming student populations—that have used key strategies to help all students realize their potential. Bottoms explains the root causes of the current shortcomings in high school education and then specifies critical components of successful transformation: * Shared leadership; * Powerful assignments—especially in math, literacy, and career/technical education—planned and executed by academic and career pathway teachers working together; * Strengthened connections between middle school and high school; * A redesigned senior year; and * Comprehensive counseling and advisory programs. Provocative and persuasive in its sense of urgency, Tomorrow's High School offers proven and practical solutions to finally make high schools a rich and rewarding experience for all students, whatever their future college and career goals may be. This book is a copublication of ASCD and SREB. It includes access to nine downloadable appendixes.

Best Practices from High-Performing High Schools

Best Practices from High-Performing High Schools
Author: Kristen C. Wilcox
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2015-04-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 080777183X

In their second collaboration, Wilcox and Angelis tell the stories of high school educators who embody best practices in their day-to-day activitiespractices that consistently lead to higher student academic achievement across the core subjects for all students. This book shares results of a multi-case study of how some high schools consistently deliver better student performance, including improved four-year graduation rates. These schools have learned how to successfully adapt to the climate of increased (and increasing) accountability. Best Practices from High-Performing High Schools is for anyone who strives to ensure that all teens graduate from high school and are ready to succeed in college, in their careers, and in life.

Evidence Based Teaching in Secondary Schools

Evidence Based Teaching in Secondary Schools
Author: Jonathan Glazzard
Publisher: Learning Matters Limited
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2022-03-14
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781529755763

A comprehensive guide to support, challenge and develop understanding of evidence-based teaching. Trainee teachers need to understand what is meant by ′evidence based teaching′ and how this influences and shapes teaching in classrooms today. This book explores what we mean by ′evidence′ in education and how education researchers trial and evaluate teaching methods. It introduces key contemporary strategies used in schools and links back to the research and literature to help trainees connect theory to practice. Supports new teachers to have the confidence to critically evaluate new teaching strategies and to understand how to discern what works for them in their classroom.

The Music of Bees

The Music of Bees
Author: Eileen Garvin
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2022-04-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593183932

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER! A Good Morning America BUZZ PICK | A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick | IndieNext Pick | LibraryReads Pick | Recommended by People ∙ The Washington Post ∙ Woman's World ∙ NY Post ∙ BookRiot ∙ Bookish ∙ Christian Science Monitor ∙ Nerd Daily ∙ The Tempest ∙ Midwestness ∙ The Coil ∙ Read It Forward ∙ and more! “An exquisite debut that combines a moving tale of friendship with a fascinating primer on bees.”--People “This heartwarming, uplifting story will make you want to call your own friends, not to mention grab some honey.”--Good Housekeeping Three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it. Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days. In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm. And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves. Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect. “A hopeful, uplifting story about the power of chosen family and newfound home and beginning again . . . but it’s the bees, with all their wonder and intricacy and intrigue, that make this story sing.” --Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is "Eileen Garvin's debut novel is uplifting, funny, bold, and inspirational. The Music of Bees sings!" --Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author

Japan's High Schools

Japan's High Schools
Author: Thomas P. Rohlen
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2023-04-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0520341309

". . . Rohlen's book achieves exciting conjectural stances while providing us with rich and trustworthy substantive data and description. His treatment of schools as 'moral communities,' his call for new, culturally sensitive definitions of moral and creative goals in children's education, his interest in the consensus between parent, school, and society which underlies effective schooling are reason alone why this book should be read by anyone interested in the context and future of any educational system ... A splendid book for non-specialists, as well as for policymakers ... " --Merry T. White, The Review of Education "Rohlen uses education as the entering wedge for a good understanding of Japanese society in general. That the author was sensitive to and appreciative of Japanese ways is evident throughout." --Eloise Lee Leiterman, Christian Science Monitor "Never have I encountered a work on modem Japan which so skillfully captures what is intrinsically unique about the society. Indeed, Rohlen proves that comparative education need not be a litany of lifeless facts." --Linda Joffe, London Times Educational Supplement "On the basis of fourteen months of fieldwork in five Japanese high schools, the author integrates observation of the schools themselves with discussion of their relationships to higher education and society at large. . . . Rowen's conclusions offer insightful contributions to the current debate on secondary education in the United States." --Harvard Educational Review "The best introduction for many a year into the cultural mainsprings of Japanese society, the principles of its organization, and the way its citizens think and feel." --Ronald P. Dore, Journal of Japanese Studies This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1983. ". . . Rohlen's book achieves exciting conjectural stances while providing us with rich and trustworthy substantive data and description. His treatment of schools as 'moral communities,' his call for new, culturally sensitive definitions of moral and crea

New York City's Best Public High Schools

New York City's Best Public High Schools
Author: Clara Hemphill
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2007-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807774472

If you lived anywhere else in the country, you would probably send your child to your neighborhood high school. In New York City, it’s much more complicated than that. But what parent has time to research hundreds of school options? To help you choose a high school that is just right for your child, Clara Hemphill and her colleagues at Insideschools visited nearly all of the city’s 400 high schools. This essential revision of the critically acclaimed parents’ guide features new school profiles; invaluable advice to help parents and students through the stressful admissions process; and new sections on alternative schools, vocational schools, and schools for students learning English. Featuring interviews with teachers, parents, and students, this guide uncovers the “inside scoop” about school atmosphere, homework, student stress, competition among students, the quality of teachers, gender issues, the condition of the building, class size, and much more. “For [this] third edition I looked for schools that spark students’ curiosity, broaden their horizons, and help them develop into thoughtful, caring adults.” —Clara Hemphill Praise for Clara Hemphill’s Parents’ Guides! New York Daily News... “Brisk, thoughtful profiles of topnotch, intriguing schools.” Big Apple Parent... “Hemphill has done for schools what Zagat’s did for restaurants.” New York Magazine... “Thoughtful, well-researched…required reading.” The New York Times... “A bible for urban parents.”

You Got Into Where?

You Got Into Where?
Author: Joi Wade
Publisher:
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2016-06-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9781365159718

""You Got Into Where?"" is the first college admissions guide written by a student who is fresh out of the college admissions process. Learn how I was admitted to schools like the University of Southern California and New York University with full tuition scholarships. The guide features copies of my admissions essay, writing supplement, and activities resume that I used to apply to college the fall of my senior year. Get advice on all the secrets of the admissions process from start to finish. ""I can't believe that a 17 year-old has written a college admissions books that is so well-written, clear and accurate. No wonder USC jumped at the chance to have her become their student. My sense of things is that mostly parents read college admissions books; high school students just don't want to take the time. Given what she says and how she says it, I truly believe that teens will rush to read "You Got Into Where?" It is well worth their time."" -Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz Author, adMISSION POSSIBLE