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Our urban students deserve more... |
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Model Secondary Schools Project |
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Who We Are |
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Linda Keller and Ron MacDonald are the principal partners of the Model Secondary Schools Project, LLC. They have worked together on school development since 1997 and bring broad experience in education policy, school administration, instruction, cognition, and technology to their work. We have selected urban schools as our targeted clients because of a personal commitment to contributing to the resolution of the social justice issues and a professional commitment to improving the outcomes for urban students by expanding the scope and intensity while tightening the focus of efforts to improve urban schools. . |
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The Model Secondary Schools Project started as a Gates Foundation funded project to open new small high schools in eight urban school districts from 2000 to 2004. The concept was to create schools that could serve as models for other schools in their communities. Working with selected public school districts, these schools were established in neighborhoods traditionally serving high poverty and underperforming students. Eight schools were started, one each in Compton, Las Vegas, East St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Rochester and Boston. One of the schools was closed down by its district when grant funding ended and two others were rolled back into the large comprehensive high school where they were established. Five of the schools continue to operate as autonomous public schools. Two of them have become nationally recognized models of student success.
In 2005, Detroit Technology High School graduated its first class of seniors. All seniors graduated on time and all were accepted into college. Serving a high crime, high poverty area, DTHS students scored higher than all but Detroit’s selective attendance high schools on the 10th grade MEAP.
In 2006 Tech Boston Academy will graduate its first senior class. 85% of TBA students come from homes below the poverty level, and only 25% scored at grade level in reading and 12 % in math in the 9th grade. By the end of 10th grade, 93% of the students passed the MCAS test in ELA and 95% in math (50% scored at the proficient level or above). Each student will have earned Microsoft Office Certification, completed at least two college credits. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/nr/downloads/ed/rethinkinghighschool.pdf
Also in 2006 – Global Media Arts High School in Rochester New York, Success Tech High School in Cleveland and Entrepreneurship High School in Cincinnati will graduate their first class of seniors. All of these schools have created an interdisciplinary curriculum developing a high level of technology, communications and social skills to better personalize instruction to meet student needs and prepare them for success in college or the workplace.
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E-mail: lk@modelschoolsproject.org |
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E-mail: rm@modelschoolsproject.org |
