Inclusive: A Brand New Kind of High School

APEX High School

One great disappointment was watching the segmentation analysis by NYC, Boston, and Philly-- which helped us to understand how students were falling off track to graduation--  warp into an early warning system as the idea was adapted in other states. Certainly, an early warning system is helpful, but let’s face it-- schools already know this information.  

The real question is what to do with the information.  How can districts create continuously improving information systems that help them to stay active in responding to students’ needs and re-enrolling students?  For example, once NYC leaders looked at the data, they expanded transfer schools to accommodate more over-age, undercredited students. At the time, it was impossible to imagine schools, even small schools, serving students that were over-age and undercredited or re-entering school after what could be called a “leave of absence”. 

But now we can imagine it because a new type of high school is starting to pop up in local communities by local leaders. Let’s call them inclusive high schools. They enroll students, all kinds of students. Students from 8^th grade with the skills they need to start 9^th grade, reclassified 9^th graders who failed too many courses at other schools, and re-enrollment of students that had been pushed out our dropped out. They don’t tag or label them. They are just students wanting to get the skills they need to go to college and enter the workforce. 

Here are a couple of the inclusive schools I’ve visited: 

1) ACE Leadership:  To respond to the needs of students, ACE invests heavily in engaging their students through opening sessions every day focused on wellness and 360 wraparound services. Students work together on projects, although some may focus more heavily on strengthening their foundational skills. Using a competency-based approach, all instruction is scaffolded and transparent.  ACE runs two shifts a day so that students that need to work can come in the late afternoon. Check out the new video on ACE.

2) Academic Performance Excellence Academy:  APEX started as a district-run school, but, under the budget cuts that began to reshape their workforce, became a charter school.  Using the Diploma Plus competency-based model, APEX is very student-centered, ensuring that all students, no matter when they enter school, are making progress toward their goals.  APEX emphasizes application of skills in solving community problems. The organization stretches itself to respond to the challenges that are facing their students. Like all inclusive schools, APEX is a heart-felt school that deeply cares for its students. 

3) Native American Community Academy: NACA blends the cultural values of Native American communities with the expectations of today’s education system. Starting with a holistic approach, NACA draws on community connections, wellness, and a set of strong college-going practices.  Knowing that students are highly mobile between their traditional homes and Albuquerque, and that they may have to take time to care for family or community responsibilities, NACA accepts students in 11^th and 12^th grade who still need to complete credits and build academic skills.

Yes, these inclusive schools are currently all charters. The correlation between inclusive schools and charter policy is simply that charters allow for courageous, innovative education leaders to assume positions of leadership early in their careers.  But, in reality, most charter schools do not design for inclusivity, rarely accepting students after 10^th grade, even if their senior population has dwindled to 50% of the original 9^th grade enrollment.  Why would they choose to do that? The two rationales I’ve heard most are: 1) It really undermines our school culture to accept students after 10^th grade and 2) We can’t demonstrate our effectiveness if we have too many students that aren’t going to graduate. Sounds a lot like traditional district high schools doesn’t it? 

Inclusive high schools aren’t based on the governance structure. They are student-centered schools that embrace “doing what is right for kids” regardless of their previous educational experience.  They are also courageous schools because they must stand up to current policy. They choose to educate teens and young adults because it is the right thing to do, even if they are penalized by state accountability policy.  The growing conversation on appropriate accountability that is bubbling up from alternative schools, online providers, and charter schools needs to take into account inclusive schools as they are at the forefront of designing for a non-factory model world where the focus is on the student. 

Are you an inclusive school or know of one? We’d love to hear about it. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the direction we need to be going – designing for all students, not just those that have managed to cling on to the belt as it chugs through the education system. No doubt – we’ll see a lot more meaningful innovation once we embrace inclusiveness.