Adalai Stevenson High School

This is a Blue Ribbon school that earned the right to be on top because of the vision and hard work of the teachers.  Together, they set high standards but they learned to vary the time needed for individual students to meet that goal.  One of the things that they do that I would like to see implemented where I teach is a summer study skills course for incoming freshmen at the high school. The gap between high school and middle school requirements and expectations is wide and we would be well served to try to bridge that gap with a class focusing on skills students will need to succeed in high school classes, skills that include taking notes and organizing their time and materials.  I teach quite a few 9th graders and I spend a lot of time all year long trying to encourage the organization skill and to get them to take notes.  This should be an expectation of all teachers, of course, but in reality, it isn't, so a small  number of us struggle with study skills in our academic classes.  
The ideas put in place at ASHS are radical, like a mandatory tutoring program and a guided study teacher who acts as a liaison between the students and the teachers and the parents and the school staff.  It amazed me that this remarkable school was able to set up meetings with a social worker, a mentor and parents once a month to help parents be more effective in helping their children to succeed.  An idea worth exploring!  After all, every teacher needs the support of parents in order for the students to want to succeed.