Top High Schools - Stories

Virginia High School Is Best in the Nation
U.S. News ranks America's Best High Schools for third consecutive year

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., the top school in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best High Schools rankings, is designed to challenge students. A course load of offerings that include DNA science, neurobiology, and quantum physics would seem to be more than enough to meet that goal. But students and the faculty felt those classes weren't enough, so they decided to tackle another big question: What are the social responsibilities of educated people? Over the course of the school year, students are exploring social responsibility through projects of their own design, ranging from getting school supplies for students with cerebral palsy in Shanghai to persuading their classmates to use handkerchiefs to reduce paper waste. The One Question project demonstrates the way "TJ," as it's referred to by students and teachers, encourages the wide-ranging interests of its students.

"None of our students has the same passion," says TJ Principal Evan Glazer. "But having a passion is widely accepted and embraced."

Top 10 High Schools:

10. International School (Bellevue, Wash.)

Across Lake Washington from Seattle, International School is not a "true" international school with students from across the globe; rather, it challenges its students to think globally. All students (grades six through 12) are required to take seven years of either German or French.

9. BASIS Tucson (Tucson, Ariz.)

Advanced Placement exams are part of BASIS's graduation requirements (the school pays for the tests), and most students can graduate after 11th grade with sufficient credits for admission to Arizona state schools. Those who stay through 12th grade complete an internship or research project.

8. School of Science and Engineering Magnet (Dallas)

This 400-student college preparatory school was created in 1982 to increase opportunities for underrepresented minorities in the professional science and engineering fields. The school is No. 1 in the nation for the number of minority students passing the AP calculus test.

7. Pacific Collegiate School (Santa Cruz, Calif.)

Students at this charter school, about 70 miles south of San Francisco, must keep a C average to advance to the next grade level and must also complete a community service requirement. The school strives to foster a commitment to lifelong participation in public life.

6. Newcomers High School (Long Island City, N.Y.)

Newcomers High has stayed true to its founding mission of being a gateway to American education for immigrants. Its goal is to move students into regular schools after one year; those who enter in the ninth grade rarely stay for more than one year before transferring.

5. School for the Talented and Gifted (Dallas)

Composed of a diverse student body (about 28 percent of students are Hispanic, and 24 percent are black), TAG is known for its robust liberal arts education. The school publishes a monthly literary magazine featuring editorials, poetry, and fiction stories.

4. Oxford Academy (Cypress, Calif.)

Students get a big leg up at Oxford Academy: They enter either its business or its biotechnology and medical programs and are prepared for careers in those areas. They must also take at least five Advanced Placement courses to graduate.

3. Whitney School (Cerritos, Calif.)

About 75 percent of students are Asian at this L.A. magnet school, which serves only the most academically qualified students in seventh through 12th grade. The school aspires to be "the best public college-prep school in the world."

2. International Academy (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)

As an International Baccalaureate certified high school, IA is the first public high school in North America to offer the full IB diploma program, an international education program that encourages cultural understanding and respect.

1. Thomas Jefferson High School (Alexandria, Va.)

Located just outside Washington, Thomas Jefferson High leads the pack in our ranking not just because of its challenging academics, which include neurobiology and quantum physics. Students there also explore what social responsibilities they have as educated people.

Digital Ethnography

This is a very powerful video from students at Kansas State University on digital ethnography.



Here's a K-12 version:

Foxfire Core Practices

Foxfire (The Foxfire Fund, Inc.) is a not-for-profit, educational and literary organization based in Rabun County, Georgia. Founded in 1966, Foxfire's learner-centered, community-based educational approach is advocated through both a regional demonstration site (The Foxfire Museum & Heritage Center) grounded in the Southern Appalachian culture that gave rise to Foxfire, and a national program of teacher training and support (the Foxfire Approach to Teaching and Learning) that promotes a sense of place and appreciation of local people, community, and culture as essential educational tools.

1 • From the beginning, learner choice, design, and revision infuses the work teachers and learners do together.

2 • The work teachers and learners do together clearly manifests the attributes of the academic disciplines involved, so those attributes become habits of mind.

3 • The work teachers and students do together enables learners to make connections between the classroom work, the surrounding communities, and the world beyond their communities.

4 • The teacher serves as facilitator and collaborator.

5 • Active learning characterizes classroom activities.

6 • The learning process entails imagination and creativity.

7 • Classroom work includes peer teaching, small group work, and teamwork.

8 • The work of the classroom serves audiences beyond the teacher, thereby evoking the best efforts by the learners and providing feedback for improving subsequent performances.

9 • The work teachers and learners do together includes rigorous, ongoing assessment and evaluation.

10 • Reflection, an essential activity, takes place at key points throughout the work.

Foundation of 3Rs - Rigor, Relevance, Relationships

Dennis Littky is the founder of a Small school in Rhode Island that led to the "Big Picture" school movement.  This video shows the development of the 3Rs and parts of a speech by Bill Gates that cites these principles.

Five features of a Big Picture school:

• More exhibitions, fewer written tests
• Teachers teach several subjects
• Students learn through interests and passions
• Grades are given in a 2-page letter every 9 weeks
• School maintains a strong bond to former students

Rigor, Relevance, Relationships, Results

Dan Kuznik 2008 Indiana Teacher of the Year of Pike High School at Taylor University

Relationship, Rigor, Relevance

Three guiding principles embraced by many education revolutionaries, including Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey, and developed by the "Big Picture" schools. This short video gives an overview of these principles.