EdWorks
Our EdWorks subsidiary works with public schools throughout the United States, offering the strategies, support, and technical assistance needed to improve high schools, and boost student achievement and opportunity. It was created based on the success of KnowledgeWorks’ Ohio High School Transformation Initiative (OHSTI), which had a positive impact on more than 50,000 students and trained more than 2,000 teachers in Ohio’s most challenging school districts.
Today, EdWorks is duplicating its Ohio success nationwide with its track record of increasing high school graduation rates, raising scores on standardized tests and decreasing the achievement gap between minority students and their classmates.
“EdWorks has a track record of increasing high school graduation rates, particularly for disadvantaged students, and equipping them to succeed in college.”
— Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, State University of New York, EdWorks Partner
Three Innovative High School Models
- Redesigned small schools, in which large, low-performing high schools are transformed into smaller schools, and where personalized learning and enhanced professional development improves schools,
- STEM schools, which prepare students for college and careers in science, technology, engineering and math,
- Early college high schools, in which students begin taking college course during their freshman and sophomore years and often graduate with an associate degree or 60 hours of college credit.
The Keys to High School Improvement
There is no magic bullet to high school improvement. It requires hard work and determination. To start, the adults in the school must believe, really believe, that EVERY student in the school will be successful in college. KnowledgeWorks’ work with OHSTI and ECHS schools resulted in a clear set of understandings that drive effective secondary school improvement. Here’s what we are learning:
- These schools succeed because they realize failure is not an option.
- Working together, teachers, school administrators, community leaders, and parents must set high expectations with a common focus.
- Schools must provide time for staff to collaborate and offer performance-based instructional strategies.
- Leaders must invest in ongoing, job-embedded professional development while holding teachers and students accountable for success.
- Through shared responsibility, the learning community experiences shared successes.
The Results
The EdWorks team has launched more than 90 high schools including turnaround schools in Detroit, Tennessee, Washington and Maryland. The innovative high school models in the EdWorks portfolio – including redesigned small schools, STEM schools and early college high schools – are turning around not just schools, but also lives. Students are outpacing expectations by scoring higher on state tests and narrowing the gap between minority students and their classmates. They’re also getting a head start on college. Read more about EdWorks Results >>
