The future design of Eastern HS
The program planning team at Eastern HS have been discussing:
- A full high school curriculum that prepares students for college and career selection. Eastern HS will not be an application high school and will be a school-of-right for neighborhoods of Ward 6.
- A Freshman Campus with staff who will support 9th graders as they adjust to high school and learn how to operate within a small learning community. The Freshman Campus will expand or contract based on the number of in-boundary 9th graders enrolled; therefore, there may be one or several small freshmen learning communities on the campus.
- Small Learning Communities designed around content or themes in the 10th, 11th, 12th grades.
The small learning community designs most discussed by the community and DCPS planners are:
o 10-1th Grade Communities: “schools-within-schools” organized around career and academic themes. They integrate academic and vocational instruction, provide work-based learning opportunities for students and prepare students for postsecondary education and employment, with the personalized learning environment of a small community.
o School Academies: A Health Sciences Academy is being planned.
o Schools-within-school: Two or three other themed “Schools” will be organized within the larger high school around a theme, such as the Law and Justice theme or a “Green Campus,” in which students work closely with a core group of teachers and other adults.
More about small learning communities.
Good Reading:
Rethinking High School: Preparing Students for Success in College, Career, and Life
This is the fourth report in a series focusing on secondary reform and redesign. Previous Rethinking High School reports include:
