Live From Woodburn High

The town of Clinton, Iowa was struggling both economically and with student retention until a partnership with an American businessman and a Chinese company brought 72 Chinese students to fill empty seats in the public high schools. Not only does this stir up the local economy with businesses jumping at the chance to serve a new audience, but the students all benefit from the cultural and educational exchange. The Clinton school board and district representatives all voted unanimously for the program, and both sides are looking forward to continuing to develop and grow the program.

The ecosystem of D.C. charter schools that has evolved over the last two decades represents a cornucopia of creative and nontraditional approaches to education, in addition to fairly traditional college-prep schools, and is now producing some of the highest graduation rates, college acceptance rates, and average test scores in public schools in the nation.

To improve its consistently high truancy rates, last academic year Española Valley High School implemented a new truancy and dropout prevention program aimed at shaping up poor attendance. The results are yet to be determined — but debate still rages within the school about the best method for battling truancy.

Young people are graduating from high schools and not ready for college level work. Liz Willen describes different initiatives around the United States that have provided solutions for improving secondary education. She addresses the importance of STEM, role models for students, and project-based learning.

The KNOSK secondary school is working to reduce the number of out-of-school youth in Nigeria by providing students with a quality education for a daily fee much lower than other school options. The school offers various payment plan options and gives the students uniforms, lunch, and sanitary products.

Arizona schools are tackling a rising lack of attendance after the pandemic by helping to address the problems keeping students from school instead of immediately suspending them for absences.

Theodore Roosevelt Highschool in Des Moines, Iowa, transitioned from employing armed school resource officers to a restorative practices team to prevent and mediate violence with proactive support instead of immediate punishment.

In Washington, North Thurston Public Schools increased the graduation rate of students experiencing homelessness from 65% to 84% by hiring student navigators. These staff members consistently support students experiencing homelessness and attend to needs like finding housing, applying for college, or anything else that might arise.

Oglethorpe County High School in Georgia increased their graduation rate to almost 95% by connecting students regularly with counselors starting freshman year to help them meet their goals.

Teachers are practicing dual-language immersion by teaching content in English and the student's native tongue to help prevent loss of fluency in their first language while learning the new one.