High Schools on a Human Scale: How Small Schools Can Transform American Education

by Tom Toch

The basic blueprint of American high schools hasn't changed in a century, and we are paying a heavy price. Anonymous, enormous, and resistant to change, huge American high schools are incapable of educating all children to high levels today, as dropout rates and remedial courses in college make increasingly clear.

High Schools on a Human Scale shows the huge power of small schools, perhaps the nation's fastest- growing reform idea. Tom Toch takes us inside four very different small schools around the country-from an entrepreneur's high-tech charter school in San Diego to a school formed out the of the breakup of a huge public high school in Manhattan. All are small enough so that every student is known well by adults, and the results are remarkable. Together they show the proven virtues of small schools-safety, community, and high achievement.

This book is sponsored in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's $40 million effort to support small schools nationwide.

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2003

Reviews

[Kayla Yirdaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

For starters, you have to walk into this book recognizing that it is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Once you can name their agenda and move past it, this becomes an exciting book that challenges traditional modes of educating students. I applaud these schools for pushing the boundaries of possibility and learning to foster an educational environment that can meet various means of the students.

This book highlights pros and cons of five small schools (though the positives are focused on more than the negatives). Unfortunately, the book is rather episodic. I spent time looking up where the schools are now and how they functioning. I may have appreciated this book more if it contained longer case studies instead of a snapshot of daily life in the respective school.

Many of these schools focus on project-based learning (a big fad at the moment and apparently on that has lasted for the past decade). All of the schools function on a nontraditional schedule, treating the students like adults and requiring them to utilize their time well and accomplish their set task. This works well for students who are motivated but the book cites that some students do not fully buy into the school philosophy. Without being a self-starter, students can quickly get left behind. Charter schools have always fascinated me so perhaps I’m biased to this book. I’m a big fan of giving teachers more autonomy and creativity to be professionals.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part of this book is the introduction which describes the creation of comprehensive high schools. The schools that are described are the same few schools that have received a lot of press. Be aware that this book is sponsored in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.