How California Is Trying To Reshape High School
How California Is Trying To Reshape High School
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At CART High near Fresno, there is no gum stuck to the floor. The saffron-yellow walls are unmarred by graffiti. Toting laptops, students file calmly down spacious, light-filled hallways to classes like biotechnology and digital marketing.
There’s no fighting, no shouting, no bells. No one even cuts class.
no و by و to – تفاصيل مهمة
It’s hard to believe CART High is a public high school. But in the future, this may be a model for every high school in California.
“We can see from the data that the big, old-fashioned factory model of high school – where students run from class to class with a locker as their only stable point of contact – is not succeeding,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education. “We need to overhaul the whole idea of what high school can be, and right now we have an opportunity to do so.”
The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a state agency, is launching a pilot program to redesign high school and middle school. Groups of districts already working on escaping the factory model applied for grant money, and winners will meet, brainstorm, work through challenges and share their experiences statewide, in hopes of inspiring other districts to create innovative high school options. The money will come from $10 million recently allotted in the state budget, as well as state programs promoting career pathways and dual enrollment in high school.
The idea is to move beyond the traditional high school — with its rigid 50-minute periods and stand-alone classes — and replace it with a new type of school that offers work experience, academics tailored to students’ interests, stronger personal connections with staff and multidisciplinary courses that link directly to careers and community needs.
and و of و to – تفاصيل مهمة
“It should be a joy to go to school every day,” Darling-Hammond said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”
Countless schools in California use elements of this idea, with schools-within-schools that offer career academies or other specialized programs. But very few high schools are devoted completely to it.
How high school came to be
Public high schools have only existed for about a century in the U.S. Education for younger children has existed for hundreds of years, but the idea of school for teenagers only came about in the early 20th century.
The original high schools were based loosely on a factory model of efficiency, with learning measured in Carnegie units — 120 hours spent over a year studying a particular topic. Promulgated by the Carnegie Foundation at the time in an effort to standardize education, the measure is still used at nearly all high schools and colleges.
the و schools و in – تفاصيل مهمة
But advances in adolescent neuroscience have shown that teenagers learn in a flexible environment with plenty of hands-on projects and teamwork. Instead of sitting quietly at desks and listening to a teacher, students are likely to be engaged if they’re allowed some autonomy to pursue topics they’re interested in, with their peers.
Alternative schools — typically, schools for students who aren’t succeeding in traditional school — have been experimenting with this approach for decades. The state’s top alternative schools aim to not only help students graduate, but also pair them with internships, teach them practical life skills and address their emotional well-being. They often have flexible schedules and small classes, with teachers getting to know students and their families personally.
There’s plenty of evidence that traditional high schools may be outdated. In the most recent state student surveynearly half of 11th graders said school “is really boring.” Almost 25% of 11th graders were chronically absent last year.
Academically, the numbers were equally dismal. Just 30% of California 11th graders performed at or above grade level in math last year, with some student groups faring much worse. Although the graduation rate was 87%, fewer than half of those students had finished a college or career preparation track.
of و schools و students – تفاصيل مهمة
“The data speaks for itself,” said Russlynn Ali, head of XQ Institute, which advocates for high school redesign, and a former head of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights under President Barack Obama.
“There are young people today who’ve graduated from high school but can’t calculate the tip on a split bill, grasp the main idea in an op-ed piece. The case for change is unmistakeable.”
Transcripts and units
There are a few obstacles to transforming high schools statewide to look like CART. One is higher education. The University of California and California State University require high school students to pass a series of classes, known as A-G, to qualify for admission.
Advocates for high school redesign say those requirements are too rigid, and high schools need some flexibility in creating new classes that are interesting to students and connected to life outside the classroom. They also say that traditional letter grades, which colleges rely on to admit students, are too limiting and that colleges need to consider a new kind of transcript that accurately reflects students’ abilities.
to و are و high – تفاصيل مهمة
Another obstacle is the Carnegie unit, which is an integral part of the way high schools and colleges are structured. Even the Carnegie Foundation has been lobbying for changesarguing that schools should measure students’ progress based on what they know, rather than how much time they’ve spent in a classroom. But so far, colleges have shown little interest in dropping the Carnegie unit.
A school for ‘the C kid’
CART High, which stands for Center for Advanced Research and Technology, opened about 25 years ago in a renovated water pump facility in Clovis. A joint initiative between Clovis Unified and Fresno Unified, the idea was to reach students who were floundering in school and give them some career experience that could also boost the local economy. It wasn’t quite an alternative school, but it wasn’t an honors program, either.
“We weren’t looking for the top students. We were looking for the disengaged kids,” said Staci Bynum, CART’s dean of curriculum and instruction who’s been at the school since its inception. “The C kid is going to excel here.”
CART is open to 11th and 12th graders from both districts, with students selected through a lottery. Last year, than 2,200 students applied and 1,000 were accepted. Nearly 80% of CART’s enrollment is low-income.
and و for و the – تفاصيل مهمة
Students spend half their day at their regular high school taking math, foreign language, art and other classes, and half their day at CART, where they choose an area of focus. Options include law and policy, business, forensics and psychology, among other topics.
Classes, which the school calls labs, are three hours long, and are taught by a trio of teachers who weave in literature and other academic subjects that are relevant to the subject. In biotechnology, for example, students read “The Andromeda Strain” and “The Martian,” and write their own science fiction stories based on concepts they’re learning in class. In the law class, students read Othello or Hamlet then subject characters to a mock trial.
“We work really hard to get kids to see the bigger picture of why they’re learning what they’re learning,” said English teacher Emily Saeteurn. “We want them to have that ‘aha!’ moment.”
Attendance is nearly 100% and discipline problems are almost unheard of, said principal Rick Watson. than 90% of students scored at least “proficient” on the English portion of the Smarter Balanced test. Students take the math portion at their other high school.
the و and و to – تفاصيل مهمة
When he’s not running the school, Watson is giving tours. Education officials from around the world often visit, in hopes of replicating the CART model. Numerous CART-inspired schools have opened around California.
“You have kids in comprehensive high schools everywhere who are falling through the cracks,” Watson said. “Comprehensive high schools don’t work for some B, C, D students. The students have potential but they’re disconnected.They’re desperate for a different model of education.”
Senior Madelyn Quiroga, who’s in the biotechnology class, said she has mediocre grades at her regular high school, but all A’s at CART.
“At my other school, they just throw stuff at you and never really explain it. Here, they actually teach us,” she said.
at و in و high – تفاصيل مهمة
“And it’s all stuff we actually want to know, so it sticks in your brain. Like when I hear someone talk about CRISPR (gene editing technology), it’s like, ‘Oh, I know something about that.’”
Audrey Riede, an 11th grader in the law class, said she’s so inspired she wants to be a defense attorney.
“CART is way better than normal school,” she said. “The teachers aren’t just trying to get you to pass, they really want to make you think. It’s just a totally different environment.”
The state will announce the winning pilot proposals in November.
to و in و the – تفاصيل مهمة
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
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!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173 fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);{“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”NewsArticle”,”dateCreated”:”2025-11-12T22:53:10+04:00″,”datePublished”:”2025-11-12T22:53:10+04:00″,”dateModified”:”2025-11-12T22:53:10+04:00″,”headline”:”How California is Trying to Reshape High School”,”name”:”How California is Trying to Reshape High School”,”keywords”:[],”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/how-california-is-trying-to-reshape-high-school-the-74/”,”description”:”Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. At CART High near Fresno, there”,”copyrightYear”:”2025″,”articleSection”:”Education”,”articleBody”:”nnntttttnntttttnntttttnntttttnntttttnntttttnntttttnn n Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newslettern n n n nThis story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.nAt CART High near Fresno, there is no gum stuck to the floor. The saffron-yellow walls are unmarred by graffiti. Toting laptops, students file calmly down spacious, light-filled hallways to classes like biotechnology and digital marketing. Thereu2019s no fighting, no shouting, no bells. No one even cuts class.nItu2019s hard to believe CART High is a public high school. But in the future, this may be a model for every high school in California.nnu201cWe can see from the data that the big, old-fashioned factory model of high school u2013 where students run from class to class with a locker as their only stable point of contact u2013 is not succeeding,u201d said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education. u201cWe need to overhaul the whole idea of what high school can be, and right now we have an opportunity to do so.u201dnThe California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, a state agency, is launching a pilot program to redesign high school and middle school. Groups of districts already working on escaping the factory model applied for grant money, and winners will meet, brainstorm, work through challenges and share their experiences statewide, in hopes of inspiring other districts to create innovative high school options. The money will come from $10 million recently allotted in the state budget, as well as state programs promoting career pathways and dual enrollment in high school.nThe idea is to move beyond the traditional high school u2014 with its rigid 50-minute periods and stand-alone classes u2014 and replace it with a new type of school that offers work experience, academics tailored to studentsu2019 interests, stronger personal connections with staff and multidisciplinary courses that link directly to careers and community needs.nnnStudents sit at tables in a hallway and in an engineering class at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) in Clovis on Oct. 6, 2025. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)nnu201cIt should be a joy to go to school every day,u201d Darling-Hammond said. u201cThatu2019s what weu2019re looking for.u201dnCountless schools in California use elements of this idea, with schools-within-schools that offer career academies or other specialized programs. But very few high schools are devoted completely to it.nHow high school came to benPublic high schools have only existed for about a century in the U.S. Education for younger children has existed for hundreds of years, but the idea of school for teenagers only came about in the early 20th century. The original high schools were based loosely on a factory model of efficiency, with learning measured in Carnegie units u2014 120 hours spent over a year studying a particular topic. Promulgated by the Carnegie Foundation at the time in an effort to standardize education, the measure is still used at nearly all high schools and colleges.nBut advances in adolescent neuroscience have shown that teenagers learn more in a flexible environment with plenty of hands-on projects and teamwork. Instead of sitting quietly at desks and listening to a teacher, students are more likely to be engaged if theyu2019re allowed some autonomy to pursue topics theyu2019re interested in, with their peers.nAlternative schools u2014 typically, schools for students who arenu2019t succeeding in traditional school u2014 have been experimenting with this approach for decades. The stateu2019s top alternative schools aim to not only help students graduate, but also pair them with internships, teach them practical life skills and address their emotional well-being. They often have flexible schedules and small classes, with teachers getting to know students and their families personally.nThereu2019s plenty of evidence that traditional high schools may be outdated. In the most recent state student surveynearly half of 11th graders said school u201cis really boring.u201d Almost 25% of 11th graders were chronically absent last year.nAcademically, the numbers were equally dismal. Just 30% of California 11th graders performed at or above grade level in math last year, with some student groups faring much worse. Although the graduation rate was 87%, fewer than half of those students had finished a college or career preparation track.nPhysics instructor William Dunn teaches a lesson to students in an engineering class at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) in Clovis on Oct. 6, 2025. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)nu201cThe data speaks for itself,u201d said Russlynn Ali, head of XQ Institute, which advocates for high school redesign, and a former head of the U.S. Department of Educationu2019s Office for Civil Rights under President Barack Obama. u201cThere are young people today whou2019ve graduated from high school but canu2019t calculate the tip on a split bill, grasp the main idea in an op-ed piece. The case for change is unmistakeable.u201dnTranscripts and unitsnThere are a few obstacles to transforming high schools statewide to look like CART. One is higher education. The University of California and California State University require high school students to pass a series of classes, known as A-G, to qualify for admission. Advocates for high school redesign say those requirements are too rigid, and high schools need some flexibility in creating new classes that are more interesting to students and more connected to life outside the classroom. They also say that traditional letter grades, which colleges rely on to admit students, are too limiting and that colleges need to consider a new kind of transcript that more accurately reflects studentsu2019 abilities.nAnother obstacle is the Carnegie unit, which is an integral part of the way high schools and colleges are structured. Even the Carnegie Foundation has been lobbying for changesarguing that schools should measure studentsu2019 progress based on what they know, rather than how much time theyu2019ve spent in a classroom. But so far, colleges have shown little interest in dropping the Carnegie unit.nA school for u2018the C kidu2019nCART High, which stands for Center for Advanced Research and Technology, opened about 25 years ago in a renovated water pump facility in Clovis. A joint initiative between Clovis Unified and Fresno Unified, the idea was to reach students who were floundering in school and give them some career experience that could also boost the local economy. It wasnu2019t quite an alternative school, but it wasnu2019t an honors program, either.nu201cWe werenu2019t looking for the top students. We were looking for the disengaged kids,u201d said Staci Bynum, CARTu2019s dean of curriculum and instruction whou2019s been at the school since its inception. u201cThe C kid is going to excel here.u201dnCART is open to 11th and 12th graders from both districts, with students selected through a lottery. Last year, more than 2,200 students applied and 1,000 were accepted. Nearly 80% of CARTu2019s enrollment is low-income.nnnFirst: An assortment of bones sits on a desk for students to identify during a forensic science lesson. Last: Forensic science Instructor Erin Andrade shows animal skulls to a classroom of students for a lesson at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) in Clovis on Oct. 6, 2025. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)nnStudents spend half their day at their regular high school taking math, foreign language, art and other classes, and half their day at CART, where they choose an area of focus. Options include law and policy, business, forensics and psychology, among other topics.nClasses, which the school calls labs, are three hours long, and are taught by a trio of teachers who weave in literature and other academic subjects that are relevant to the subject. In biotechnology, for example, students read u201cThe Andromeda Strainu201d and u201cThe Martian,u201d and write their own science fiction stories based on concepts theyu2019re learning in class. In the law class, students read Othello or Hamlet then subject characters to a mock trial.nu201cWe work really hard to get kids to see the bigger picture of why theyu2019re learning what theyu2019re learning,u201d said English teacher Emily Saeteurn. u201cWe want them to have that u2018aha!u2019 moment.u201dnEnglish teacher Emily Saeteurn at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) in Clovis on Oct. 6, 2025. (Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)nAttendance is nearly 100% and discipline problems are almost unheard of, said principal Rick Watson. than 90% of students scored at least u201cproficientu201d on the English portion of the Smarter Balanced test. Students take the math portion at their other high school.nWhen heu2019s not running the school, Watson is giving tours. Education officials from around the world often visit, in hopes of replicating the CART model. Numerous CART-inspired schools have opened around California.nu201cYou have kids in comprehensive high schools everywhere who are falling through the cracks,u201d Watson said. u201cComprehensive high schools donu2019t work for some B, C, D students. The studentsu00a0 have potential but theyu2019re disconnected.Theyu2019re desperate for a different model of education.u201dnSenior Madelyn Quiroga, whou2019s in the biotechnology class, said she has mediocre grades at her regular high school, but all Au2019s at CART.nStudent Madelyn Quiroga at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) in Clovis on Oct. 6, 2025. (Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local)nu201cAt my other school, they just throw stuff at you and never really explain it. Here, they actually teach us,u201d she said. u201cAnd itu2019s all stuff we actually want to know, so it sticks in your brain. Like when I hear someone talk about CRISPR (gene editing technology), itu2019s like, u2018Oh, I know something about that.u2019u201dnAudrey Riede, an 11th grader in the law class, said sheu2019s so inspired she wants to be a defense attorney.nu201cCART is way better than normal school,u201d she said. u201cThe teachers arenu2019t just trying to get you to pass, they really want to make you think. Itu2019s just a totally different environment.u201dnThe state will announce the winning pilot proposals in November.nThis article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.nn n n n Did you use this article in your work?
nWeu2019d love to hear how The 74u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us hown n n !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;n t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,n document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);n fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173n fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);n rnrnrnrnrnDisclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification. rnWe do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.rnrnrnrnrnrnAuthor: Carolyn JonesrnPublished on: 2025-11-12 21:30:00rnSource: www.the74million.orgrnrn”,”publisher”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”,”@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images-e1759081190269.png”},”sameAs”:[“https://www.facebook.com/uaetodaynewscom”,”https://www.pinterest.com/uaetodaynews/”,”https://www.instagram.com/uaetoday_news_com/”]},”sourceOrganization”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”copyrightHolder”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”mainEntityOfPage”:{“@type”:”WebPage”,”@id”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/how-california-is-trying-to-reshape-high-school-the-74/”,”breadcrumb”:{“@id”:”#Breadcrumb”}},”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/author/arabsongmedia-net/”},”image”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://i0.wp.com/uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/california-high-school-825×495.jpg?fit=825%2C495&ssl=1″,”width”:1200,”height”:495}}
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2025-11-12 18:53:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com
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