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Transforming American High Schools: Possibilities for **the** Next Phase **of**High School Reform. [|http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy045.nclive.org/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=125&sid=787bcfb1-da10-437b-82da-828574a2ddd8%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=52237328] 1. Early college schools, such as those represented in the Early College High School Initiative coordinated by Jobs for the Future, ascribe to key design principles. 2. These principles include a commitment to serving typically underrepresented populations in postsecondary institutions, providing a program of courses that enable students to earn an Associate’s degree or two years of college credit, compressing the years needed to obtain a postsecondary degree, including middle grades or outreaching to middle-grade students, and demonstrating the attributes of highly effective schools (Jobs for the Future, 2004). Fundamentally, early college schools provide instruction, blended high school and college curricula, and access to a college campus that motivates students to obtain a postsecondary education. 3. The idea of accelerating learning and achievement among high school students, typically behind in their academic progress, is a bold one, and the challenges of catalyzing student learning are acknowledged by early college school proponents (Hoffman & Schwartz, 2007). 4. Nonetheless, in the 2006–07 school year, the Early College High School Initiative included about 130 schools across the nation and planned to grow that number to nearly 200 5. The initiative has received financial support from some of the largest foundations in the country. 6. Since 2002, researchers have studied the implementation and outcomes of the initiative. 7. Recent findings using correlational analyses showed positive effects on students including higher reported levels of engagement and academic self-concept, high daily attendance rates, better proficiency rates on standardized tests compared to neighboring schools, and high expectations for graduating with college credits. 8. Emerging factors that appear to be related to positive student outcomes include location on a college campus, starting up as a new school, and being affiliated with a 4-year college rather than a 2-year college (American Institutes for Research & SRI International, 2008). 9. Policy and research provide a backdrop for future possibilities of high school reform. Government and other funders establish agendas that shape the larger context in which school change takes place. 10. High schools should have both structural and instructional features that make seamless the transition from high school to career or college and that offer teaching and learning opportunities that foster critical thinking in the context of real-world applications. 11. Structurally, students should regularly experience authentic career and college environments as well as coursework that prepares them cognitively and socially for the demands of post-secondary life. 12. High schools should have formal arrangements with local employers as well as 2- and 4-year institutions where faculty and staff are required to articulate and coordinate meaningful activities and courses tied to experiences in high school. 13. Examples of thematic integration in early colleges and career academies include early colleges that focus on science, technology, math, or engineering; early colleges that are allied with medical or health professions; and career academies that integrate regional economic sectors, such as the arts and entertainment, energy and utilities, or hospitality and tourism. 14. 15. High schools should have both structural and instructional features that make seamless the transition from high school to career or college and that offer teaching and learning opportunities that foster critical thinking in the context of real-world applications.