Workshop 1. The Big Picture
New American Schools answered a presidential challenge to create the next generation of American schools. Practitioners and experts, including Secretary of Education Richard Riley, discuss how the work of its Design Teams in nearly 2,000 schools nationally has spurred the comprehensive school reform movement, including new federal aid targeted at schools working to transform themselves.

• Host: John Merrow, PBS "Learning Matters"
• Guests:
  • Richard Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education
  • Dr. Susan Bodilly, RAND researcher
  • Georgia Clark, elementary school assistant principal
  • Frederick Conway, elementary school teacher
  • Joan Kozlovsky, New American Schools
  • Dr. Carmina Rodriguez-Villa, elementary school principal
  • Dr. Steven Ross, University of Memphis education professor
  • Becky Schou, elementary school principal
  • Monica Solomon, educational consultant
  • Kathleen Stroh, teacher union official

Workshop 2. America’s Choice Design
See how America’s Choice helps schools move their students to internationally benchmarked performance standards for English language arts, math, science, and applied learning and for reading and writing in kindergarten through third grade.

School Location: Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center; Fort Worth, Texas

Workshop 3. ATLAS Communities
Explore how ATLAS Communities creates "pathways" of learning — feeder patterns of elementary, middle, and high schools and a coherent, personalized education for each student from the first day of school through high school graduation.

School Locations:

• Kimball High School; Seattle, Washington
• Everett High School; Everett, Washington
• North Middle School; Everett, Washington
• Everett Alternatives; Everett, Washington

Workshop 4. Co-nect Schools
In this workshop, individuals from Co-nect and Co-nect schools discuss how the design combines a focus on high academic achievement for all students with the use of advanced technology as a central tool for standards-driven, project-based teaching and learning.

School Locations:

• Accelerated Learning Laboratory; Worcester, Massachusetts
• Fort Lauderdale High School; Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Southwest Miami High School; Miami, Florida
• Horace Mann Middle School; Miami, Florida
• Cypress Elementary School; Miami, Florida

Workshop 5. Expeditionary Learning/Outward Bound
Discover how Expeditionary Learning brings about high academic achievement through authentic in-depth projects that meet or exceed state and local standards. Character and community are equally important hallmarks of the design that are examined.

School Locations:

• Rocky Mountain School for Expeditionary Learning; Denver, Colorado
• School for the Physical City; New York, New York
• The Harbor School; Boston, Massachusetts
• Rafael Hernandez School; Boston, Massachusetts

Workshop 6. Modern Red Schoolhouse
See how Modern Red Schoolhouse combines the expectations and community support embodied in its little red ancestors with high standards, school restructuring, and a sophisticated instructional management system that allows for tracking of student progress and reflection on curriculum.

School Locations:

• Japhet Elementary School; San Antonio, Texas
• Lowell Middle School; San Antonio, Texas
• Palm View Elementary School; Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Workshop 7. Roots & Wings
Explore the premise of this research-based design: every child will progress successfully through the elementary grades no matter what it takes — from providing "roots" through early intervention and one-on-one tutoring to "wings" in the curriculum that reach beyond basic skills.

School Location: Lackland City Elementary School; San Antonio, Texas

Workshop 8. Urban Learning Centers
See how Urban Learning Centers helps schools to know students well from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, to organize around what students know and need to know, to build values, and to address issues of health and well-being that can impede learning.

School Locations:

• Elizabeth Learning Center; Cudahy, California
• Foshay Learning Center; Los Angeles, California
• Norwood Street School; Los Angeles, California

Workshop 9. The New American School District
Comprehensive school reform happens at the campus, but school districts can provide crucial leadership that supports schools in selecting and working with Design Teams. This workshop describes such a school system.

Host: John Merrow, PBS "Learning Matters"

Guests:

• Michael Brandt, former superintendent of Cincinnati, OH schools
• Dr. Bruce Haslam, Policy Studies Associates managing director
• Dr. Gerry House, superintendent of Memphis, TN schools
• Dr. Karen Hawley Miles, educational consultant
• Dr. Colleen Seremet, assistant superintendent of Dorchester, MD schools
• Monica Solomon, educational consultant
• Anthony Trujillo, director of district services for America’s Choice