Educators
have come to realize that helping all high school students achieve a
common result—the skills, knowledge, and personal qualities to succeed
in postsecondary education—can best be achieved through offering a
variety of educational options, all of which feature a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum, strong and supportive relationships with
teachers and among peers, and a curriculum that is transparent in its
relevance to hopes, dreams, and future success. This toolkit is
designed to take district reform leaders and their partners through the
process of planning a portfolio of excellent schools, thinking through
the relationship of the district to potential partners who could become
additional engines of reform, and developing strategies for actually
launching and sustaining new schools for the developing portfolio.
