In this high school, excellence is the constant and time is the variable. If one reviewed mission statements from high schools around the country, it is likely that almost all of them would in some way profess to serve all children. This is because, traditionally, American public high schools have been structured around time - assuming that all students can learn on the same schedule and all effective teaching methods can be fit into neat little boxes of time and served in the same way to each student. This structure is an outgrowth of a system developed for an industrial society. Educational and scientific research as well as the simple observation of a high school class and our own personal experiences, tell us that these assumptions are just not true.
All children can learn but at their own pace and in a manner suited to their own unique abilities.
The Providence School Department recommends the creation of a high school that is performance-based and structured to meet the individual learning styles and needs of each student. With this new performance-based high school, Providence can be a national leader in this revolution. While many high schools around the country are implementing reforms that respect the individual nature of teaching and learning, all too often these reforms are just tweaks at the margins. All of the high schools in Providence are currently in the midst of an intensive redesign process that will guide them towards the goal of guaranteeing high standards for all students. However, changing an established organizational structure as well as the climate and cultural beliefs that accompany it, is a slow process, and one that usually ends up compromising the original reform idea to fit within existing familiar and comfortable structures.