There is a lot of rhetoric out there about changing schools, but they aren't really changing. Innovations that are a part of Souhegan that other schools want to imitate, according to Mackin, include setting common high standards, performance assessments, teacher collaboration, integrated studies and student team projects. If you have a problem in biology to solve, it won't just require a knowledge of biology. You will need math, chemistry, history, even economics. They all play a part.
Integrated studies reflect the breadth of connections.
Mackin said training students for the next millennium will require different schooling. Education needs to address the needs of the world as it exists, with computers and Internet access and the incredible range of information readily available, according to Mackin. They not only need to be able to find information, but they also need to be able to discriminate, to evaluate the information that is there. Mackin said he believes principals are the key to educational reform because they provide the leadership necessary to make changes. He is hoping to establish a support group where principals from throughout New England can meet and discuss what is working in their schools and what is not, as well as ideas for improving the state of education.