Students receive 90 minutes each in mathematics and language arts every day. The block scheduling also contributes to teaming and teacher professionalization. The scheduling allows the team to collaborate and individuals to master new skills or develop new units. Major school decisions are made through consultation between the principal and an Operations Committee of eight elected teachers who meet once a week. In the team area offices, an impressive array of technology supports teachers' efforts.
Electronic mail facilitates communications among teachers and with the administration.
Class Master software reduces the time needed to report attendance and record grades. Teachers promote students' higher-level thinking by planning multifaceted activities that involve the use of technology. For example, in a seventh-grade math project on the use of spreadsheets, students estimated and collected measurements of body dimensions, entered data on spreadsheets, explored ways of representing the data graphically, and wrote a brief narrative at the word processor describing their approach and results. In industrial technology classes, students worked in collaborative groups to design and produce a variety of products. Students formed companies and produced products for sale.