In 1998, four California elementary schools formed the 1,000 Days to Success School Network. Although the schools originally focused on K-2 children, they found that reform spread beyond those grades. By using Web-based electronic discussion capabilities, teachers can easily communicate with one another, which promotes school improvement and student achievement. In an innovative urban literacy program in Washington, D.C., K-3 students create a working community, complete with a store, a newspaper, a theater, and a museum. Each classroom assumes a unique role as a business, a service organization, or a special interest group, and together the classrooms form a community that exchanges goods and services.
Technology also plays an integral role in helping students develop different kinds of literacies.
In these authentic learning environments, students learn to share responsibility, to express themselves in a variety of ways, and to become goal-directed. Such students do not possess information literacy, the ability to find, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources. With these skills, graduates can think independently, connect their studies to their own lives, and transfer applicable skills from one discipline to another. The author describes the Senior Project, which allows students to self-select a topic, study it in depth, and produce a culminating exhibition. The students' teachers and the school's teacher-librarian are responsible for ensuring that the students know how to access information and recognize quality information.