The transition wasn't easy, but Wyandotte's third year working with ftf began smoothly this fall. Many students now say they have a new sense of connection with their teachers. Senior Kwame Overton says he likes the longer classes. Students say they also feel more plugged into their coursework, too. David Toepfer's tech students, for instance, are proud of a computer lab they helped build.
Students also like the new opportunities to experience the working world firsthand.
Others are tutoring elementary school students. Numbers never tell the whole story, of course, but they help. The ranks of seniors who qualified for graduation rose 25 percent in the reform's first year, from 138 to 172. Wyandotte's success has impressed the Kansas City school board so much that it has decided to use the ftf model in each of the city's other four high schools. Now, says Connell, the godfather of ftf, there's no going back.