BACKGROUND
INFORMATION BACKGROUND
INFORMATIONHigh Schools That Work (HSTW) was originally created in 1987 by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) in partnership with a consortium of eleven states, of which Virginia was one. High Schools That Work has been recognized as the nation's first large-scale initiative to emphasize a program of study that includes both academic courses and modern career and technical studies to prepare students for a broad career field and further education.
Strategies for carrying out High Schools That Work in Virginia were initiated in 1987 through three Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) HSTW pilot sites--Norview High School (Norfolk City Public Schools), York High School (York County Public Schools), and Rockbridge County High School (Rockbridge County Public Schools). The programs at these schools extended to their technical centers. The present High Schools That Work improvement initiative in Virginia is an expansion of those pilot sites that were started in 1987.
The HSTW initiative is a comprehensive approach to school improvement that complements and supports the educational goals for Virginia. As a research and assessment-based reform initiative, HSTW is guided by a framework of goals, key practices, and key conditions to improve school practices, instruction, and student achievement. The HSTW vision requires its stakeholders (administrators, faculty and staff, parents, leaders of community/civic organizations, representatives of business/industry, middle schools, and postsecondary education) to rethink school routines. HSTW is dedicated to providing a quality education for all students.
Currently, Virginia has 28 of the more than 1,200 High Schools That Work sites nationally and is
one of 32 states participating in the Southern Regional Education Board's National HSTW Network.