Intensive summer schools, expanding STEM programs, and early-college high schools exemplify innovation that increases student achievement and graduation rates in districts nationwide.
The 35 school systems honored in this round of District Administration’s triannual Districts of Distinction awards program represent creative initiatives from 19 different states that have successfully prevented dropouts, increased college acceptance rates and fostered early language skills for children in poverty.
Early-college high school students in New York’s Ballston Spa Central School District dual-enroll for free in community college courses that lead to an associate degree in clean energy, information technology or entrepreneurship.
In Topeka Public Schools, administrators built a Minority Leadership Academy to prepare teachers of color for leadership positions and to better reflect the student population demographics in the staff.
In 2001, Palos Verdes Peninsula USD became one of the first districts in the nation to launch a high school engineering and robotics program, which has since spread to all schools in the district and boasts more female participants than the national average for STEM programming.
These and other programs chosen as Districts of Distinction were selected by DA’s team of editors in part based on the success of their results, as well as replicability to inspire other school systems to seek innovative solutions for their own challenges.
For more information about Districts of Distinction, including how to apply and a list of current and past honorees, visit www.districtadministration.com/dod.
