School Type: Public	School Setting: Urban
Level: High	School Design: Alternative
Content Presented By:
The Education Alliance at Brown University
National Association of Secondary School Principals

Background Context

Demographics

Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas has, in recent years, undergone considerable changes in its demographic makeup. These include a 10% increase in students receiving free and reduced-price lunch (72% in 1997-98; 82% in 2001-02 and 2002-03) and a growing Hispanic population (from 12% of the student body in 1997-98 to 26% in 2002-03). In addition, the English language learner (ELL) enrollment has grown from 50 students in 2000-01 to 187 students in 2002-03, constituting approximately 14% of the population at the school.

Background

Wyandotte High School has a rich history as one of the oldest high schools west of the Mississippi. Its current building was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project in the mid 1930s and is now on the National Historic Register. In the 1960s and 70s, the school was the pride of the area. Then urban flight and other factors sparked a dramatic decline. By the mid 1990s, district officials considered closing the school's doors.

In 1995, Wyandotte's test scores were among the worst in the state of Kansas, and the school's accreditation was in question. Safety was an issue. Fires were frequently set inside the building, students were often seen more in the halls than in the classrooms, and fights were frequent occurrences. In addition, the staff was dejected. Teachers worked in isolation. As a survival tactic, good teachers would go in their classrooms, lock the doors, and try to block out the chaos enough to teach the students who showed up. By April and May, the number of students who attended classes was sometimes less than half of those who started the previous fall. The rest had just quit coming, at least to class.

In 1996, instead of closing the school, the district opted to make one last attempt to turn it around. They began by bringing in a new principal and making a commitment to a framework of reform entitled First Things First. The First Things First framework identifies seven critical features for school improvement based on developmental and educational research on children and youth, current research on organizational change, and current work in public schools. Though the research was important, making the features part of the reality of the school had to come from the people who worked there. Fortunately for the Wyandotte community, the principal assigned to the job, Walter J. Thompson, had a genuine belief in and respect for teachers and a collaborative working style that marked a departure from the school's previous leader.

"We felt we had an opportunity and we had to grasp that opportunity," says special education coordinator Carol Normandin. "This wasn't being imposed. We perceived that we could do what we wanted to do to change things. It was really empowering."

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This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu