This book provides comprehensive research on high school reform from leading education experts, candid examples from the author's 26 years as a principal, and valuable insights from other leaders who have answered the call to make their schools better.

Do Less, Live More, Get Accepted What if getting into your reach schools didn’t require four years of excessive A.P. classes, overwhelming activity schedules, and constant stress? In How to Be a High School Superstar, Cal Newport explores the world of relaxed superstars—students who scored spots at the nation’s top colleges by leading uncluttered, low stress, and authentic lives. Drawing from extensive interviews and cutting-edge science, Newport explains the surprising truths behind these superstars’ mixture of happiness and admissions success, including: · Why doing less is the foundation for becoming more impressive. · Why demonstrating passion is meaningless, but being interesting is crucial. · Why accomplishments that are hard to explain are better than accomplishments that are hard to do. These insights are accompanied by step-by-step instructions to help any student adopt the relaxed superstar lifestyle—proving that getting into college doesn’t have to be a chore to survive, but instead can be the reward for living a genuinely interesting life.

The second report from "A Study of High Schools," based on interviews with teachers, students and parents.

Organized around eleven fundamental choices that all secondary schools must make, this book serves as a checklist, an agenda, and a study guide for high school reform.

Survive & Thrive in the Classroom From Day One! Teaching high school students is the toughest job you'll ever love. Of course, often it is an acquired love. You must learn to manage your students' education and play parent, counselor, police officer, and mentor. Wow! Now relax—it doesn't have to be overwhelming. With a little preparation you can ensure that you and your students get the most out of your time in the classroom and enjoy it! Full of real-world advice and answers for the complex issues facing today's high school teachers, this down-to-earth and witty book will teach you how to create an atmosphere of cooperation, learning, and respect within your classroom. Use this helpful guide as your personal mentor to achieve a successful and satisfying career as a high school teacher. Earn straight A's your first year by knowing how to: ·Create an attention-grabbing and interactive teaching environment ·Manage difficult students and unique teenage problems ·Communicate, educate, and have fun with your students ·Balance the demands of old-school administrators and pushy parents ·Fairly assess, grade, and evaluate students ·Develop effective and engrossing lesson plans "Straightforward, up-to-date, and engaging. I've seen a lot of resource books for new teachers, and this is the best of the bunch." —Wendell Geis, continuing education administrator, University of California, Davis

Successful students and successful employees have something in common: a well-developed skill set that goes beyond book smarts. The skills needed for success in the classroom and on the job can be honed with deliberate effort and the right resources. Academic success skills—note-taking, reading for understanding, preparing for and taking exams, using resources such as advisors and academic coaches, participating in experiential education opportunities—enable students to perform at the level of their academic ability. Soft skills—communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, time management, ability to work on a team, strong work ethic, and professionalism—underpin academic and career success. Leadership—influencing people to achieve common goals—is the key to personal and shared success. Success Skills for High School, College, and Career provides step-by-step guidelines and hands-on exercises to enable students to enhance their academic performance and prepare for future career success. This book helps students construct realistic expectations for achieving success, develop self-awareness, build a future-oriented attitude, and improve their academic success skills, leadership skills, and soft skills. If you want to build skills essential for academic success and career readiness, this book is for you.

Studying and learning don't have to be chores that you dread. Discover how to make the process fun, easy, and successful. Studying and learning, especially in the rigid confines of school, can be tough to say the least. Use this book to decode exactly how to make it work for you. You'll discover the strategies to rocket to the top of your class. How to double your learning, memory, and testing capabilities. The Study Skills Handbook teaches us about great students. Are they all baby Einsteins? No, they simply have practiced the types of tips in this book. This type of academic success is learnable, but you have to know the code first. Consider this book the code to your academic wellbeing. You will blast your competition and set the curve in each class. How to simply become a better student - at anything inside or outside the classroom. Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience. Not just for students - for parents, educators, teachers, professors, autodidacts, etc. Optimal exam day strategies - even if you haven't crammed enough How to make the most of your classroom time by being less passive Your perfect study environment to absorb info Convenient and easy memory techniques to memorize anything What an exam and class postmortem are and how they can help you.