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Schools of Opportunity

Schools of Opportunity Book Cover

Schools of Opportunity

10 Research-Based Models of Equity in Action

This new book tells the stories of exemplary public high schools that are using research-based practices for closing opportunity gaps in student learning. The extraordinary work done by these schools can, the book explains, become ordinary – but only if the nation changes the way that excellent schools are recognized and built, and only if policy incentives and resources are thoughtfully directed to support the beneficial approaches used in these Schools of Opportunity.

Shools of Opportunity selection criteria

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Meet the authors & experts

Author photo of Dwane Chappelle

Dwane Chappelle

Author photo of Janet Eckerson

Janet Eckerson

Author photo of Lourenço Garcia

Lourenço Garcia

Author photo of Matt Garcia

Matt Garcia

Author photo of Kristen Goessling

Kristen Goessling

Author photo of Kimberly Grayson

Kimberly Grayson

Author photo of Edmund T. Hamann

Jill Gurtner

Author photo of Edmund T. Hamann

Edmund T. Hamann

Author photo of Ann M. Ishimaru

Ann M. Ishimaru

Author photo of Mark Larson

Mark Larson

Author photo of Julie Fisher Mead

Julie Fisher Mead

Author photo of Linda Molner Kelley

Linda Molner Kelley

Author photo of John Murphy

John Murphy

Author photo of Jeannie Oakes

Jeannie Oakes

Author photo of Jeff Palladino

Jeff Palladino

Author photo of Derek Pierce

Derek Pierce

Author photo of Jenifer Rayne

Jenifer Rayne

Author photo of Kellie Rolstad

Kellie Rolstad

Author photo of Lorrie A. Shepard

Lorrie A. Shepard

Author photo of Kate Somerville

Kate Somerville

Author photo of Michelle Renée Valladares

Michelle Renée Valladares

Author photo of Kevin Welner

Kevin Welner

Author photo of Kathryn E. Wiley

Kathryn E. Wiley

Author photo of Adam York

Adam York

Washington Post's Answer Sheet

Book excerpt focused on Denver’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College high school.

View the Excerpt

Diane Ravitch Interview

Interview focused on Nebraska’s Lincoln High School.

View the Interview

School Improvement Tool

How one School of Opportunity used the criteria and scoring rubric to reflect and improve.

Download the PDF

Beating the Odds

Learning from five Schools of Opportunity profiled in the book.

Read the Article

Podcast about Supporting Teachers as Professionals

Focused on Maine’s Casco Bay High School.

Listen to the Podcast

Learning Policy Institute

Close Opportunity Gaps Without Gimmicks

Read the Article

ASCD Webinar about Detracking

Interview focused on New York’s South Side High School

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about School Climate

Interview focused on Massachusetts’ Revere High School.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about More and Better Learning Time

Interview focused on Maryland’s Pocomoke High School.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Authentic Assessment Embedded in Project-Based Learning

Interview focused on Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the Bronx.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Supporting Teachers as Professionals

Interview focused on Casco Bay High School in Maine.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Providing Excellent and Inclusive Services for Students with Special Needs

Interview focused on Clark Street Community School in Wisconsin.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Wrap-around Services and Mental Health Supports

Interview focused on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College in Denver.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Student Wellbeing and Culturally Sustaining Curriculum

Interview focused on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College in Denver.

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Supporting Emergent Bilingual Students

Interview focused on Lincoln High School in Nebraska

View the Interview

ASCD Webinar about Family and Community Engagement Practices

Interview focused on Rainier Beach High School in Seattle

View the Interview

Funders that have Supported the Schools of Opportunity Project

What people are saying

Carol Corbett Burris

Executive Director, Network for Public Education

“The Schools of Opportunity Program began with the ambition of finding a way to identify high schools that were places where all students could thrive. By recognizing good practices, the program measured and rewarded what schools do rather than the test scores they produce. This excellent book provides examples of high schools where students thrive, along with a roadmap for school leaders who seek to engage in research-based practices of equitable improvement.”

David C. Berliner

Regents' Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University

“Here’s the proof that real education reform is do-able. These chapters are all co-authored by school leaders who describe how they’ve used research-based practices to close opportunity gaps. It really can happen! There are no excuses for delaying changes in how our nation’s schools work!”

Kevin Kumashiro

Author of Surrendered: Why Progressives Are Losing the Biggest Battles in Education

“In contrast to the widespread campaigns of disinformation, profiteering, and so-called ‘reforms’ that exacerbate inequities in education today, Schools of Opportunity offers a visionary, vigorously researched, and imminently practical framework for assessing and transforming schools into foundations of democracy and justice. York, Welner, Molner Kelley, and colleagues offer not merely portraits of schools that exemplify the possibilities, but also roadmaps for getting there in our public school systems across the country. There is much reason for hope, and this book offers us an indispensable guide.”