April 18, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KCK Schools to Present at Urban School Showcase

Staff and students from two Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools will be among 20 secondary schools from throughout the country convening at the Breaking Ranks™ 2007 Urban Secondary School Showcase April 23-24 in Chicago, Ill. The event is being presented by The Center for Secondary School Redesign & The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). The schools are J.C. Harmon High School and Central Middle School.

The showcase will bring together the most innovative and successful middle and high schools in the U.S. to share their programs and strategies for success. Schools are chosen to present on the basis of their outstanding reputations for quality and innovative practices with challenging populations. They will share stories of secondary school redesign on critical and challenging topics based on the Breaking Ranks™ cornerstone strategies (of NASSP) to improve student performance. Students and staff from J.C. Harmon will share their Small Learning Community model of instruction, along with some of the unique aspects of the First Things First reform that is changing the culture of their school. Students and staff at Central Middle will highlight specific components and strategies that have enabled them to be successful, including an advisory program that pairs each student has an advocate who is with them for the entire three years they are at the school, and the implementation of Small Learning Communities. The school also has a behavior management plan that focuses on keeping students in school and addressing their needs through the development of individual plans.

The Showcase will offer presentations, forums, and Hot Topic breakout sessions to provide participants an opportunity to engage with school representatives and other participants. Harmon and Central are the only two schools in Kansas that have been invited to participate. For more information on the showcase, visit www.cssr.us.

Other schools invited to the showcase include: Waukesha North High School, WI; Boston Arts Academy, MA; Fenway High School, MA; Urban Academy, NY; School of the Future, NY; DeWitt Clinton High School, NY; Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, IL; Dayton Early College Academy, OH; Lincoln Park High School, IL; Kelvyn Park High School, IL; David Douglas High School, OR; Hope High School, RI; Little Village High School's Multicultural High and Social Justice High, IL; School of the Future Middle School, NY; Thurgood Marshall Middle School, IL; Freeport Intermediate School, TX; Silverado Middle School, CA; Mabelvale Magnet Middle School, AR; Arundel Middle School, MD; Lane Middle School, OR; Mission Hill School, MA.