Educators have come to realize that helping all high school students achieve a common result—the skills, knowledge, and personal qualities to succeed in postsecondary education—can best be achieved through offering a variety of educational options, all of which feature a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, one that is transparent in its relevance to hopes, dreams, and future success, and strong and supportive relationships with teachers and among peers. This toolkit is designed to take district reform leaders and their partners through the process of planning a portfolio of excellent schools, thinking through the relationship of the district to potential partners who could become additional engines of reform, and developing strategies for actually launching and sustaining new schools for the developing portfolio.
