Standards of Mind and Heart

This is the remarkable story of the creation of a new kind of high school that truly aspires to educate all students to high standards. Believing that a deeply personalized culture can prevent the senseless violence that has invaded many public schools, educators at Souhegan High School in Amherst, New Hampshire set out to create a safe, caring, and academically rigorous school. In this volume, Silva (a teacher) and Mackin (a principal) chronicle their experiences as they worked through the many challenges that ultimately resulted in this extraordinarily successful school. Featuring their honest reflections and the voices of other participants, this book portrays a real public high school (not a small alternative school) that is successfully implementing most of the reform practices recommended by national reform models, demonstrates how schools can strike a balance between the need for stricter safety measures and the needs of each student, and details the school's structure.