Schools Making Progress is a Web-based and print series that highlights Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) grantee schools making considerable progress on the SLC front. The school descriptions provide resources and ideas to other schools interested in creating their own SLCs. Each school story is supported by links leading to more indepth coverage of sub-topics or key documents from individual schools.

Approaches vary from one school to another, but all of the schools use one or more of the structures and strategies that help a school attain the benefits of an SLC. Examples include career or thematic academies, house plans, schools-within-a-school, advisories, alternative scheduling, academic teaming, adult advocate systems, and freshman transitional activities. For more detailed information on SLC structures and strategies, visit the U.S. Department of Education Web site and New Small Learning Communities: Findings from Recent Literature.

To go directly to information about how the schools featured in this series are using specific SLC structures and strategies, see the links below. Although individual schools use different terminology, structures and strategies have been categorized here according to the U.S. Department of Education's definitions.

Structures:
Academies
House Plans
School-Within-a-School

Strategies:
Alternative Scheduling
Career Pathways
Freshman Transition Activities
Teacher Advisory Systems
Academic Teaming
Adult Advocate Systems