A Passion for Learning

Passion and purpose make a high school great. Add choice, buy-in and hard work, and the results are life-changing.

William Donohue, principal,
Byram Hills High School, Armonk, N.Y.
It may seem too obvious to admit, but nothing makes a good high school like good elementary and middle schools.

The high school that I have the pleasure to lead is by most measures a great one. There are opportunities for students to excel in challenging academic programs, the arts and athletics. Independent thinkers thrive in our nationally recognized Science Research program. All of our seniors participate in full-time internships, experiencing the responsibility of the real world at prominent organizations of all types, from the United Nations to Merrill Lynch. We are particularly proud that our students with disabilities participate in AP and science research, and that virtually all achieve state standards in all subjects. Our seniors' success in college admissions is outstanding.

In truth, any school with resources can create programs. However, excellence at the high-school level becomes possible when students are able to integrate knowledge and practice their learning. Integration and practice mean that students have the opportunity to prove their learning through meaningful reading, research, analysis, discussion and writing. The foundation for such work is necessarily laid in the earlier grades.

Our success is a K-through-12 story based on the school district's dedication to a "systems approach," originally created for business, that focuses on the goal of instructional excellence. Such a system demands constant review and improvements. An effective high-school curriculum and instruction is built upon equally effective elementary and middle-school curricula and instruction; recognition of proven practices and their implementation; hiring and retaining teachers who are caring, bright, articulate, and dedicated; coherent leadership practices, and commitment to professional development to realize all of the above.

Measuring the merits of a high school simply by equating AP classes with excellence misses so much of what constitutes a great school.