Reimagining High School

Case Study: Upper St. Clair High School (St. Clair, Penn.)

On the other side of frustration is often hunger for a new vision of school

Frustration never happens in a vacuum. It is always a clue. Even in schools with strong academics, this uneasiness signals there’s more that can be done. It signals people are hungry for change, ready for growth, and wanting to roll up their sleeves and get to work. In the wrong hands, frustration can be left to fester and exacerbate. In the right hands, it can be taken for the clue and spark of hope it is. Its root cause can be unearthed, and the appropriate path forward can be lit.

Four years ago, when a new principal took the helm at Upper St. Clair High School in Pennsylvania, the school’s frustration found its way into the right hands. By first working with the staff to get to the core of the problem and then by getting out of the way, the principal and his administrative team walked beside Upper St. Clair’s teachers—and students— as they led the changes they believed were needed to realize a reimagined high school experience.