High Schools That Work Initiative (HSTW) High Schools That Work (HSTW) was originally created in 1987 by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) in partnership with a consortium of eleven states.  High Schools That Work has been nationally recognized as the nation's fastest growing, whole school reform initiative with data to show it works.  HSTW sites provide a program of study that includes both academic courses and modern career and technical studies to prepare all students for both broad career fields and further education.   HSTW came to SW Ohio in 1998, through the work of William E. Lambert.  He utilized School-to-Work funding to support six high school sites in investigating the model.  A team from each of these sites wrote a unique HSTW model blueprint that would enable them to implement the model in their high school or career-technical center. The HSTW initiative is a comprehensive approach to high performance schools that complements and supports the educational goals of Ohio.  As a research and assessment-based reform initiative, HSTW sites are guided by a framework of goals, key practices, and key conditions to improve school instruction and student achievement.  The HSTW vision requires its schools to rethink the way they deliver learning, so that all children are successful.  The initiative provides targeted professional development, networking with high performing sites, and regular feedback from expert professionals.  A comprehensive assessment allows staffs to track their progress. Initiatives At A Glance » Key Practices & Conditions » Blueprint Template Making Middle Grades Work Initiative (MMGW) HSTW SW Ohio began its work with middle schools in 2000. The school improvement model utilized is the Southern Regional Education Board's Making Middle Grades Work initiative. Only middle schools that serve as a feeder school to a High Schools That Work high school site are eligible for participation. The Southern Regional Education Board's middle grades initiative is designed to help states, districts, and schools look at what they expect, what they teach, and how they teach young adolescents to prepare for success in further education. Too many students leave the middle grades unprepared to take advantage of all that high school can offer and unable to be successful in career opportunities after high school. Initiatives At A Glance » MMGW Framework » MMGW Goals » Literacy Series The Literacy Initiative The Literacy Initiative is a weekly series of literacy information the Adolescent Literacy Task Force would like to share with you. The weekly series of literacy suggestions are based on "best practices" in the areas of reading and writing. The series is sent via e-mail to all HSTW principals to share with staff members. The summaries and attachments are taken from the SREB publication, Literacy Across the Curriculum.  View the Literacy Initiative Series.