Microsoft High School's First Graduating Class Has a Bright Future

Here's a very favorable piece by Fast Company…:

Today is graduation day at The School of the Future, a high school started in 2006 by Microsoft as part of its U.S. Partners in Learning program and the School District of Philadelphia. We covered the school in 2007, while this graduating class was in its sophomore year (there they call it "second-year"). How have the students fared in this experimental new environment? We talked with Partners in Learning executive director Mary Cullinane to find out.

Out of the 156 students who started school in 2006, 117 are graduating today and 30 transferred away, which leaves only nine students who dropped out. That's better than the national graduation rate of 67% (for economically challenged West Philadelphia, where most of the students are from, it's a bit lower). But there's a still more impressive stat: Of the 117 who are graduating today, all have college plans, whether it's two-year technical school or a four-year state school. "In an urban education setting this is really unheard of," says Cullinane. "Not just in Philly but across the country."

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Microsoft High School's First Graduating Class Has a Bright Future

BY Alissa WalkerMon Jun 14, 2010

http://www.fastcompany.com/1660101/the-first-graduating-class-of-microsofts-high-school-has-an-extremely-bright-future