Over the last year, I interviewed students and educators to learn how some innovative schools might better prepare students to succeed within their models. Just like incoming high school freshmen all over the country, the six students I interviewed who had attended eleven different middle and high schools faced a dramatic social reshuffling. But students described particular struggles that may be unique to entering an innovative school environment.

Students enrolling in innovative schools had often moved to smaller communities than those in their previous schools. As a result, finding a friend group was often a hit or miss situation. For example, a student named Annette described her high school experience as liberating: she cut and dyed her hair, made deep connections with new friends, and readily took advantage of the opportunity to “reinvent” herself. Yet Nevin, a student at the same school, felt that the school culture didn’t always speak to him. While he finds his classmates friendly, he doesn’t feel close ties with anyone ...

A number of schools offered advisory programs that aim to give students peers to lean on as they adjust to a new environment. A group of students is typically paired with one advisor teacher. In principle, the students’ advisor should help them feel completely supported throughout high school by connecting with them on a personal level and helping them achieve the goals they set for themselves. Some students, however, didn’t feel this was happening. "I felt like teachers were just reading out of a book … their feedback and [Social and Emotional Learning instruction] felt inauthentic and sugar coated." said one girl. "I didn’t feel a sense of community, and, after a while, it felt like a waste of time."

Read the full article about student experiences at innovative schools by Malaina Kapoor at Christensen Institute.