Karen Irving has taught chemistry and other science disciplines at the secondary and college levels for 19 years, including six years of public high school teaching and six years of private high school teaching.

I loved the pulse of my urban high school with its creative and energetic faculty. With three other chemistry teachers in our school of just under 2000 students, we never lacked ideas or opinions about how to best help our students succeed. Sometimes we struggled to match our equipment availability to our classroom plans, but we always benefited from the sharing of experiences and expertise.

In addition to a large and diverse faculty, my urban high school boasted a large and diverse student population. However, with just three to four hours of planning time per week and 130 to 150 students in five sections, as well as science fair projects, science teams, and other extracurricular responsibilities, little time remained in my schedule to offer extra help to my students.

After six years of public high school teaching, I accepted a science teaching position at an independent, college preparatory, girls' school. Because my teaching assignment at the private school included 60 to 65 students in four sections, the amount of time during the school day to plan lessons and work with students (eight hours per week) doubled from what I was used to in the public setting. In addition, because the weekly school schedule included time for faculty meetings and student clubs during the school day, teachers and students shared free time before and after school for help sessions, make-up work, and additional student enrichment. Other conditions were different, too. More parents returned teacher telephone calls, provided necessary home support for learning, made arrangements for students to attend help sessions, attended school functions, and generally worked together with school personnel to ensure that their children received a quality education.

If I had the chance to create an ideal high school environment, I would blend elements of both public and private schools. Ideal High would boast a diverse, creative, and energetic faculty and student population with small classes and sufficient time for teachers to plan and deliver quality lessons. Each student would have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. Parents, administrators, teachers and students at Ideal High would share a common vision of an educational community of disciplined effort and academic achievement.