Approximately 30% of all students who enter the 9th grade never finish high school. Most dropouts say they are bored and/or do not see the relevance of what they are being taught. Addressing these challenges at the beginning of high school or even the end of middle school will create smooth transitions as well as improved retention rates. For this reason, High School 101 is all about engagement, relevance, and dropout prevention.

High School 101 is an innovative, project-based strategy designed to engage students transitioning from middle school to high school. The 10 micro-units that create the semester-long course provide students with 21st Century skills that they will need to succeed in the classroom as well as the workplace.

The High School 101 course is broken down into 10 micro-units ranging in length from 4 days to 16 days, enabling flexibility in unit implementation. High School 101 can be adapted to standard, block, exploratory, or modified schedules. Micro-units may be taught consecutively, concurrently, by one teacher, or by a team of teachers.