reflective essay high school

High School Reflective Essay

Most of the essays seem to be easy at first. As we go along the writing process , it become a little harder than we thought especially if we do not know its basic structure. Try to observe some examples of other academic essays like argumentative essay sample , narrative essay sample , descriptive essay sample , and informative essay sample . They all follow the same structure which contains the introduction, a body that contains at least three paragraphs and a conclusion. Reflective essays have the same thing. It also needs to have coherence to capture audience attention. In this guide, we are going to explore about the details of a reflective essay.

3+ High School Reflective Essay Examples

1. high school reflective essay template.

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2. High School Senior Reflective Essay

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3. Sample High School Reflective Essay

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4. Basic High School Reflective Essay

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What is a Reflective Essay?

A reflective essay is a type of writing that enables you to reflect, to evaluate your life and to tell something about yourself. Now, you already have a topic to discuss. You may consider evaluating your feelings and the memories you have experienced.

Since this is all about yourself, you have to make it interesting just like telling a fictional story . Your readers will always look for something exciting to read, so you have to be focused and find a way not to let your readers be bored. This is a very special type of essay as it allows you to reflect or evaluate, write about it and explain.

Why does it have to involve feelings and memories? It is because those are already a part of you. You have to describe the feeling and the memory you had since these elements bring life into your essay. They let your readers think of an image.

Outline of a Reflective Essay

The reason why it is being called “reflective” is that the writer should examine his or her life experiences. Th main purpose of a reflective essay is to give the writer an opportunity to explore the changes he encountered in his or her life and learning he or she found from it.

The format may vary depending on the type of audience you want. It may be academic or a general piece of writing. When you have already decided to write a reflective essay, you should keep in mind that this type of essay is highly personal. You will be given a chance to take a look back at your experiences and how those experiences influence your present behavior and how your life has been changed by it. Some reflective essays include real-life experiences, imagined experience, an object, a place, a person even something that you have seen, heard or read.

Below is an outline of a reflective essay:

Your outline should establish details for your output – it is always important to prioritize the information that are on point and is relevant to what you aim to talk about.

Your outline will serve as you guide map – always make sure to provide a thought that is easy for your readers to understand. Do not miss any idea so that you won’t be having a hard time going back to fill in what you have missed.

Making an outline could save your time – you will be able to save a lot of time since you are already familiar with a guide that will help you focus on what you have to say. Doing so will make you give more time in editing your paper to ensure quality work.

What is the point of having a hook in your essay’s introduction?

The “hook” will grab your readers’ attention in which it consists of some aspects that makes your story interesting to read.

Why do we have to write in chronological order?

This is to avoid confusion to the readers. You have to tell a story that happens in a particular time to ensure a kind of writing that is systemic and coherent.

What could be some of the main points to consider during the writing process?

First, get an inspiration through reading some of the reflective essays found in online publications or library materials. Don’t think so much to the point that you will struggle on how to begin your piece. Support your information by describing how it gives an impact to your life. Do not forget to write using 1st person point of view.

In order to achieve an efficient reflective writing, you must take into consideration that punctuations are also important. You can use a variety of punctuations if you want. Use imagery to awaken your readers’ imagination. Highlight your turning point to make your thoughts and feelings valid. Lastly, don’t forget to put the lessons you have learned from those experiences.

High School Reflective Essay Generator

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Reflect on a moment that defined your high school experience for your High School Reflective Essay.

Describe a challenge you overcame during high school in your High School Reflective Essay.

Reflective essay prompts for high school students

by Kim Kautzer | Mar 14, 2018 | High school , Writing & Journal Prompts

A reflective essay calls on the writer to  express your own views of an experience.

Sometimes, reflective writing will ask you to think more deeply about a book, movie, musical work, or piece of art. Other times, the topics will invite you to reflect on a personal encounter or other experience.

These four reflective essay prompts for high school students are more personal in nature. For your essay, choose a topic that speaks to you the most.

1. The Wind Beneath My Wings

A role model is a person you look up to—someone you respect or admire more than anyone else. Who is your role model? Your grandpa? Youth pastor? Coach? What have you learned from this person? Which of their character qualities or traits do you hope to one day have yourself? Write an essay explaining how this individual has influenced who you are today.

2. Can I Get a Do-Over?

By the time you reach high school, you have already experienced some of life’s ups and downs. You’ve seized some great opportunities and turned your back on others. Though you’ve made good choices, you have also made poor ones. You’ve both rejected and heeded good advice. Looking back, surely there are things you wish you had done differently. Write an essay sharing your most important piece of advice with a younger sibling or friend.

3. The Time of My Life

Have you lived or traveled overseas? Held an interesting or unusual job? Participated in a sport that challenged you physically and mentally? Think about an unusual experience or incident from your life. Write a reflective essay explaining how that experience has impacted you  and caused you to grow as a person.

4. Picking Yourself Up

No one is immune to failure —scientists, authors, athletes, surgeons, and great leaders can all recount times of falling flat on their faces. Describe a time when you failed at something, and write a short essay explaining what you learned from this experience.

If you enjoyed these reflective essay prompts for high school, be sure to check back each week for more Writing Prompt Wednesdays ! Once a month, we feature topics especially suited for teens , such as:

Compare and Contrast Essay Prompts

Persuasive Essay Prompts

Expository Essay Topics

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How to Write a Reflection Paper? Steps and Examples

Nowadays, one of the most frequently asked questions at the high school, college, and university levels is how to write a reflection paper. You might be thinking, ‘Is it similar to the fundamental essay writing that students learn at the elementary and junior high school level?’ Yes, it is. However, the senior reflection essay and semester reflection essay are specifically designed for high-level students.

According to the Gibbs reflective cycle, this type of academic writing lets students reflect on their experiences, growth, and learning as they progress through their academic journey.

However, many students often struggle with expressing their thoughts and opinions on a given subject. Therefore, in this particular topic, we will reflect upon the challenges that some of our previous students encountered while writing a reflection paper during their last semester of graduation. The aim is to address each challenge and provide solutions on how to overcome them while adhering to the standard format and structure.

Table :  Changes in Student Grades and Missing Assignments After Implementation of Self Reflection.

Source: Sage Journals

Table of Contents

What is a Final Reflection Essay?

Reflective writing is a form of  academic writing  that helps you learn and grow as a writer, thinker, and person. It explores the writer’s personal opinion or experience, thoughts, and emotions.

And involves introspection and critical analysis of one’s own experience.Reflective writing can be done in many different ways and purposes.

In an academic setting, this type of writing is used in essays, journals, or portfolios where individuals are asked to reflect on their learning experiences or professional development critically.

However, learning how to write a reflection paper is also valuable for personal growth, self-expression, and a deeper understanding of oneself and the world around them.

Challenges of Writing the Senior Reflection Essay

What’s the purpose of writing a essay reflection.

The purpose of writing final reflection essay is to help stimulate self-reflection, introspection, and the unfolding of one’s perceptions and beliefs.

Reflecting writing goes beyond just describing or writing the literature it goes into depth about how an experience influences someone’s thoughts and emotions.

Writing the paper of reflection is itself an opportunity to introspect and assess your experience to bring personal improvements. 

💡 Feel Free to Mold As Per Your Assignment of High School Reflection Essay

There are various types of reflective writing and which form you will adopt is entirely subject to the goals and objectives of your assignment. The professor or mentor can ask you to come up with a particular experience in your life or any special moments of the class while learning how to write a reflection paper.

In addition to this, there may be a case of asking you to  write a paper  on any topic or the ideas that you sometimes discussed with your teacher or fellow.

In a nutshell, whatever the topic and assignment you will work on, just remember these tips. 

• Be clear about what type of reflective writing you’re doing—you might need to explain what kind of reflection you’re doing at the start of your paper (e.g., personal reflection vs. academic reflection).
• Define terms—if there are words or concepts that are unfamiliar to readers (or yourself), define them before using them later in the paper so they have

Types of Senior Essay of Reflection and Writing

There are three major types senior reflection essay : personal reflective essays, educational reflections, and professional reflections.

Personal Reflective Writing

Explores the writer’s own experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Personal reflection is often used as a tool for self-improvement or self-exploration. 

Educators often use it to help students reflect on their learning experiences to improve them in the future.

💡 Example for Your Convenience

A student might use personal reflection after reading about the Civil War era to explore what they learned about that period. A teacher could use this type of writing to assess student understanding after reading a chapter in their textbook or participating in an activity during class time.

Educational Reflective Paper 

Educational reflection focuses on learning experiences like courses, assignments, or projects. These papers are typically written by high school or college students reflecting on what they’ve learned during an academic course or class project. 

Teachers can also use educational reflection as part of a course evaluation process by asking students specific questions related to each course component (i.e., classroom activities) and then having them answer those questions using.

Professional Reflective Writing

Professional reflection involves reflecting on work experiences, internships, or professional development activities. 

These papers are typically written by professionals who have been working in their field for some time and are sharing their thoughts about how they learned certain skills or techniques while doing their job. 

How to Write a Reflection Paper with Proper Outline?

When it comes to writing the semester reflection essay, most teachers tend to give “total freedom” to their students. But this sudden abundance of freedom can lead to massive confusion and late submissions. 

Most of the time, teachers leave it entirely to the students to write their reflective papers. But this abrupt abundance of freedom often confuses them. And instead of easing their way into writing, they are left wondering where to start and how to write a reflection paper. 

When engaging in reflective writing, we should adhere to a similar structure as other forms of academic writing, ensuring our content remains within the boundaries of academic discourse.

To combat this issue, the  expert essay writers  have developed an easy prompt that will help you with outlining your paper. So let’s get straight to it. 

Introduction of Final Reflective Essay

The introduction of a final reflection essay is quite similar to introductions in other academic writings. It includes important elements like providing background information, stating the main idea (thesis), and capturing the reader’s attention with a hook or interesting opening.

To make it easier to understand, think of the introduction as the beginning of your paper, where you introduce the topic and grab the reader’s interest. 

You also share some background information to set the stage for what you’ll be reflecting upon. Finally, you present your main idea or argument, which is a roadmap for the rest of your paper. 

So, remember, the introduction is like the opening chapter of your reflective paper. It sets the scene, captures attention, and tells the reader what you’ll discuss.

Body Paragraphs 

Body paragraphs are the muscle of any academic paper because they serve as the supporting framework for your ideas and experiences. You must keep in mind while you learn how to write a reflection paper that the body of a reflective paper provides the key points that contribute to your overall assessment.

• It helps in describing the experience or the article of writing
• Your emotional or cognitive response to it
• Your critical analysis
• The lesson you might have learned due to the phenomenon you’re writing about
• Your application and the relevance of your experience

How you tackle your body paragraph of a high school reflection essay can make or break your reflective writing. While writing the main section of your paper, ways to connect all the paragraphs.

You must use transitional words and a topic sentence for each paragraph. The number of paragraphs you’re to write depends on the required  length of the research paper  you are writing about. 

Conclusions are important for almost all academic writing pieces as they allow you to tie all loose ends and reinforce your ideas.

Now, most of you must be thinking, “Do we need to reinforce our opinions on our readers when we are going through how to write a reflection paper?” The answer is “No”; we don’t necessarily need to impose our opinion.

But writing an impacting conclusion of a semester reflection essay that makes your reader consider your opinion on a topic is crucial.

Do Reflective Papers Have Citations? 

There is a common misconception that reflective papers do not require citations, but this belief can be misleading. It is important to remember that while reflective writing allows for personal opinions, it still follows the framework and standards of academic writing.

In academic writing,  citing a paper  is not only appreciated but often required. Therefore, referencing your reflective paper adds to its credibility and reliability.

For example:

A prevalent form of reflective writing among students involves referencing the context of their experiences.

How to Format your Semester Reflection Essay?

When writing a final reflection essay, there is typically no strict format. What matters the most is your comfort and expression. 

It is best to write freely without feeling restricted. However, too much freedom can sometimes confuse people. If a reflection paper is assigned to you, the format will usually depend on the criteria set by your professor.

For college reflection papers, also known as high school reflection essay, the length typically ranges from 500 to 1000 words.

In terms of a common senior reflection essay Format, here are some guidelines to consider when we are discussing how to write a reflection paper:

• Double-space the entire paper or text,  leaving a blank line between each line  of writing.
• Indent the  first word of each paragraph , which means starting each new paragraph  slightly inward from the left margin .
• Use a  one-inch margin  on all sides of the paper.
• Choose  “Times New Roman” with a 12-point font , which means the letters are medium size.

💡  Remember, these formatting guidelines generated by  ai essay writer  provide a cohesive and organized structure for your reflection paper, making it easier for readers to follow. It ensures that your paper looks neat and professional.

How to Write a Reflection Paper? Tips Based Steps

Now, let’s jump into the final reflection essay part and learn 9 simple yet powerful steps for writing the reflection paper. So, without further ado, let’s get straight into it.

Analyze the Material

• Play the role of Examiner:  Examine the overall thesis statement and overall content structure.
• Establish Your Perspective:  After you have done your due diligence, now take a clear stance or position.
• Formulate Important Questions:  Look for the loopholes and limitations in the content and develop key questions surrounding the main theme.

Make Connections

• Develop connection:  Find out the ways how you can link your life experience and opinions to the entire content.
• Connect the Dots:  Organize your thoughts while identifying similar patterns and concepts.
• Extract Valuable Insights:  Go into the details to reveal the profound interpretation of the connections.

Understand and Summarize

• Revision and Synthesize:  Highlight the important points and ideas.
• Formulate the Outline:  Make a proper outline to follow for the entire writing.
• Differentiate the content:  Adopt the dynamic strategies depending upon the content. 

Select a Theme

• Define Your Approach:  Pinpoint the crux of your high school reflection essay that sees eye to eye with your experience.
• Divide the Theme:  Make sections and subsections of your main theme and then do an in-depth exploration of each part to illuminate your reflection.
• Visualize:  Craft a clear yet simple narrative by using your main theme. 

Brainstorm Ideas and Experiences

• Let the Ideas Come in:  Make use of the online thesis statement generator  in case you are stuck with some novel ideas concerning your thesis statement.
• Do Note Taking:  Write down the personal experiences that somehow relate to the content at hand.
• Evoke Your Motivation:  Take motivation from experience and thoughts to bring creativity and intrigue in your reflection. 

Craft an Introduction

• Hook the Reader:  Open the sentence with some catchy and attention-grabbing words.
• Make the Context:  Provide brief background data related to your topic that make a context.
• Define Your Thesis Statement:  Use simple and clear words to highlight your main points of reflection. 

Write the Body

• Analyze Key Ideas:  Formulate the crucial part of your reflection paper.
• Use Examples:  Link relevant examples and stories that are most specific.
• Navigate the Reader:  Create imagination and walk your readers through your thoughts and experiences.

Conclude Effectively

• Close with Powerful Thoughts:  Restate your main arguments and ideas to reinforce in the reader’s mind.
• Signify the Importance:  Use strong words and language to showcase how your experiences and reflections influence your personal development.
• Leave the Readers with a Strong Impression:  Leave the readers with thought-provoking questions, words, or any statements that mark a lasting impression on their minds.

Proofread and Edit

• Proofread, Edit, and Improve:  Seek feedback from fellows, proofread, and revise to rectify grammatical and technical mistakes.
• Remove Redundancy:  Declutter your paper by removing the irrelevant and unnecessary content.
• Bring Perfection:  After you are finished with proofreading and redundant data, have a bird’s eye view of your content once to bring it to the perfect.

In conclusion, we are sure that our detailed guide on how to write a reflection paper has covered all of your questions. We have discussed all the ins and outs of reflection paper writing such as meaning, types, mind-mapping steps, etc. If you are still finding yourself struggling to come up with your reflective research paper writing service, don’t hesitate to contact us now. We will take care of everything for you!

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The Lasting Value of the Personal Essay

This writing form has a value that goes beyond the college application as it nurtures self-reflection and inspires creativity.

I still remember my own personal essay that I wrote decades ago during my college admissions process. My essay focused on movies and how movies were a conduit of curiosity. It was also about the death of my father and how movies, in part, had provided a common ground for us—a connection. Although my essay, of course, was not the sole determining factor in my admission, it’s a predominant memory from that time of my life. To this day, I feel it had a persuasive effect on my admittance.

In fact, now looking back, I can’t recall my grade point average or my class rank or the final grade that my English teacher gave me on my literary analysis of Heart of Darkness. Even my exact SAT score, back then a real measure of academic aptitude, remains fuzzy to me all these years later, “shaded in wistful half-lights,” as described by Norman Maclean. I can, however, remember nearly every sentence, if not quite every word, of the personal essay I submitted to my first-choice college, which has undoubtedly, for me, over the years remained one of the most important pieces of writing I have ever produced.

The personal essay is an enduring literary genre and an art form that provides often-challenging material in English classes. In my Advanced Placement Language and Composition course, we frequently read works from an array of authors from various eras, including Michel de Montaigne, Virginia Woolf, E. B. White, Joan Didion, André Aciman, Brian Doyle, Dr. Oliver Sacks. These writers function as exemplars for my students to both analyze and model not only for their rhetorical value but also for their stylistic technique and philosophical ruminations.

Power of Personalization

One of the most predominant rhetorical strategies we recognize in these texts is personalization. And so Woolf’s “The Death of the Moth” has impacted my students throughout the years with its frank depiction of psychological tension, addressing philosophical themes on an existential level that never fail to capture their attention—so much so, that a group of students painted a mural on the wall outside my classroom, a visual interpretation of Woolf’s essay that they titled Memento Mori .

The candor and intimacy of Dr. Oliver Sacks’s depiction of his final days before his death from cancer have engendered numerous touching and insightful comments from my students during our Socratic seminars analyzing his almost unendurably moving personal essay, “My Periodic Table.” 

Students respond viscerally, it seems, to the personal. Sadly, many students have been touched by some of the same tragic subject matter that we analyze through these texts. During our seminars and journal assignments, my students have revealed their own personal connections to some of the personal essays we read in class, connecting, I think, to the shared experiences that we have all had throughout human history. 

Our students often find themselves facing a vortex of standardized tests, AP exams, and benchmarks throughout the school year, which often emphasize the formulaic. The active process of personal choice on topic and subject seems lost. So often my students ask me questions when writing an essay, seeking a particular answer, as if literary analysis were calculus. Missing is the creativity, the exploration of writing free from academic constraints like rubrics and scoring guides. Writer-editor Steve Moyer asserts in  Edsitement , “Nuanced thought... requires a greater gestation period than the nearly instant gratification made possible on Twitter.” I have witnessed this impatience from my own students.

There can be a restlessness in the writing process, a hesitancy for revision or drafting. Personal essays require self-reflection and a free-flowing freedom from rigid form that my students embrace in a way that they don’t with an argument or research-based essay. On more than one occasion during parent-teacher conferences, I have had parents tell me that their child used to love creative writing, but somewhere along the way, the rigor of school seemed to have killed it.

Personal essays, then, restore that creativity, since they encourage a freedom from form. Students can experiment with style and figurative language and syntax in ways that the traditional academic five-paragraph essay often thwarts.

Personal essays also allow teachers to really get to know our students, too. The inherent intimacy of a personal essay, the connection between the writer and the reader—in this case, a student and a teacher—provides insight into the concerns, the dreams, the emotions of our students in addition to allowing us to assess how they exercise their compositional skills, including imagery, syntax, diction, and figurative language. Here, then, a teacher has the best of both worlds. We’re able to both connect to our students on an emotional level and evaluate their learning on an academic level. Personal essays also serve as an emotional outlet. 

There seems to be a common assumption that personal essays for high school students serve only the college application process, so the process begins during their senior year. Personal writing, however, should occur throughout a student’s academic experience. The narrative essays that most elementary school students encounter evolve into the more ruminative, philosophical, and reflective personal writing they will encounter during their senior year from many of Common App essay prompts.

Many teachers implement journal writing in their classrooms that provides a firm foundation for the type of personal writing that the college admissions essay requires. In my own class of juniors, the last assignment we complete for the year is a personal essay. My intent is to help prepare them for the college essay they will write, hopefully, during the summer so that they will have a solid draft before the application process begins. 

Teaching our students this strategy in their own writing benefits them in their futures, not only for the imminent college application process but also for job interviews. For example, I was mentoring a student, a senior who had no desire to go to college, about the job interview process he would soon face after graduation. We rehearsed and practiced the types of questions he might encounter from a future employer. I encouraged him to remember the personal details of his experience, personalizing everything in a way that would allow him to ideally stand out as a job candidate.

Through personal essay writing, my overarching, grand ambition is to instill in my students ultimately a love of reflection, looking back on their experience, reminiscing on significant memories that linger, carefully considering the seemingly little moments that, only upon reflection, have an enormous impact on us.

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The La Salle Falconer

The High School Experience: A Personal Reflection

Filled with growth and life lessons, the high school experience has been a journey worth the climb.

Anna Waldron , Editor May 4, 2022

High school is arguably the most transformative time of a person’s life. My own experience has been filled with more memories, laughter, stress, and — most importantly, growth — than I ever could have anticipated when I began. 

The lessons I have learned about myself, about others, and about the world in the last four years have shaped who I am today, and that person is far from the naive 14-year-old girl who walked through those glass doors of La Salle nearly four years ago. I was oblivious to the overwhelming emotional distress that I would feel when I started high school. 

In some ways, it feels like an everyday battle. 

As a freshman, the struggle began with adjusting to what felt like a whole new world. I was desperately trying to make friends, considering I had only one. I never knew what it was like to feel alone in a school with so many people. I felt like I had to act a certain way or be a certain person in order to maintain a basic conversation with people in my classes or on my soccer team. 

Every day, my head was filled with an overwhelming concern about how I could manage to make myself look like someone with more friends than I actually had at the time. 

I remember constantly thinking, “I’ll start enjoying this at some point, right?” 

The truth is, I did. 

To anyone who is feeling the way I once felt, please know that those feelings do go away. By the end of my freshman year and into the next, I enjoyed myself. School wasn’t particularly challenging, and I was spending my weekends having fun with my friends and going to basketball games and sleepovers. I had finally created a routine and felt mostly content with my life, aside from daunting thoughts in my head telling me it was all a lie.

I think that’s something that all teenagers deal with. It comes with the age, the questions, “do my friends actually like me?” or “am I enough?” — “do people worry about me or have I tricked myself into thinking they do?” 

I continued to move throughout my sophomore year feeling a new level of comfort with my life. Then, the pandemic hit. 

The original two weeks of quarantine turned into two months, and then two years. The predictable high school experience I had become accustomed to was no longer my reality, and instead, high school turned into an atypical rollercoaster of isolation from all the essential parts of the experience. 

To say it was hard would be an understatement, but after the initial forced adjustment to a remote life, I was forced to be content without relying on others.

Without having to fear other people’s judgments of me or having to conceal myself in social situations to appear more “acceptable,” I gained independence and confidence within myself that I didn’t know existed.

Then finally — after over a year — the long-awaited return to school arrived. 

I rejoiced in my ability to thrive academically again and I was so relieved to feel like I was really learning. I reconnected with my friends, ate lunch outside, took finals, and then — after a blur of two months — the year ended. My junior year flew by like no other. 

When senior year rolled around, I felt out of place. I couldn’t imagine a world where I belonged to the oldest class at the school. In the beginning, it was odd getting used to, but after a few weeks, it was nothing but a thrill as I planned what the next weekend alongside my friends would hold. 

My friendships were flourishing and I was becoming closer and closer with people I had never really gotten to know. 

Unlike the three years prior, my senior year has felt like a stereotypical high school experience, and I could not be more grateful for it. 

I always thought of myself as someone who was above enjoying things like attending soccer games, getting ready for homecoming with my friends, singing karaoke in someone’s basement, or going to a trampoline park for an 18-year-old’s birthday party. 

The truth is, I’m not. 

I regret that I spent so long depriving myself of the things I love in order to fit a narrative that I created for myself. 

I love that I will graduate high school happier and more fulfilled than I ever felt during my other three years here. It feels like everything has finally come full circle, after all these years of feeling so alone. 

So yes, it was transformative. I am finally content with the person I have become and the life I have chosen to lead. I wouldn’t be the same without La Salle and I wouldn’t be the same without the people I’ve gotten to know here. 

I know that I will look back on my high school experience here, not feeling critical of the insecurities I have felt, but feeling grateful for the memories and lessons that came regardless of them. 

Senior Anna Waldron has lived in Portland, Oregon her whole life, in the same neighborhood as nine members of her extended family.  Outside of The...

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, high school change: a reflective essay on three decades of frustration, struggle and progress.

Journal of Educational Administration

ISSN : 0957-8234

Article publication date: 3 May 2022

Issue publication date: 10 May 2022

The purpose of this essay is to honor, position and reflect on key themes related to high school reform within the careerlong scholarship of Karen Seashore Louis. It is presented in relation to my own and others' key studies and book-length arguments regarding educational change, knowledge utilization, professional communities and innovation, over the past 30 years and up to the present time.

Design/methodology/approach

The article examines and interprets major works by Karen Seashore Louis and other educational change theorists that address repeated systemic failures, and episodic outlier efforts, at transformational change in high schools.

High school change has only failed if it is judged by the overarching criterion of system-wide transformation. Fair assessments of high school change must also examine accumulated incremental innovations. In light of the need for transformational aspirations in schools to mesh with transformational directions in society, the global pandemic and its aftermath may provide five key opportunities for long-awaited transformation.

Originality/value

There are different levels and degrees of innovation. Incremental innovation is as important as wholesale transformation. The growing number of networked outliers of innovation raises questions about the false equation of whole system change with bureaucratic state reform. Although the influential literature on whole system change is rooted in a small number of English-speaking countries, transformational change on a system-wide basis already exists in Northern Europe and parts of the Global South. Last, the pandemic and other major disruptions to the global social order have produced conditions that are highly favorable to transformational change in the future.

• Educational change
• School reform
• High schools
• Secondary education

Hargreaves, A. (2022), "High school change: a reflective essay on three decades of frustration, struggle and progress", Journal of Educational Administration , Vol. 60 No. 3, pp. 245-261. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2022-0013

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A Classical & Christ-Centered Education

Secondary Curriculum

The secondary school is divided into two stages… grades 7-8 (the Logic Stage) and grades 9-12 (the Rhetoric Stage).

In grades 7-8, the students take the mastered information from the Grammar Stage and bring it into ordered relationships. Students begin to apply logic, assessing the validity of arguments and learning to view information critically with more discerning minds.

In grades 9-12, students learn to articulate eloquently and persuasively, and to use the tools of knowledge and understanding acquired in the earlier stages. This is the point at which the strength of a classical education is made fully visible.

Click here for an overview of the Logos School secondary curriculum.

Click for our 2-page School Profile

The Knight’s Creed and Commitment

Class Schedules

Fall 2023 Finals Schedule    7th-12th grades only.

23-24 Fall Class Schedule     7th-12th grades only.

Senior Course Options: 

By the time students reach their senior year in high school, they have usually developed interests in specific areas. Therefore, they will be given the opportunity to pursue those areas through the following senior course options. These options are designed to allow students the opportunity to learn one or two subjects well. As Dorothy Sayers says, “Whatever is mere apparatus may now be allowed to fall into the background, while the trained mind is gradually prepared for specialization in the “subjects” which, when the Trivium is completed, it should be perfectly well equipped to tackle on its own.” (from The Lost Tools of Learning) These options should aid the transition from the completion of the Trivium to the more specialized study that is a part of a college or university education.

Option 1: College or Online Class

This is a 1 credit option in which a student enrolls in a college or online class. Approved subjects include math, science, theology, humanities, and fine arts. The class must be taken for credit and the student must submit a transcript to receive credit toward Logos graduation. Areas of study that do not qualify are recreational classes and/or self-guided courses with little accountability.

Option 2: Internship

The internship is a 1/2 credit option intended to provide seniors with the opportunity to study a career. Students must work a minimum of 2 hours per week on their internship. A variety of internships have been approved in the past (interning with an elementary or secondary Logos teacher, riding along with police officers, observing at a local vet clinic, etc.). Students are not allowed to be paid for the time they spend as an intern. Parents are responsible to provide oversight and any necessary supervision or screening (background checks, etc.) for this experience.

Procedures for Both Options

1. At least two weeks before the beginning of each semester, students must submit a written proposal to the principal, via email. Late proposals will not be considered. Proposals must describe the following:

a. the main purpose of and goals for the program

b. the work that the student will be doing weekly to achieve these goals (include the website link for online classes)

c. the number of hours per week that the student will be participating in the program

2. Students have two days to resubmit proposals that have been denied.

Guidelines for Both Options

1. Credit will not be granted for work completed before a proposal is approved.

2. Students will receive a grade of E, S, or U at the end of each quarter and semester.

3. Failure to make satisfactory progress in the first semester will disqualify the student from participating in these programs during the second semester.

4. Students may only request approval for one semester at a time.

College Planning Handbook

This link contains detailed information on preparing for college.

Dialectic Speech Meet

The following is information for the Dialectic Speech Meet for the 7 th -9 th grade students. Most of the work and grading is done during English class. For the final meet onwards, the students will perform their pieces with students from other classes in the same category. That afternoon during 7 th period there will be an assembly to hear the top performances from each category.

• Mid-December – information goes home
• Mid-January – Selections are due
• Toward the end of January – Piece is presented for a grade
• Beginning of February – Speech Meet

Dialectic Speech Meet Guidelines Dialectic Speech Meet Judge’s Form Dialectic Speech Meet Selection Ideas

Rhetoric Speech Meet

The following is information for the upcoming Rhetoric Speech Meet for the 10 th -12 th grade students. Please note a few differences between the Dialectic Speech Meet of the 7 th -9 th graders and the Rhetoric Speech Meet:

• Poetry must be through the Poetry Out Loud program.
• Readers Theater and the Original Oratory categories are allowed.
• Children’s books and plays are allowed as sources for material.
• There is no memory check. Pieces will be presented once in class for a grade, and once at the meet for a test grade.
• Mid-September – Information goes home.
• Beginning of October – Selections are due.
• Mid-October – The piece is presented for a memory grade.
• Beginning of November– Speech Meet

Guidelines Judging Form Selection Ideas