Since 1924, when Highline High School in Burien opened, it’s been a “comprehensive” high school.

Students would take various courses, moving between classrooms with a different teacher in each one.

Over four years, a student could have close to 50 different instructors and a seemingly infinite variety of classmates.

But in September, Highline High students will be broken into four separate learning communities within the larger campus.

Students will take classes with a small group of classmates and teachers.

The move is part of the Highline School District’s plan to personalize education for ninth- through 12th-graders.

In a letter to district parents, Superintendent John Welch wrote, “Our small learning communities are designed to be schools in which students are known well by their classmates and teachers and where all staff take responsibility for students' success.”

Tyee in SeaTac switched to three small schools last September.

According to the district’s Web site, Evergreen in North Highline will change gradually over a three-year period.

Mt. Rainier in Des Moines is planning academies for ninth- and 10th-graders while upperclassmen remain in a comprehensive setup.

Ninth-graders at Highline gathered in academies this year with small groups of teachers.

A team of teachers with advice from administrators and parents designed four themed schools, according to Katherine Jordan, Highline High’s small schools coordinator.

Each themed school will have less than 400 students.

“I am very proud of the work Highline staff has done to meet the standards for students,” Jordan declared.

Action Academy will have a core academic focus with some students serving internships outside the classroom. Each student will have an individual learning plan.

Global Business and Marketing School will emphasize international, business, social and cultural themes such as economics, law, politics and marketing management.

Renaissance High School will focus on the arts. Set up as a student democracy, students will have a large say in running the school -- except for setting curriculum standards, Jordan said.

The school will have fewer students than the others, she added.

Students in the TERRA (technology, environment, relationships, resources and adventure) school will be expected to learn how they fit into local and global communities.

Jordan noted the students will concentrate on solving real world problems.

Although the new schools won’t begin until September, the next few weeks will be important for Highline students and parents.

On Thursday, March 16, current Highline students will be assigned to their community based on their stated preferences.

They will register for classes March 28 to March 31.

Highline counselors will be at Sylvester Middle School on March 30 to start registering incoming eighth-graders

An information night for parents of eighth-graders is set for 6 p.m. April 3 at Highline.

In response to concerns that students may not be able to take courses they need to meet college entrance requirements, next year’s juniors and seniors will be allowed to “cross over” to take elective and Advanced Placement (AP) classes in a different learning community.

All freshmen and sophomores may also sign up for band,

Preparatory AP classes may be substituted for honors courses. Ninth and tenth graders take the classes to prepare for academically rigorous AP classes in their last two years.

That’s good news for Highline High parent Meg VanWyk, who has been vocal in pushing for academic rigor.

There are no state standards for “honors” classes while pre-AP and AP classes have rigorous guidelines, according to VanWyk.

“I think that it’s very, very good” that so many Highline teachers are attending AP training classes, she said.

Many of the worries that VanWyk and others have center on the availability of elective courses.

In his letter, Welch emphasized that although the communities emphasize relationships and college preparation over a large selection of electives, “we will ensure that every student has access to the classes he or she needs to attend college.”

VanWyk says she is encouraged that Highline High students may “cross over” to take electives in other learning communities.

One problem may be that the small schools have separate bell schedules with classes starting and ending at differing times. That might make cross overs more difficult, VanWyk noted.

Jordan said two of the small schools want to alter the regular schedule, but a change would have to be approved by the school board.

Fearing a decline in academic rigor, some Highline parents are looking south to Mt. Rainier in Des Moines with its International Baccalaureate (IB) program and comprehensive school for upperclassmen.

However, VanWyk, who has a daughter attending Mt. Rainier, is convinced that “Highline High School has every intention of offering the vigorous classes that Mt. Rainier has. That is a very important message to parents.”

While AP and IB are slightly different, advanced placement courses are academically rigorous classes with set standards, Jordan said.

VanWyk still has “little questions,” but notes that high school reform is “an extremely complicated issue.

“But I am not distressed at all at the district’s attempt to change. It was desperately needed.”