For Meghan Hillard of Dayton, Ohio, the idea of going to college was never a high priority for her family. “I never really had talked about college until I came to DECA (Dayton Early College Academy),” she said. However, once she enrolled at DECA, one of KnowledgeWorks’ Early College schools in Ohio, she was empowered to pursue a four-year degree. DECA opened in 2003, combining high school and college instruction.

Keandre Lindsay, a student at SMART (Science, Math and Related Technologies) School Libby High School in Toledo, Ohio, appreciates the positive difference made by having a small school. “You get to interact more with them (teachers) on a one-on-one basis, instead of having to wait for them to get done with 10 or 15 people … and then it’s time to go,” she said. Libby became four small schools within one building in 2004.

The experiences shared by Meghan and Keandre are not uncommon at KnowledgeWorks’ new and redesigned high schools. They have created a better way for students to learn and are on the cutting edge of education reform. Typically, when education reform is discussed, the faces seen and voices heard are from the adults -- parents, teachers, administrators, college officials, employers and the like. Student voices sometimes fade into the background.

We wanted to change that, so we gave cameras to students in four high schools that are part of KnowledgeWorks’ small schools and early college initiatives. We asked them to tell us about their lives, their schools, their dreams.

The videos featured here are the first in what we hope will be a series of videos from students in new and redesigned high schools in Ohio. They are produced by the students themselves and offer adult stakeholders an inside look at today’s schools.