HAMILTON — Enrollment at Hamilton High School won't decrease dramatically over the next several years, but Principal Tracey Miller hopes it will seem that way to the more than 1,800 students there.

        The Hamilton City Schools is one of 17 urban districts in Ohio — and the only one in Southwest Ohio — to get an Ohio High School Transformation Initiative Grant from the KnowledgeWorks Foundation. The district has been awarded $264,900 to develop and implement changes educators say will improve student achievement, attendance and discipline.

        “Our long-term goal is to make this big high school smaller,” Mr. Miller said. “What we look like four to five years from now won't look like we do today. We want to try to create a smaller community of learners, which we think will increase proficiency scores, increase attendance and decrease discipline referrals.”

        Creating a smaller, more intimate atmosphere was a recurring theme in last year's surveys completed by both students and staff, Mr. Miller said. Studies show it is likely students will feel less isolated and more connected, and more likely to improve achievement, Mr. Miller said.

        The money will be used to form school-based leadership teams to work with teachers, students, parents, community and business leaders as they study national models of successful high schools and begin to implement changes at Hamilton High. It will pay for substitute teachers, in-service training for teachers and materials.

        Things under study will include the way the school day is structured, curriculum and teaching strategies.

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