Founded in Chicago in 1991, the Small Schools Workshop has become a premier resource for small schools creation, design and restructuring. The Workshop provides schools and school districts with an experienced team of school design coaches and teacher professional development experts that can guide the school transformation process from beginning to end.

The Small Schools Workshop has developed its process from a strong research base. Unlike many other organizations in the field, the Workshop won't provide a prescriptive, prepackaged program. Rather, the Workshop starts from the unique conditions within and around each school and school district. It's a process that engages the entire school community, including all stakeholders, in the work of restructuring and providing a sense of ownership over the small learning communities they have created.

Small schools can take on many forms, including free-standing, autonomous schools, charter schools, career academies, smaller learning communities, and schools-within-a-school. The essential ingredients in each are: 1) personalization and high visibility of students, 2) teachers and staff working collaboratively in teams and making the important teaching/learning decisions.