Federal Hocking High School, a small high school in rural Appalachia, has known for a decade what being a First Amendment School is all about.

Beginning in 1992, the school, under the leadership of principal George Wood, began a radical restructuring. For over a year, a wide range of community members met, trying to develop a model that would allow Federal Hocking to become a more democratic community.

The result of that work? The school adopted a new mission statement, a new schedule, an internship program and the use of senior graduation portfolios. But for the longer term, the school has had a greater number of its students go on to college, fewer disciplinary referrals, a higher graduation rate and higher test scores.

Teachers were trained in Socratic seminars, students were given more free time during the day – and the responsibility to decide how to use it wisely – and the staff was entrusted with all major decisions regarding the curriculum.

Hocking's evolution reflects its community's support for the idea that the purpose of education is to serve – in Wood's words – as “democracy's finishing school, the last shared experience for citizens in our republic and the place where we can inculcate the virtues of civic life.”

“The problem,” Wood says, “is that students often find themselves preached to about such values instead of practicing them. That's why our efforts have been to focus on practice rather than exhortation. In everything we do, classroom teaching practices, school governance, student experiences both inside and out of school, assessment, even the organization of the school day, is done with an eye toward developing democratic community.

“Becoming a First Amendment project school, however, allows our community to review its efforts, examine additional ways to engage the school community, and push forward on our work to ensure that democracy is not just a slogan, but a way of life.”