The Role of Students
Pilot Schools are committed to creating personal, supportive learning environments for their students. Like the students in the Fenway vignette, Pilot School students often serve as guides to visitors and spokespeople about the value of the Pilot approach.
    A study of four Pilot high schools examined the written reflections of prospective students and interviewed current students. The study found consistent themes across schools:

    Particularly striking were the high expectations that students had for both their schools and themselves.… Students also wrote about the support they needed to be successful—safe environments, smaller schools and class size, and the chance to get to know students and teachers well.

Pilot School students:

• Hold high expectations for themselves and their schools.
• Take responsibility for their learning, demonstrate it, and reflect on it.
• Exercise leadership in such structures as governing boards, student councils, and in daily school life.