BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM

At CART High near Fresno, there are no bells, no fights, and no hallways echoing with chaos. Instead, students carry laptops through bright, spacious corridors on their way to classes in biotechnology, forensics, and digital marketing. It looks and feels nothing like a traditional public high school, and that’s precisely the point.

CART, short for Center for Advanced Research and Technology, could represent the future of education in California. As Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education, put it: “The big, old-fashioned factory model of high school—where students run from class to class with a locker as their only stable point of contact—is not succeeding. We need to overhaul the whole idea of what high school can be.”

Now, a new statewide pilot program from the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence aims to do just that. Backed by $10 million in state funding, the initiative invites districts to redesign high school and middle school learning, focusing on flexibility, real-world experience, and stronger connections between students, teachers, and communities.

A century-old system ready for change

Public high schools, as we know them, are barely a century old. Born from early 20th-century industrial ideals, they were designed around efficiency. As many of us know, this resulted in standardized classes, 50-minute periods, and a rigid unit system known as the Carnegie unit. But modern research in adolescent development shows teenagers learn best through autonomy, hands-on projects, and collaboration.

“It should be a joy to go to school every day,” Darling-Hammond said. And at CART, it seems to be. Students don’t memorize facts for tests; they immerse themselves in topics that matter to them. Instead of racing through fragmented classes, they spend three hours per day in interdisciplinary “labs” where English, science, and art intersect.

This shift is already producing results. Attendance hovers near 100 percent, discipline issues are rare, and over 90 percent of students score proficient in English. Principal Rick Watson says educators from around the world visit to study CART’s model. “Comprehensive high schools don’t work for some B, C, D students,” he explained. “The students have potential, but they’re disconnected. They’re desperate for a different model of education.”

Teaching that sparks curiosity

At CART, the focus is on engagement and deep, not rote, learning. English teacher Emily Saeteurn explains: “We work really hard to get kids to see the bigger picture of why they’re learning what they’re learning. We want them to have that ‘aha!’ moment.”

Biotechnology students read The Andromeda Strain and The Martian before writing their own science fiction stories based on real genetic concepts. In law and policy, teens read Othello and Hamlet before staging mock trials of Shakespearean characters. The approach makes academics tangible and relevant.

Senior Madelyn Quiroga says she struggled at her traditional high school but thrives at CART. “At my other school, they just throw stuff at you and never really explain it. Here, they actually teach us, and it’s all stuff we actually want to know,” she said. “Like when I hear someone talk about CRISPR, it’s like, ‘Oh, I know something about that.’”

Her classmate Audrey Riede, studying law, says she now hopes to become a defense attorney. “CART is way better than normal school,” she said. “The teachers aren’t just trying to get you to pass; they really want to make you think.”

Challenges ahead for reform

The state faces major hurdles in expanding CART’s success. Colleges still rely on the A-G course requirements and traditional letter grades for admissions, leaving little flexibility for innovative coursework. The Carnegie unit, which ties credits to time spent in class rather than mastery, remains deeply embedded in both high school and university systems.

Even the Carnegie Foundation has urged reforms, advocating for progress-based measures over time-based ones. But as of now, most higher education institutions remain reluctant to change.

Still, advocates like Russlynn Ali, head of the XQ Institute and former U.S. Department of Education official, believe the momentum is shifting. “There are young people today who’ve graduated from high school but can’t calculate the tip on a split bill or grasp the main idea in an op-ed piece,” she said. “The case for change is unmistakable.”

A model of possibility

CART’s success story began 25 years ago as a partnership between Clovis Unified and Fresno Unified, designed to help struggling students connect learning to real careers. Today, it serves 1,000 juniors and seniors each year, nearly 80 percent from low-income families. The school’s popularity continues to grow. Last year, more than twice as many students applied as there were spots available.

As California prepares to announce the winning redesign proposals, CART’s bright yellow halls stand as a living example of what education could be: a place where learning feels relevant, curiosity thrives, and every student, from the A student to the “C kid”, finds a reason to show up.