2005 appears to be the year that the nation's eyes - and political will - substantively turn to the issue of how to reform American high schools. An increasing number of stakeholders are becoming engaged on such issues as student performance, graduates' readiness to compete in a global economy, and the fundamental role that high school does, or should, play in our society.

President Bush is using his political capital to propose new programs, funding and assessments for a high school initiative to help states hold high schools accountable for teaching all students, and provide effective and timely intervention for those students who are not learning at grade level. This initiative includes requirements for high school state assessments to ensure diplomas are truly meaningful.

On another front, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, as chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), is also pushing for high school improvements. The Chairman's Initiative is being guided by a poll being conducted by Widmeyer Research & Polling that will gauge how high school students themselves view the value - and shortcomings - of their high school education. The NGA also recently sponsored a National Education Summit on High Schools, which brought together experts from a wide range of fields, from pedagogy to lobbying to communications, to discuss solutions to perennial challenges.

America's philanthropic community is making its voice heard on this issue as well. Carnegie Corporation of New York is in the middle of a five year, $60 million initiative in seven communities to reinvent the high school experience. The "Schools for a New Society" initiative supports a variety of strategies to make sure every public school is as good as the very best in the community. It also attempts to tailor education to individual students; builds demand and political will for this change; and sets high expectations and standards of excellence. Carnegie Corporation of New York engaged Widmeyer Communications to assist with the communications strategy and execution of this program. Later this year, Carnegie Corporation of New York plans to release a survey from Widmeyer Research & Polling that examines attitudes about high school reform nationwide, and lay those findings against the objectives and outcomes to date of the "Schools for a New Society" communities.

As a result of this unprecedented drive to examine America's high schools, accentuate what's working, and fix what's wrong, organizations involved even tangentially in school reform have a unique window of opportunity to advance their issues. The key is understanding the landscape, crafting a message to fit the current discussion, and developing a communications strategy that can successfully position your issue as a solution to what a growing number of people agree is a challenge that needs to be addressed.