Teen panel offers ideas on 'reinventing' high schools

A group of teenagers has some advice for the people running Chicago's public schools.

A teen advisory committee spent the summer surveying hundreds of their peers citywide. Now, it has passed along its findings to schools chief Ron Huberman in a report, "How to Reinvent Chicago Public High Schools."

Among the 30 recommendations: Make class sizes smaller, have teachers offer weekly office hours for students, and provide mediation alternatives rather than just suspending students.

The students also had loftier suggestions -- such as adding to current graduation requirements two years of extracurricular activities and college-level courses, and application to at least …