Later starting times and working water fountains are hardly the stuff of dreams.

But combine those modest measures with small classes, online courses, challenging academic standards and opportunities for internships and work-study positions and the result would be a "school of dreams," according to a group of high school students who participated in a seminar on the topic last week.

Twenty-four students from 14 local high schools presented their recommendations for creating the ideal high school last Thursday at The Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, Downtown. They addressed a forum of about 35 regional superintendents who are working to reform southwestern Pennsylvania's high schools.

The students, who visited each other's schools during the winter and early spring, noted numerous differences among districts but agreed that the key to a successful school was the quality of its teachers.

"You need to be a good, genuine person to be a teacher," said Sarah Dewalt, 16, a sophomore at Northgate High School in Bellevue. "There really is no set criteria for what is a good teacher. I almost think you don't even need a degree in education to be a teacher, you just need to know your stuff."

Teachers must be willing to change their instructional styles and challenge their students, said Nick O'Neill, 16, a junior at Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale.

"Sometimes, reading from a book is not the best way to teach," said Nick, who moderated a PowerPoint presentation outlining his group's findings. "Change it up a little bit. We don't like to have the same thing over and over again."

Many of the students who spoke at the conference addressed the need for educators to reach out to students who are in danger of slipping through the cracks and to make high school relevant for those who might not go on to college.

"As I look around my classroom, I see kids who are not going to go to college, who are going to go right into a career," said Sarah Spiering, 17, a junior at Burrell High School in Westmoreland County. "We're in World Cultures, and they say, 'What do I need to know this stuff for?' I think it's very important for teachers to show them that they need to learn this stuff."

Nick outlined ideas that could spark the interest of disengaged students, including a student-exchange program between local high schools, on-site tutoring sessions during and after school, and greater opportunities for real-world learning, such as internships with local businesses.

Although the conference allowed students and administrators to debate strategies for improvement and development, it also provided students with an opportunity to point out the disparity in resources that prevents many districts from changing the status quo.

"At my school, I don't get too many choices as far as teachers and classes because we can't afford to pay for more teachers," said Justin Wideman, 17, a junior at Wilkinsburg High School. "Most of the schools we went to, they get a lot more tax dollars than we do, so they have better facilities."

And better lunches, Justin said.

"I'm a person who likes his lunch, and when I went to South Fayette [High School], their lunch was awesome," he said.

Students had to step outside their comfort zones to visit other schools in the region, said James Manley, superintendent of the Pine-Richland School District. Students from Pine-Richland visited Wilkinsburg and South Fayette.

"Because of the fact that it was Wilkinsburg, they were asking, 'Are we going to be OK?' " Dr. Manley said. "Once they got there, they saw the friendly atmosphere and the welcoming attitude. They felt they needed to embrace that school and share our schools with each other. It gives them a much broader view of things."

Emily Hitechew, 15, a sophomore at Pine-Richland, said the differences among high schools were apparent from the varying reactions of visiting students.

"We were at a much smaller school, South Fayette, and their class sizes were much smaller than ours," she said. "But when Shaler [Area] students came to our school, they said that our class sizes were much smaller than theirs."

The daylong conference included a speech by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author Ed Humes, who wrote "School of Dreams," a book chronicling life at California's top-ranked public high school.

Students, parents and educators must value education for its inherent value, not view it as an extended job-training program, Mr. Humes said.

"There are certain things that a citizen needs to know in order to be an informed citizen, to know who to vote for and what is going on in your country," he said. "Education is not just about jobs. We need to get back to that student who is going to be a welder but also has an appreciation for American history."

Dr. Manley said he and his colleagues would listen to their students' recommendations.

"At the end of the day, we're going to have the characteristics of the ideal high school," he said. "This has bonded us together as superintendents. All of these schools are important, not just our school or our students."

In addition to students from Burrell, Northgate, Pine-Richland, Quaker Valley, South Fayette and Wilkinsburg, students also participated from Avonworth, Baldwin-Whitehall, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers-Houston, Greater Latrobe, Indiana Area, North Hills and Shaler Area.