New School Designs: Organizations Developing and Replicating Innovative School Models

Organization	School Size	Grade Levels Served	Admissions Criteria	Model Components	Affiliation with District
New Visions for Public Schools is a nonprofit that works in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education to pilot and promote systemic reform. It operates three school development programs: (1) New Visions Small Schools, which provides support for 34 small schools in New York City through grants, retreats and networking opportunities; and (2) New Visions Partnership Support Organization (PSO), which provides instructional and operational supports to 75 New York City public schools, serving some 35,000 students; and (3) New Century High Schools Initiative, through which New Visions has transformed large, underperforming New York City high schools into 86 community-based small schools.	New Century High Schools enroll about 400 students per school.	New Century High Schools, 9-12; all NVPS schools, K-12	Students admitted through the regular New York City Department of Education admissions process, which allows students to express school preferences	New Century’s ten principles for effective school design are: (1) clear focus and high expectations, (2) a rigorous instructional program, (3) a personalized learning environment, (4) instructional leadership, (5) school-based professional development, (6) meaningful assessment, (7) partnerships with organizations (8) parent and caregiver engagement (9) student voice and participation, (10) integration of technology into teaching and learning.	New Visions schools are public schools.
Green Dot has opened 18 charter high schools in Los Angeles.	A maximum of 560 students enroll in each fully developed school.	9-12	Students are chosen by lottery from the applicant pool for admission to the 9th grade.	Green Dot schools share the same school model, based on “Six Tenets of High Performing Schools”: (1) small, safe, personalized schools; (2) high expectations for all students; (3) locally managed schools (4) increased parent participation (5) maximum funding to the classroom; and (6) keep schools open later.	Green Dot schools are charter schools.
Urban Assembly currently operates 20 small public high schools and junior high schools, serving over 7,000 students in New York City.	Each grade averages 100 students.	6-12	Urban Assembly schools have a non-competitive admissions policy.	Urban Assembly small schools are organized around a central educational and professional theme (for example law, government and justice to design and construction) that connects academic achievement, college, and career. Rigorous academic education, personal attention, and close relationships with teachers, partnering organizations, and individual mentors that connect the classroom to college and the working world are crucial components of these schools.	Urban Assembly schools are public schools.
New Technology High School is a public high school in the Napa Valley Unified School District. New Technology High School Foundation is a nonprofit organization working to achieve national education reform with schools that wish to model the Napa New Technology High School.	Each grade has 100 students.	9-12	Students are chosen in a gender-balanced lottery from the applicant pool for admission to 9th grade. Current students’ and graduates’ siblings as well current teachers’ children receive preference. Available spots in later grades are filled from a waitlist (these students in grades 10-12 must meet minimum GPA requirements).	The New Tech School Model places a high value on integrating critical 21st Century skills with traditional course content. The primary instructional strategy is Project-Based Learning (PBL), a collaborative, personalized, and interdisciplinary model in which students present tech-based projects about the subject at hand. New Tech schools have active partnerships with local universities and colleges as well as the business community.	New Tech High is a public high school.