NEW SCHOOLS OFFER NEW HOPE

New York Redesigns Its High Schools to Prepare Students for Brighter Futures

New York City is overhauling its public schools, replacing some of the least-successful schools in the district with new, smaller, and more rigorous ones. We are one of the district’s many partners in this ambitious initiative. Since 2002, more than 200 new high schools have opened in New York. This effort started with the creation of 14 new schools in the spring of 2002. In June, these schools graduated their first classes—the students who started as ninth-graders in 2002—and though the results are still early, they are extremely promising.

These schools graduated almost 80 percent of their students on time, which is all the more impressive because more than 80 percent of the incoming ninth-graders did not meet state standards in English or math. In addition, more than 80 percent of the students who graduated from these schools applied to college, and 85 percent of those were accepted. The majority of these students will be the first in their families to attend college.

The news from some of the individual schools is even more dramatic. The Bronx Aerospace Academy was carved out of a large high school with a graduation rate of just 31 percent. When they entered high school, only 6 percent of Bronx Aerospace’s students scored at grade level in English. In June, however, more than 90 percent of them graduated.

How did these schools help their students turn things around? First, they implemented tougher coursework, with high expectations and additional support for students who started out behind. Second, they made sure the classes were relevant by connecting the material to contemporary issues and to students’ career aspirations. Third, they spurred strong relationships among students, their teachers, and their parents. Finally, they helped students prepare to take their next steps in life with intensive career counseling and college counseling.

Although the sample size is small, the success of these 14 schools offers great hope for the future. New York’s new schools now serve almost 100,000 students—students who used to have very little chance to receive even an adequate education.