Results
 

Emerging Results

For the past 20 years, we at New Visions have worked at all levels of education reform: from policy and advocacy to the creation of new, effective public schools and classrooms with rigorous instruction. We insist on making data-driven decisions; sharing critical information and data tools with school leaders, teachers and families; and measuring the impact of our work.

Learn more about our history of success.

Small Schools, Great Outcomes

Through the New Century High Schools Initiative beginning in 2001, we pioneered the small high schools movement in New York City with dramatic results. Our New Century high schools posted dramatically improved graduation rates and significantly narrowed the achievement gap.

  • From 2002-2004, 93 percent of New Century High School students were promoted from ninth grade, compared with a citywide average of 68 percent.
  • In 2007, New Century high school students graduated at a rate of 77 percent, compared with a citywide average of 57 percent.  
  • In 2007, when half of the city’s African-American and Hispanic students were not graduating from high school, New Century high schools’ graduation rates for African-American and Hispanic students surpassed the citywide average by more than 20 percentage points.  

Achievement in Progress  

In 2007, we took on a new role as a Partnership Support Organization (PSO).  Drawing from the expertise gained in developing the New Century high schools, we now work to bring the same level of improvement in student achievement to the 76 schools in our PSO network.

Today, posting steady improvement in attendance, grade-level promotion, exam scores and graduation rates, our schools are working tirelessly to prepare our students for college and career.

Elementary and Middle Schools

We support 4,706 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Our goal is to ensure that each of them builds the fundamental skills they need to do well in high school. New York City’s middle school test scores from 2008 show that the number of our students performing at or above grade level increased by 13.5 percentage points in English/language arts and 11 points in math. In both math and English/language arts, more than 70 percent of our fourth- through eighth-grade students posted scores at or above grade level.

High Schools

The majority of students served by New Visions are in high school. We are committed to supporting them, particularly during their pivotal ninth-grade year. Our research shows that when students achieve a 92 percent attendance rate, earn 11 or more credits and pass at least one Regents exam in ninth grade, they are far more likely to graduate on time and be ready for entry into a college or career path. Ninth-grade students in our network of schools have shown distinct improvements in attendance, credit accumulation and Regents passage rates.

Our high schools work to achieve an attendance rate of 92 percent or higher. In the past two years since New Visions began its involvement in our PSO schools, the number of ninth-grade students achieving this goal has risen 10 percentage points. The number of ninth graders earning 11 credits or more increased by seven percentage points. And the number passing one Regents or more went up by eleven percentage points.

Building School Capacity

To achieve great student outcomes, we must develop schools’ capacity to meet the needs of all students. Below is a summary of just a few outcomes of our commitment to build school capacity:

Scaffolded Apprenticeship Model (SAM)

Through SAM, teams of teachers focus on groups of struggling students to uncover and bridge their learning gaps. As of the fall of 2009, 175 teachers had participated in our SAM program. New York City, Boston and Oakland schools have adopted the model as a result of SAM’s success in New Visions schools.

Citi College Bound

Since its inception, Citi College Bound has brought professional development to high school guidance counselors across the city to help them lead strong college access programs. Each year College Bound publishes the Citi College Guide and the Scholarship Guide for New York City Students, which are distributed citywide and provide critical information to thousands of educators, parents and students.

Astor Center for Public School Libraries

This program has revitalized more than 200 school libraries through staff development, library renovation and the improvement of book collections. As a single library often serves as the shared resource center for several small schools, growing the expertise of the librarian and resources of a single library has powerful impacts multiple school communities. 

Urban Teacher Residency

The New Visions-Hunter College Urban Teacher Residency both develops and certifies new teachers and provides meaningful professional development and mentoring opportunities for master teachers. During the 2009-2010 school year, UTR is supporting 20 new teachers with 20 strong mentors in our New Visions schools.

Fund for Teachers

A competitive grant program, the Fund for Teachers has awarded 348 New York City teachers with the funds to pursue summer learning projects that deepen their teaching skills.    

 

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