NewSchools Invent: Welcoming a New Cohort of Innovative Schools

June 2, 2016

We believe young people deserve schools that match the incredible aspirations they have for themselves, their families and their communities. Today, too many are in schools that don’t match those aspirations or the times we’re living in. Our role is to support teams of educators who are reimagining learning so that students are prepared and inspired to set and achieve big goals. Fortunately, teams all over the country are doing just that, with compelling ideas for schools that work better for every young person.

Through NewSchools Invent (formerly NewSchools Catapult), we seek out teams that are planning and opening innovative new schools to help every student do well academically and develop other critical mindsets, skills and habits. We are open to many approaches, but we are especially interested in teams who are designing schools that personalize learning and help students develop the agency necessary for long-term success.

Today, we are announcing the NewSchools Invent 2016 cohort, which includes 14 teams in seven states: 10 who will use their funding to improve and expand their school designs and launch plans, and four who will use their funding to open schools this fall.

The teams were chosen from a pool of 52 applicants, a reflection of the growing momentum of efforts to reimagine school. They embody a variety of approaches to learning – established ideas in new contexts and new instructional approaches that build on solid research but have not been tried before. Most applicants were experienced teachers, school leaders and administrators – some who have been in the field for decades – all with an urgency to create innovative schools that work for better for students.

Over the coming year, these teams will iterate continually, build good ideas into great ones, and learn from one another. We’ll have the opportunity to learn from them too, and we will share their successes and lessons broadly in order to encourage other teachers and school leaders around the country to reimagine their classrooms and schools.

Congratulations to the new cohort!

Launch teams opening in Fall 2016

Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School (Brooklyn, NY)