Gates Small Schools
In 2003, The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) submitted a proposal to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seeking a five-year grant of $4,000,000 to sponsor the development of 15 small, project-based high schools based on the EdVisions and/or Big Picture Company models that focus on accomplishing the following objectives:
- Creating 15 small high schools in targeted cities over a five year period beginning in 2003;
- Convincing parents, particularly low-income and working class parents, of the efficacy of small high schools using the methods espoused by EdVsions and/or the Big Picture Company;
- Recruiting black educators and community activists who are willing and able to support the creation of these �break the mold� models;
- Developing the capacity of our organization to be a technical assistance resource for least one of these models in the future; and
- Furthering the cause of providing families more effective educational options in their communities.
Schools:
1. New Media Technology Charter School - Philadelphia
- New Media Technology Charter School was founded in 2004 by a team of dedicated educators and talented professionals from various walks of life who wanted to create new educational options for urban high school children in Philadelphia.
- New Media's founding coalition consisted of Lotus Academy founder and board chairman Hugh C. Clark, Esq., State Representative Dwight Evans, organizers and strategists from BAEO, (the Black Alliance for Educational Options), and administrators and teachers from The Lotus Academy.
- New Media is one of several schools that were made possible in part by a seed grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation by way of EdVisions, a Minnesota based project based learning institution. In late 2003, Dr. Howard Fuller, founder of National BAEO, was instrumental in helping to bring together an educational planning team from the Lotus Academy with the EdVisions/ Gates small schools project. Keisha Hegamin, president of Philadelphia BAEO, in turn worked with Hugh Clark and the Lotus Academy planning team to vigorously nail down all of the details necessary to make it possible for New Media to open in the fall of 2004.
- http://www.newmediatech.net/
- Opened in fall 2004
- The Mission of CEO Leadership Academy is to nurture scholars, capable of transforming their world, by sending them to and through college.
- The Vision of CEO Leadership Academy is to produce responsible Christian leaders through academic mastery, community focused education, and the fostering of lifelong learning in any environment.
- Opened fall 2007
- Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, a college preparatory high school, serves qualified boys of diverse backgrounds who live in the City of Philadelphia. Boys' Latin offers its students a rigorous contemporary/classical education that prepares them for college matriculation and sets high standards for achievement, character development, and age appropriate conduct.
- The Academy has created a self-selected group of young men who value academic success, hard work, and the development of their intellectual, moral, social, creative, and athletic potential. Boys' Latin is a school where young men prepare to become leaders through challenging coursework within a supportive environment. Our curriculum blends liberal arts, classical studies, and state-of-the-art technology as we cultivate world citizens for the twenty-first century.
- http://www.boyslatin.org/
- Opening fall 2009
- Eastern University will establish a new charter high school to serve students from urban Philadelphia who have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education. The school will not only increase the number of high school students performing at advanced levels, but will also close the �preparation and performance gap� between state graduation standards and university entrance standards.
- If students are performing at grade level by 10th grade, their chances of graduating at grade level are high. However, even performing at the proficient level at 12th grade does not equate to being college-ready. Few states have designed their high school assessments to answer whether passing students are prepared for success in college and work. While Pennsylvania State standards are higher than most, there is still a gap between these standards and those required for postsecondary success.
- Eastern University�s early college high school will incorporate the research-based standards reported in �Standards for Success� , designed to help create a better connection between high school and university expectations.
- Proposed opening fall 2010
- The High School for Recording Arts New York Charter School will deliver an educational program that engages learners, many of whom have been expelled, dropped out, or are otherwise not enrolled in school, through the exploration and operation of the music business. The HSRA NY CS educational program operates together with a professional music production facility, Studio 4. A student�s time is spent mastering validations (academic and life skills) and state-mandated learning standards through individual/group projects related to core subject areas along with those critical to the music industry. Access to the recording studio and key industry components helps to keep students focused and motivated for academic learning.
- http://www.hsra.org/
- Opening fall 2009
- Proposed opening fall 2010