Detailed Executive Summary

Students want a voice in their education. They want to be

valued. They wonder: Why can’t education see and hear me?

At Collaboration High School, we believe in empowering

students to be true co-creators of their school. CHS amplifies

student voice to build an inclusive and personalized curriculum and community with diverse modes of learning and multiple pathways for success. CHS prioritizes a loving school culture, relevant and real-life learning experiences, and collaboration in every aspect of school governance and learning.

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Mission/Vision: Student Voice + Leadership

At CHS, student voice is embedded in everything we do. Students work in genuine collaboration and partnership as members of our distributed leadership teams. These teams are comprised of students, educators, families and community partners. From the beginning, students have been central to the design of this new school. This work is an ongoing conversation with our learners. See how students shaped our mission in detail here: www.collaborationhs.com/student-voice.

 

Instructional Model + Community

CHS will serve a largely Black and Latino population with an emphasis on students with special needs and English Language Learners, who often go underserved or mis-served in traditional school models. CHS aims not to simulate or mimic learning and experiments, but rather to provide learners with heavily supported opportunities for genuine, authentic learning and application of their studies. 

 

This starts by redefining what the school day looks like. Our subjects do not live in separate silos, and are instead melded together as they are in the outside world. Through the use of culturally responsive teaching methods and materials, our small-class model includes learning blocks like Learning Lab, Work Lab, Passion Lab, Wellness Lab, as well as Seminar Weeks and Field Work. Our curriculum is project-based and collaborative, engaging students of various abilities in work that is meaningful to them, developing 21st-century skills and knowledge in real-life settings and applications. This includes fieldwork, service, internships, experimentation, and interaction with outside experts. Individual student needs are well-supported by Mentor Teachers who know their pod of students well, guiding them to progress at their own pace, demonstrate mastery over time and learn by doing. Students are not measured by standardized test performance, but through consistent mastery and skills-progression conferencing, presentations and demonstrations of learning, and Mastery Term Assessments. 

 

Recognizing that social-emotional learning is the bridge to academic learning, CHS champions and nurtures relationships, trust, care, and respect through intentional elements like small-class sizes, close-knit learning pods, Advisory, restorative practices, counseling, and collaboration. Relationships are not an after-thought. They are paramount to our success as a learning community.

 

In student interviews in NYC and the DR, students called for more student voice, meaningful learning opportunities connected to real-life, and a supportive environment for social-emotional growth. At CHS, meeting these needs is our mission. We believe our model aims to combat the educational debt owed to students and disrupt perpetual inequities.