Throughout our design process, we have continually

consulted students, parents, educators and community

members to create our mission and vision. Consultation

has not been limited to only hearing the voices of

stakeholders here at home. We have included members

from Cuerpo de Cristo middle school located in Santiago,

Dominican Republic. Interviewing middle schoolers from

that specific school allowed us the opportunity to gain extensive knowledge on how to better support our potential students. 

 

Since the beginning of this process, we prioritized collecting empathy interviews and invited students to design meetings. We have heard about their experiences, education, and opportunities. The three commonalities mentioned, were a desire for student voice, meaningful learning opportunities, and supportive environment for social emotional growth. These threads have become the framework for our school mission. Student voices will be at the forefront of designing, governing and operating our school.  Students were adamant that allowing them to have a seat at the table would benefit all aspects of having a successful academic environment. 

​

We asked students what they needed to succeed and feel empowered. They expressed their wish for schools to view them beyond data, and more like active voices and thought partners regarding issues within their own communities – from the lack of safe places to skateboard to the lack of funding in arts education. Project based learning should build the kind of bridge between students and communities that promotes a deeper sustained sense of self, belonging, and stewardship. We hope to correspond with organizations such as Buttrflydreamz, To Be Heard, Girls Who Code, Hudson Guild, and NYC Civil Rights Coalition to name a few.

 

Parental involvement has been a struggle in today’s high schools for many years. We understand that to gain that involvement it has to be done through engagement. We will accomplish this by allowing families access to our community partners in order to help improve living conditions; assistance with financial literacy; English classes for household members; resources in dealing with healthcare;  immigration services and obtaining a GED. At Collaboration HS, we will always strive to support all stakeholders in dealing with any issues that may arise in order to assure the success of all involved.

 

Our team began by consulting a group of educators, students and parents. Each week, we continued to bring in students and parents and expanded our group of educators to hone our ideas and vision. We brought in an organization partner, The Institute for Student Achievement, for support in developing our research-based case for change and our vision for teaching and learning. Our team also met with the Mastery Transcript Consortium to begin a design consultant partnership. We have reached out to PBL Works to bring in a design consultant to assist with designing our teaching and learning model. See below for artifacts of our stakeholder engagement over time. See more at  https://www.collaborationhs.com/stakeholder-engagement

 

At Collaboration High School we are always willing to form collaborative partnerships with students, parents, faculty and diverse communities to facilitate the goal of providing a quality education for all students. The communities in which we serve will become the backbone of what CO-LAB is all about. We strive to work alongside stakeholders from all walks of life. We want to allow students to create their own story. This is why it is important for us to have students involved in the design process from the beginning. Through simulations that allow students to critique real life challenges our students will develop a sense of independence and assurance that they can tackle anything thrown their way. 

 

Moving forward, CHS plans to engage families by using social media as platforms to relay information. We intend to host livestream videos on Facebook, Tick Tock, and Instagram  where families can join live or can go in at a later date and view the recording. We will also take the school to the community by setting up Parent-Teacher conferences at specific locations in the neighborhoods where our families dwell. This will also allow our Community Partners to build those very needed partnerships with our families. At CHS, everyone will work together in partnership in service of children's learning, healthy development, and wellbeing.

​

​

​

​