The old school model -- based on a one-size-fits-all factory approach to education -- no longer applies in a 21st century economy. Schools must teach students how to think, how to learn, how to analyze, how to solve problems. Teachers and principals are changing how they teacher and lead to meet these challenges. Similarly, businesses, colleges and universities are changing the nature and depth of their involvement so that students can get a tangible grasp on their future.
Since 2004, North Carolina New Schools has joined with the State Board of Education, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the N.C. Community College System, the University of North Carolina and local school districts to develop and support innovative secondary schools that share a fundamental goal: Engage all students with powerful approaches to teaching and learning and graduate all students ready for college, careers and life.
Now, eight years later, the number of those schools has grown more than four-fold -- to over 100 -- and more are in development. Nearly three quarters of North Carolina's 100 counties host at least one of these innovative schools, which follow a variety of designs to achieve the single goal of graduating all students well prepared. The work of innovation has advanced beyond efforts focused on individual schools to include entire districts and networks of schools that span the state.
Click on the "School Models" section for more details about the innovative approaches found among schools partnering with North Carolina New Schools.
