NYC Collaborates, a joint project of the New York City charter schools sector and Department of Education, launched today to provide educators from across the city with opportunities to connect and share ideas to improve student achievement.
NYC Collaborates will include a series of on-the-ground partnerships, events and collaborations between all New York City public schools, regardless of type, and kicks off with a Bronx School Study Tour Program.
The Study Tours will for the first time give teachers and administrators from district and charter schools the chance to visit four widely-recognized, high-performing schools: Eagle Academy for Young Men, The Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science, KIPP Academy Middle School, and Bronx Charter School for Excellence. In each school, attendees will observe classroom instruction, connect with the school leaders, participate in a professional development session, and discuss common techniques that cross all school categories.
“Charter schools and district schools both have the same mission—to provide New York City students with an excellent public education. It’s time these schools started sharing with each other their successful practices so that they can bring them back to their respective classrooms.” said Julia Chun, Principal, New Visions Charter High School for Advanced Math and Science.
“NYC Collaborates promotes conversations and collaborations within the public school community,” said David Banks, President and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation. “As Bronx charter educators come together across school types to exchange ideas and best practices, we hope to generate new bonds between city educators and stronger classrooms for all students.”
NYC Collaborates is a project of New York City’s District-Charter Compact, an initiative launched with financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to encourage collaborative programs and learning across school types. Over the past eight months, Compact leadership undertook an extensive listening tour of New York City’s public education stakeholders, including principals, teachers, charter school founders, parent groups and elected officials, among others. These meetings helped to formulate NYC Collaborates programmatic mission and this first series of school tours.
About New York City’s District-Charter Compact:
New York City’s District-Charter Collaboration Compact, signed by the New York City Department of Education and over 85 charter schools to date, is a formal and public commitment to work together to provide all children in NYC with a public school education that prepares them with the skills and knowledge to succeed in college and the work force. Through the Compact the district and charter sector agreed to address issues of parity (including enrollment, funding, facilities, and data) between district and charter schools, encourage replication of high-performing schools and, most importantly, improve and expand the ways in which district and charters work together and influence each other for the benefit of all students in the city.
