New School Intensive

New Leaders Building New Opportunities for Students  

The creation of new small schools to expand learning opportunities for students, particularly at the secondary level, is a key component of Children First, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein’s comprehensive education reform initiative. To assist in this effort, the NYC Leadership Academy , in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education’s Office of New Schools, has developed New School Intensive (NSI), a program that provides tailored support to principals opening new, small schools.

NSI guides new school leaders as they translate their school proposals into actual school plans and prepares them to open and lead these schools through a multi-year growth process. NSI coaches, who are a talented group of veteran educators with particular expertise in the small school context, facilitate leadership development sessions and provide on-site, one-on-one coaching and targeted technical assistance to program participants throughout the year.

NSI has a pre-service phase and an in-service phase. NSI’s pre-service phase begins soon after the New York City Department of Education announces the new schools that will open in September. During the pre-service phase, NSI participants attend weekly leadership development sessions that help them fine-tune their school proposals, learn promising practices in the new school movement, and address the numerous operational issues associated with a new school launch. Once their schools open in the fall, participants begin the program’s in-service phase, which consists of monthly leadership development sessions the NSI coaches design and facilitate based on the common leadership needs emerging in the field. NSI also hosts retreats where participants address complex school-level challenges.

The NSI staff builds trusting and supportive relationships with program participants so that they are able to help the principals develop into strong, skilled, self-sufficient leaders. The staff also cultivates close relationships with nonprofit organizations that facilitate the creation of new schools to maximize and align the support and resources provided to new, small school principals.

Recognizing that novice principals continue to face challenges and opportunities for growth beyond their first year, NSI has expanded its support to second- and third-year principals of new, small schools. Year Two Support and Year Three Support will continue to provide these novice principals with a menu of resources that is highly differentiated and flexible based on each principal’s leadership needs and school context.

NSI has played a critical role in the small school initiative in NYC and continues to support innovative and entrepreneurial leaders in their efforts to build effective learning communities.