North Carolina New Schools

Design Principles for Innovative Cooperative High Schools

Each child in every school is entitled to achieving high academic and social/emotional outcomes, Early College teachers and administratorsare committed to following the five design principles for High SchoolInnovation Projects. The principles that lead our high schooltransformation are:

•  Ready for College: HighSchool Innovation projects (HSI) are characterized by the pervasive,transparent, and consistent understanding that the school exists forthe purpose of preparing all students for college and work. They maintain a common set of high standards for every student to overcome the harmful consequences of tracking and sorting.

•  Require Powerful Teaching and Learning: HSI are characterized by the presence of commonly held standards for high quality instructional practice. Teachers in these schools design instruction that ensures the development ofcritical thinking, application, and problem solving skills often neglected in traditional settings.

• Personalization: Staffsin High School Innovation Projects understand that knowing studentswell is an essential condition of helping them achieve academically. These high schools ensure adults capitalize on knowledge of students in order to improve student learning.

•  Redefine Professionalism: Theresponsibility to the shared vision of the HSIP is evident in thecollaborative, creative, and leadership roles of all adult staff in theschool. The staffs of these schools takeresponsibility for the success of every student, hold themselvesaccountable to their colleagues, and are reflective about their roles.

•  Purposeful Design: High School Innovation projects are designed to create the conditions that ensure the other four design principles: ready for college, powerful teaching and learning, personalization, and redefined professionalism. The organization of time, space, and the allocation of resources ensures that these best practices become common practice.