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Uncommon Schools
E-Newsletter |
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Issue 05
January 2008 |
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Excellence Charter School, designed by Robert A.M. Stern, architect of the new high school building |
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Brand New Uncommon High School Building to Open in 2010
From an abandoned lot in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, across the street from a run-down park and behind the tracks of the Long Island Railroad, will soon rise a state-of-the-art high school building, complete with four floors of brand new classrooms, science labs, art studios, a library, a technology center, a thousand-seat "cafetorium," several full-size gymnaisums, and a rooftop playfield. When students from Williamsburg Collegiate, Kings Collegiate, Excellence Charter School, and Leadership Prep graduate from eighth grade, they will take the subway an extra stop or two, or walk a few more blocks, to go to school at Uncommon Schools’ first New York City high school, slated to open in 2010.
Earlier this fall, the Robin Hood Foundation (RHF) acquired the 48,000 square foot site in Crown Heights, located at 1485 Pacific Street (between Brooklyn and Kingston), for Uncommon Schools and Achievement First (AF). With the help of The Georgetown Company, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, and Gensler, the space will be transformed in the next two years. Uncommon Schools and AF will each be allotted two separate floors for classrooms and two full-size gyms, while other common areas
– the cafetorium, the field, and the library
– are set to be shared by both schools. At full capacity, the building will seat 800 students from each of the two organizations, or 1,600 students in total.
Susan Sack, the director of real estate at Robin Hood, who is overseeing the project, says of the location, “We couldn’t have asked for a better bull’s-eye. The minute I got the phone call from the broker, I pulled up an aerial photo of the site and it was right there, in the middle of all of the lower and middle schools. It was perfect."
Recognizing the strengths of Uncommon Schools, KIPP, and Achievement First, the Robin Hood Foundation...
Click here to read more... |
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#1
The place held by Williamsburg Collegiate in the report card ranking of 1,200 New York City Department of Education schools and 19 of the charter schools it has authorized. Congratulations!
Click here to read more about this honor
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Lauren Harris and Kings Collegiate: A School Grows in Brownsville
“Ok everyone, now go straight from table position into ‘downward facing dog.’ Push away from your hands towards your feet. It’s a little difficult, but you’re going to feel a stronger stretch.”
Jessica Goldberg, a fifth-grade Reading teacher at the newly opened Kings Collegiate Charter School (Kings), untwists herself from the yoga position she’s modeling (technically adho mukha svanasana, a pose meant to energize the body, calm the brain, and improve digestion, among other things) to reposition the sock-clad feet of one fifth grader.
Goldberg has done her best to transform the public school classroom into a yoga studio for this Enrichment period: all nine students have mats, many wear breathable yoga pants, and Goldberg has slipped a CD into the boombox which now emits the plunks and “aahs” of meditation music, a style to be found somewhere along the spectrum from elevator music to Enya. The students breathe deeply as they switch poses, centering their energy and focus down, through their bones, to the linoleum floor beneath them.
The school Lauren Harris and Laura Lee co-founded this past August shares a floor with the Middle School for Art and Philosophy, a New York City public school serving grades 6-8 (where some of the teachers refer to Kings students as “the gifted and talented group”). The two schools are separated by a single set of swinging doors. Kings exists as a self-sufficient entity, students and teachers alike conforming to standards honed for the past decade: high expectations, a structured academic environment that encourages creativity, and a committed and professional staff...
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1% Solution: Daily handshakes
Every morning, Max Koltuv, Principal of Leadership Preparatory Charter School, gets to shake the hand of Elizabeth Taylor.
Squirming, she adjusts her pants on her walk up the street. When she reaches him, she sticks out her hand, head down, and squeaks, “Good morning, Principal Koltuv.”
“Miss Taylor, look me in the eye,” Koltuv gently admonishes, and Elizabeth raises her face, eyes flashing much like her namesake, and tries again, “Good morning, Principal Koltuv!”
“Good morning, Elizabeth!” Koltuv beams down at this bite-sized star. As Elizabeth Taylor goes into the building to start her day, Koltuv turns to greet the next three-footer in a line that stretches down the street.
At Uncommon Schools, students shake hands with their teachers every day. This is not simply a matter of manners, but a core ritual with many purposes. It is pragmatic: with a simple handshake, teachers and leaders can check-in with students each day. It also enforces a high level of behavioral expectation. Finally, the daily handshake helps inculcate the values of respect and caring in every student.
Doug Lemov, Managing Director of the True North Public Schools Network, focuses on daily hand-shakes in his “Taxonomy of Effective Teaching Practices,” coining this actionable technique “the Threshold:” the process of ...
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Join Our Team. Change History.
Hear how we do it. We know that without great teachers and leaders, little else matters. On February 11th, hear how their involvement with students helps close the achievement gap. To find out more click here.
See how we do it. On February 22nd, visit award winning North Star Academy, in Newark, NJ. To find out more click here.
Change History. Uncommon Schools is always looking for talented teachers, leaders, and builders to help us close the achievement gap.
To learn more, visit www.uncommonschools.org or contact our Recruitment team at recruitment@uncommonschools.org |
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