More than 50 small secondary schools are scheduled to open in New York City next fall, the city’s mayor and schools chancellor announced last week.
The 52 schools will bring the number of small and charter schools opened under the Children’s First New Schools Initiative to 157, according to a news release from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s office. They were chosen from a pool of 85 full proposals for schools.
The schools will include 27 high schools serving grades 9-12; 11 schools covering grades 6-12; and 14 middle schools serving students in grades 6-8. They will enroll a total of 6,750 students in September and 22,000 when the schools have been fully phased in.
Each will be designed to have academic rigor, a focus on students’ individual needs and interests, and partnerships with education and community organizations.
The new-schools initiative is being supported by grants from the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Open Society Institute, based in New York.
