|
Press Release
Media Contact: Erika Freed, Zer0 to 5ive 212-699-3696
Institute for Student Achievement Partners with East Baton Rouge Parish School System to Create High-Performing New Small School
School Reform Initiative Launched to Raise Student Achievement
LAKE SUCCESS, NY, January 24, 2007 – The Institute for Student Achievement (ISA), a leading school redesign partner that facilitates the transformation of low-performing high schools into academically rigorous and personalized small learning communities and small schools that graduate all students prepared for success in college, today announced its partnership with the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to create the East Baton Rouge Parish Laboratory Academy, one of the City’s first college preparatory small schools.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Laboratory Academy will be led by its newly named Principal, David Zielinkski. The school will open in the Fall of 2007 with 100 9th grade students and will add a grade per year until the school reaches a maximum capacity of 400 students in four years. To be housed in Baton Rouge’s Istrouma High School, the new school will be modeled after The Bronx Lab School, a highly successful New York-based ISA partner school that is led by Baton Rouge native, Marc Sternberg. ISA will work in partnership with The Bronx Lab School, F-E-G-S Health and Human Services System, and ADVANCE BATON ROUGE, as well as district leaders, to develop and implement the East Baton Rouge Parish Laboratory Academy. This process will begin immediately, with an intense planning prior to the school’s opening, followed by a four-year implementation cycle.
“ISA has years of experience in helping underperforming or underserved high schools transform into personalized and academically rigorous small learning environments which graduate students prepared for success in college, work and in life. This expertise, coupled with an insider’s understanding of the rich culture and uniqueness of Baton Rouge, will help ensure the success of the East Baton Rouge Parish Laboratory Academy,” said Dr. Gerry House, ISA’s President and CEO. “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to expand our reach into the New Orleans area to help the East Baton Rouge district support the thousands of students whose education was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina.”
The New School will receive $100,000 in startup money from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, part of a $3 million education grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation distributed to the City after Hurricane Katrina. ISA is also supporting the school through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The United Jewish Communities and UJA-Federation of New York, as part of their Katrina philanthropic initiative, is also supporting the development of the school through a $300,000 grant to F.E.G.S. Health and Human Services System, a broad based not-for-profit organization.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board was introduced to the ISA Model last year by Mr. Sternberg, who envisioned the positive impact a small, autonomous school would make in Baton Rouge – a City that absorbed an influx of 6,000 students from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Members of the school board also visited small schools in New York City, including The Bronx Lab School, to evaluate partners for its inaugural school reform initiative.
“I’m thrilled and honored that the Bronx Lab School’s model for inspiring student success will serve as a model for the East Baton Rouge Parish Laboratory Academy,” said Marc Sternberg, Principal of The Bronx Lab School. “As a dedicated partner in this initiative, the Bronx Lab team is eager to extend our assistance to our partner school’s students and faculty. For students who are native to Baton Rouge and those displaced by Katrina, we are eager to help craft a school that prepares every student for the next step – college.”
Like all ISA partner schools, the East Baton Rouge Parish Laboratory Academy will be designed and implemented based on The ISA Model, which is framed by Seven Principles: a college preparatory instructional program; Distributed CounselingTM; a dedicated team of teachers and counselors; continuous professional development; extended school day and year; parent involvement; and continuous organizational improvement.
ISA has 65 small schools and small learning communities and serves approximately 9,700 public school students in school districts in New York, Georgia and New Jersey. The Bronx Lab School opened in September 2004 and will complete its third year as a small school within the New York City Department of Education at the end of the 2006-07 school year.
About the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA) Focusing on improving academic achievement, the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA) is a leading school redesign partner that facilitates the transformation of low-performing high schools into small learning communities and small schools designed to prepare all students for success in college and beyond. Founded in 1990, ISA partners with school administrators and teachers to create and sustain intellectually rigorous and caring, personalized learning environments. A set of Seven Principles defines and guides the ISA Model. Building upon these Seven Principles, the Institute for Student Achievement collaborates with schools to create comprehensive plans and implementation strategies for school redesign that are customized to meet the unique needs of schools and districts. For more information contact us at (516) 812-6700 or visit www.studentachievement.org.
|
Why ISAAnnual ReportsVideos |