Nonprofit of the Week: New Leaders for New Schools

This past March I had a cool opportunity to visit North Star Academy, a charter school located in Newark, New Jersey. Our founder, Pankaj, and I were invited to tour the school as guests of New Leaders for New Schools, Tonic's nonprofit of the week. Bleary-eyed after a late-night flight to New York, we boarded a car in New York City early Thursday morning and headed across the Hudson to Newark.

Without my usual dose of morning coffee, we arrived at a seemingly run-down school on the outskirts of the city; as we entered and headed to North Star Academy in the basement, vibrant and energetic children greeted us. Something seemed different, and I was in for a special experience over the next couple of hours.

Our next generation's future depends on the ability of all young people to reach high levels of knowledge and achievement, but an education gap disproportionately affecting students of color and students from low-income backgrounds makes this chasm even more evident. We have also seen a shortage of good teachers and principals to help bridge this gap, especially in urban and inner-city schools. North Star Academy instilled new faith in me about resolving this problem.

We met dedicated teachers and involved students. We watched as the children finished breakfast, helped clear the room and started the day with music and dance. I had heard that music programs were for the most part gone from public schools, but not true at North Star. Enriched with a Managing Director, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo, who graduated from New Leaders for New Schools, the school has a top-notch and demanding curriculum, making a difference in the lives of many elementary school children. Here's what Paul, his faculty and their students have accomplished:

Highest college acceptance and placement rates among all schools in New Jersey, regardless of income, from 2006-2007 One of four schools nationwide to receive the 2007-2008 Education Trust “Dispelling the Myth” Award US Department of Education Title 1 Distinguished School Award, presented to only two New Jersey schools sustaining high learning gains from 2006-2007

Amazing!  New Leaders for New Schools' mission is one that stands out amongst educational nonprofits:

Forward progression and true transformation of public education is the next civil rights movement. New Leaders for New Schools is at the forefront of this movement, breaking new ground with dramatic improvements in urban school performance. We elevate urban student achievement beyond ordinary to extraordinary. Stellar academic success achieved by New Leaders principals in some of America’s major urban centers is clear evidence that children from all communities can achieve at the highest levels.

Our leaders are influential agents of change who impact not only students and schools but entire communities, producing high school graduates well prepared for college, careers, and beyond. It is our mission to ensure high academic achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding leaders and supporting the performance of the urban public schools they lead at scale.

By identifying and training the next generation of leaders in urban public schools, New Leaders for New Schools is at the forefront of revamping education as we know it. With offices in the New York tri-state area, Chicago, Memphis, the Bay Area, New Orleans, Washington DC and Milwaukee, New Leaders is instituting strong leadership around the US. Please visit the New Leaders for New Schools' website for more information or to apply for its leadership training program. The organization's vision is inspiring — to help lead these children though the system to make it to college. In fact, New Schools' vision is "that by 2020, in at least ten cities, every student will be on track to graduate from high school ready for success in college, careers, and citizenship."  That's quite remarkable in an age where we hear too much about our declining education system.  Check them out. Photo Source: North Star Academy website