Publications

Resources to support and inform all stages of the school design journey.

How Students Thrive
Positive Youth Development in Practice
Positive youth development is the foundation of any good school model and the backbone of our school design process. In this guide, we introduce the five key tenets of positive…

Positive youth development is the foundation of any good school model and the backbone of our school design process. In this guide, we introduce the five key tenets of positive youth development: caring, trusting, and supportive relationships; high expectations; opportunities to contribute; engaging learning experiences; and consistency. The publication features student voices and offers resources for assessing how well a school has embedded these principles into their school environment and outlines actionable suggestions for building these tenets into the school’s culture.
Learning from Great Practice
Schools to Visit in 2018
A practical resource for those interested in innovative and effective school practices, this list is organized by region and includes information on each school’s model, a brief overview of key…

A practical resource for those interested in innovative and effective school practices, this list is organized by region and includes information on each school’s model, a brief overview of key model elements, contact information, and links for more information. While not exhaustive, this directory can serve as a good starting point for educators as they determine the types of practices they want to see in action and explore further.
Inside Mastery Based High Schools
Profiles and Conversations
This collection of case studies from innovative, mastery-based schools across the country is based on interviews with practitioners and includes a robust set of sample resources from each school. The…

This collection of case studies from innovative, mastery-based schools across the country is based on interviews with practitioners and includes a robust set of sample resources from each school. The learnings and tools featured are useful for any practitioner interested in understanding more about mastery-based learning and how it can be effectively implemented to drive learning outcomes and cultivate student agency.
Promising and Effective Practices and Student-Centered Scheduling
Learnings from NYC Transfer Schools
A practical guide to an essential aspect of school design, this publication is based on real learnings and successes from across New York City’s alternative and transfer high schools, which…

A practical guide to an essential aspect of school design, this publication is based on real learnings and successes from across New York City’s alternative and transfer high schools, which serve over-age and under-credited students. It is centered around four key areas of student-centered programming and scheduling to meet student needs: creating versatile course pathways to graduation, dedicating necessary time and staff to complete individualized scheduling, providing nontraditional routes for students to earn credits, and creating a cohesive culture for students and staff.
The XQ Expert Series on School Mission & Culture
All great schools are mission-driven
Featuring our founding ED, JoEllen Lynch, this is Expert Q&A focuses school mission and culture. JoEllen and fellow panelists discuss best practices and challenges of articulating a school’s shared goals…

Featuring our founding ED, JoEllen Lynch, this is Expert Q&A focuses school mission and culture. JoEllen and fellow panelists discuss best practices and challenges of articulating a school’s shared goals and values, and how to create a student-centered culture that all stakeholders can rally around.
Youth Development and School Design Video
A conversation with Sabrina Evans Ellis and Michele Cahill
Michele Cahill speaks with Sabrina Evans Ellis (Youth Development Institute) about youth development and its impact on school design. Cahill discusses her wide-ranging experience in designing schools with youth development…

Michele Cahill speaks with Sabrina Evans Ellis (Youth Development Institute) about youth development and its impact on school design. Cahill discusses her wide-ranging experience in designing schools with youth development principles in mind, and ways in which youth development research can support student success in high school, college, and career.
Strategic Approaches to Growing Schools
A Reference Guide for School Design Teams
Developed in partnership with reDesign, this reference guide focuses on the unique opportunities and challenges of growing a school model, grade by grade. It offers a set of strategies to…

Developed in partnership with reDesign, this reference guide focuses on the unique opportunities and challenges of growing a school model, grade by grade. It offers a set of strategies to optimize the success of a school’s growth strategy in order to turn both challenges and opportunities into realized strengths. Practitioner spotlights and links to additional resources help guide readers as they delve deeper into school design and growth.

Blog

The news, research, ideas, and opinions from across the Springpoint ecosystem.

Featured Post

Five Lessons from a School Design Leader

At Springpoint, we are fortunate to work with a variety of dedicated and experienced practitioners to support their work to reimagine high school. The Barr Foundation’s Engage New England initiative, which invests in the design and launch of new school models for students who are off-track toward graduation, recently welcomed its…

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We’re Hiring!

As Springpoint grows and expands, we're looking to ramp up the capacity of our amazing team to better serve our increasing cadre of partners, including districts, charters, networks, schools, and other organizations. Check out the current openings.

Learning from Great Practice – Schools to Visit in 2017

Visiting schools can help practitioners learn from great practice. This guide is intended as a resource for school designers and school leaders as they look for interesting school models to see in action.

Shadowing a Student: reflections on my experience walking in the shoes of a high-achieving ELL

At International High School Langley Park (IHSLP), we spend a lot of time thinking about how to best serve English Language Learners (ELLs). That's because 100% of our students are ELLs, and many are recently arrived immigrants. But ELLs aren't a monolithic group of learners.

Pushing the Boundaries: Positive Youth Development and School Design

As educators, our role is to support young people on their developmental journey toward adulthood. In order to help them grow, we must give them autonomy in their learning. Especially in high school, young people must be able to make real choices and experience the consequences of those choices. By giving them these opportunities, we help them become independent, responsive, discriminating thinkers who bring discipline, fortitude, and curiosity to their work.

Lessons from High Schools Designed to Connect All Students to Success

To better understand options for students who are off track in the goal of graduating from high school, Barr commissioned Springpoint to visit a set of New England schools serving this population and to share their findings here.

How Students Thrive: Positive Youth Development in Practice

Schools are more than just places where young people acquire knowledge and skills for college and career. They are—first and foremost—places where young people form their identities and begin to see themselves as independent adults. Great schools guide young people in this essential effort by creating safe learning environments where students feel known, valued, supported, challenged, and recognized. This approach, known as positive youth development, is the focus of our newest publication.

Iteration in Action: The Urban Assembly Maker Academy

On a recent afternoon at The Urban Assembly Maker Academy, a group of students constructs a miniature car out of a shoebox and detached racecar wheels. The car holds an egg as it rolls down a ramp and two students watch their egg fly out of its cotton-ball harness; another group's egg is crushed when it hits the bottom. The activity measures students' mastery of key concepts in physics, like speed and velocity. Using a teacher-designed data tracking form, each group records how effectively their car ferried the egg. Some immediately begin redrafting their designs, taking their cars apart and tweaking the configuration of the components.

Iteration in Action: PACT Academy

If you ask one of the 200 students at PACT High School about grades, one of the first things you'll hear is "we can't fail here." That's because this high school is designed to foster positive youth development through strong relationships between students and adults. It's also because PACT does not give failing grades. Instead of an "F," students receive the designation "not approaching proficiency." This remains on a student's transcript until they master the content in their course, which they can continue to work towards throughout their high school experience. This mastery-based approach means some students can be working to master standards from their first year after they've already moved onto their second year coursework. Others are able to skip ahead—in courses like Health, math, and science—using one of several available tech tools and with teacher supports. In the words of one student, "if you don't get something, you work on it until you master it."

Iteration in Action: Eagle Academy

At E3agle Academy, a public high school in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, students support one another in mastering rigorous, college-ready standards. With a personalized approach and a focus on social justice, students are encouraged to connect classroom content to their experience in the real world, and to move at their own pace along a sequence of clear benchmarks.

Iteration in Action: Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design

On a typical day at DSISD, groups of four or five students are reading different novels in ELA class. They discuss the characters and plots of their books, record standards-based observations and respond to questions on their Chromebooks. One group is predicting a protagonist's next moves, and another is using context clues to infer the definitions of key words.
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