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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Five Key Lessons for Mastery Learning Startup

As I see it, the biggest challenge we face in American public schools today is this: we've got an antiquated factory-based school model, and a workforce that has proven particularly effective in implementation. Let's face it: most of us were taught this way as students, and most of us were trained this way as teachers. I among.

Our 2015 Year in Review

5 new schools, 5 cities, 10 schools in the network, 1500 students served, 5 more schools slated to open, 4 new sets of resources, and more! Here are some highlights from our 2015.

iNACOL Highlights: Students and Teachers in Opportunity by Design Schools

"This school really taught me how to face challenges," is how Tyrone Barnes, a student at E 3 agle Academy, described how he has grown in a mastery-based learning environment. At iNACOL last week, a few of E 3 agle Academy's students and teachers joined their principal to share what they've learned since opening their doors last fall. Students and teachers shared how their schools' mastery-based learning environments have allowed them to be more independent, and to develop stronger relationships with each other…

Meet Us at iNACOL

Springpoint is leading two sessions at the iNACOL Symposium on November 10, and we hope you can join us! These sessions will be an opportunity to learn from school leaders in our network, and to meet students and teachers engaged in the work of Opportunity by Design.

Making Mastery Accessible: A Practitioner’s Guide to Mastery Learning

reDesign, an organization that collaborates with a range of clients to design innovative teaching and learning practices, just launched a suite of practical resources geared toward enabling teachers and school leaders to drive innovation in their own contexts.

A Teacher’s Perspective on School Start-Up: Alex Sosa, The Urban Assembly

Alex Sosa is a 9th grade English Language Arts teacher at the Urban Assembly Maker Academy, a new mastery-based high school that opened last fall. UA Maker focuses on design thinking, and uses rubrics to ground a competency-based approach to teaching and learning. Alex spoke with us this summer about his experience as a teacher during the school's first year. Springpoint: Congratulations on finishing off the year! What was most challenging for you this year? What was most exciting? Alex: One of the biggest opportunities I had this year was being able to build my own curriculum for my ELA classroom. I was able to experiment with what I thought would work best for students. I experimented with several different kinds of curricula and submit them to my administrators (Luke Bauer and Madelaine Hackett) for approval.

Reflections on New School Design: Kerry Tuttlebee & Chris Audette, 360 High School

Kerry Tuttlebee (Principal) and Chris Audette (Teacher/Facilitator) are opening 360 High School — a new, mastery-based high school in Providence, RI — this fall, with generous funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. We spoke with them about their experience designing the school, and what they're looking forward to in this first year. Springpoint: What made you want to start a new school? Kerry: Why wouldn't you want to start a new school? I've met many educators who say their dream is to start a school. For me, after consulting, working in the district, and working in a charter setting, I wanted to have some freedom and autonomy within a district. I wanted to do something different, and to prove that we could get very different results for our students, especially in a city like Providence. So, this opportunity was really tailor-made for me, not only because it's about creating a school that's awesome for students who attend, but because it's about creating a school that has the potential to influence wider change in the community.

From Conception to Launch: an Interview with Carlos Beato, Principal of International High School at Langley Park

We recently spoke with Carlos Beato, leader of Internationals High School at Langley Park (IHSLP), about the process of designing his school. IHSLP opens today in Prince George's County, Maryland, and it is centered on the needs of English language learners in the area. Springpoint: What made you want to start a high school? Carlos: Growing up, I always envisioned myself in the classroom. I was an ESOL student growing up. I wasn't in a monolingual class until fifth grade, and when I was, it really inspired me to do more and expect more of myself. Later, as an adult, it taught me to expect more of my students. One of the things that really turned it around for me was when I realized, in the midst of my classmates in fourth grade, that I was the only one moving on to monolingual class. I knew there was something more that needed to be done. I remember the day my teacher announced that I was moving on without any of my friends. It was a very intense experience, and it marked me. Since then, I've always strived for more, and that's why I wanted to open a school specifically for English Language Learners.

Inside Mastery Based High Schools: Profiles and Conversations

We're excited to release "Inside Mastery Based High Schools: Profiles and Conversations," a new set of resources drawn from our visits to six mastery-based high schools last year. We began this project to address a need for concrete examples of mastery-based learning in practice. Given the novelty of this work, we realized that many new school designers know the theory behind mastery-based learning but would benefit from a deeper an understanding of its day-to-day practicalities.

Reflecting on New, Competency-Based High School Designs at iNACOL 2014

Our partners in Cleveland, Philaelphia, and New York City spoke at iNACOL's Blended Learning Symposium earlier this month on the process of opening new mastery-based schools.
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