SUCCESS ACADEMY ANNOUNCES BOLD NEW VISION OF GREAT SCHOOLING AT SCALE, EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING EQUITY AND ACCESS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DECEMBER 15, 2023
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SUCCESS ACADEMY ANNOUNCES BOLD NEW VISION OF GREAT SCHOOLING AT SCALE, EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING EQUITY AND ACCESS
New Learning Content and Pedagogy Will Provide 13 Years of Integrated, Continuous Learning for K–12 Students in NY’s Fifth Largest School District
New York, NY, December 15, 2023 — Building on an unprecedented track record of student achievement, Success Academy Charter Schools today announced a breakthrough learning approach that will begin in the 2024–25 school year and continue each new school year. Dubbed “Moonshot” for the sheer ambition of its scope, Success Academy’s initiative seeks to revolutionize K–12 public education and create a new national model for excellence, equity, and access.
Success Academy’s Moonshot is a reverse-engineered learning experience that starts with the desired outcome — the knowledge and skills students need to excel in college and life — and works backward to build a singular, coherent curriculum across all subjects and all grades. Each year of a student’s 13 years is utilized to its fullest and every lesson will be integrated and connected, from the first day of kindergarten to the last day of 12th grade. Its groundbreaking content provides a continuous 13-year trajectory of learning and intellectual preparedness that is unrivaled in public education today.
“We call it our Moonshot because it will take students to new heights of college preparedness,” said Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy Founder and CEO, “It is also designed to make teaching easier and more satisfying. At the same time, we’ve made a major investment in teacher development and compensation.”
At a time when school districts across the country are lowering standards, inflating grades, and limiting opportunities, Success Academy is raising the bar on expectations and increasing access for its 20,000 students, most of them low-income children of color. Highlights of the Moonshot include:
- In elementary school, students will learn logic as well as history, in addition to math, reading, writing, and science five days a week.
- To support Success Academy’s commitment that 60% of graduates major in STEM fields, the redesign includes twice-a-day math blocks, the first for math concepts and procedures, and the second for complex problem solving.
- K–8 science will prioritize quantitative science. In middle school, students will have learning sequences that connect across multiple disciplines with a special focus on physics, which will culminate in the Physics Regents exam for eighth graders.
- Middle schoolers will study world history, with eighth graders taking AP World History.
- In high school, all students will take from 13 to 18 AP courses including AP BC Calculus,AP Macroeconomics, and AP Art History over the course of four years. New high school courses will include Engineering Design, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics C, AP U.S. History, AP Language and Composition. In two years, AP African American Studies and AP Psychology will be added.
- The redesign has eliminated non-essential learning and redundancies, creating more time for students to gain in-depth learning in specific subject areas.
- Success Academy’s Moonshot also includes rich art, music, dance, and theater as well as debate, coding, chess, and sports. The arts program utilizes partnerships with great cultural institutions such as the Mannes Prep Pre-College Music Programs, Fashion Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, New York City Ballet, and Sotheby’s, among others.
“In too many schools, activity is prioritized over actual learning. The quality of the learning tasks and the thinking expected of students is shockingly low,” Lisa Sun, Success Academy’s Chief Learning Officer, explained, “Our redesign puts a premium on high-quality texts and problems, and prioritizes K–12 progress and alignment to increase student learning density.”
To meet the challenges of successfully implementing the Moonshot, Success Academy will also make an unprecedented investment in teachers’ base salaries and incentives, increasing total compensation by more than 20% beginning in 2024–25, with significant increases over the next three years. Success is also working to free educators of repetitive and time-consuming tasks through a host of new automations and digital solutions in the classroom that will enable teachers, principals, and superintendents to focus on learning quality.
“We are proud to make this important investment in our educators. Our teachers are invaluable. They will lead in implementing the Moonshot in the classroom and we want them to feel a continued sense of value and our gratitude,” said LaMae de Jongh, Success Academy’s Chief Schooling Officer.
No other public school district in America utilizes reverse-engineered, connected learning content to provide a seamless, continuous learning experience for students from the age of five to 18. Success Academy’s Moonshot will serve as a beacon for innovation and continue to prove to the nation what is possible in large public school districts.
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About Success Academy
Since its founding in 2006, Success Academy has created a national model of K–12 access to excellence for children across all demographics. The majority of our 20,000 students are children of color from low-income households in disadvantaged neighborhoods admitted through a random public lottery. To date, 100% of our graduates have been accepted to college, many to highly selective institutions. Our distinctive K–12 approach, designed as a holistic 13-year educational trajectory, leads to student outcomes that outpace even those in affluent suburban schools. We regularly share our curriculum and methods with educators and school leaders across the country.
For more information about Success Academy, go to successacademies.org.
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