About the Report and Schools for a New Society

The framework outlined in this document presents a systemic theory for how districts can transform their high schools into equitable systems that ensure that all young people have access to high-quality education that prepares them for postsecondary education, an increasingly demanding workforce, and engaged and active citizenship.

Developed collectively by Carnegie Corporation, the SNS technical support team, made up of staff from the Academy for Educational Development, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and the Institute for Educational and Social Policy, the Collaborative Communications Group, and the seven SNS sites (see About SNS), this publication represents the evolution of both TA's thinking and the work in the seven districts over the past five years.

Highlighting the complex interrelationship of the elements necessary to effectively transform high schools, the framework presented in this report illustrates that developing an equitable system of high schools involves much more that adjusting the structure and operation of schools, but requires reforming the entire education system to ensure that the community and the system itself support redesigned high schools in ways that transform core teaching and learning practices at the classroom level.

In this framework, the elements for redesigning education systems include:
  1. A portfolio of schools offering a range of high-quality options to meet the diverse needs of all students
  2. A redesigned district to support the new array of schools and the teachers and leaders who work in them
  3. Engaged youth who are active in their own learning and also contribute to and support the redesign
  4. An engaged community to demand and support the redesign
  5. A working partnership with other organizations to enhance capacity and support sustainability

About Schools for a New Society

Schools for a New Society is Carnegie Corporation of New York's $60-million initiative designed to reinvent high school education. Launched in 2001, with additional support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the goal of Schools for a New Society is to transform the high school experience of more than 140,000 students in more than 100 schools. The seven districts are Boston, Hamilton County (Chattanooga), Houston, Providence, Sacramento, San Diego, and Worcester (MA).