New School Foundation

Frequently Asked Questions

How did The New School Foundation get started?
Why does The New School Foundation fund programs in individual schools?
Who do the schools serve?
What does the Foundation’s program include?

How is the New School different from a charter school?
Will the program eliminate the achievement gap?
Do you make grants to other schools?
How much does the program cost?
How long will your program be in the schools?
How do you plan to sustain the program?
How is the Foundation different from the Alliance for Education?

How did The New School Foundation get started?
The Foundation began in 1998 as a unique public/private partnership with Seattle Public Schools. It originated as the shared vision of Seattle businessman and philanthropist Stuart Sloan and John Stanford, Seattle Public Schools superintendent from 1995 until his death in 1998. The partnership’s approach to educational reform is to transform one school at a time, and in the process, create new models for private support of public education, new sources of community support and new alignments of public resources. Since its founding the New School Foundation has contributed nearly $15,000,000 to Seattle Public Schools.

Why does The New School Foundation fund programs in individual schools?

The New School Foundation invests deeply in public schools to support innovation and excellence. We believe that children from all family backgrounds can achieve at high levels, but that Washington schools are inadequately funded to assure that children from low income families have an equal shot at success. We are furthermore convinced that investments in early prevention are more cost effective than paying for remediation later on.

Who do the schools serve?

Our first project with T.T. Minor Elementary School in Seattle's Central District lasted for eight years, from 1998 to 2006, and has now transitioned to a less formal support relationship. Our second project established the New School at South Shore in Seattle's economically and racially diverse Rainier Beach neighborhood beginning in 2002. The New School will be in its temporary location at the Columbia building until fall 2009 while a newstate-of-the-art building, designed specifically for a PreK - 8 program, is built at the Rainier and Henderson site. That partnership is currently in the middle of a ten-year commitment, and is achieving outstanding results.

What does the Foundation’s program include?
"Academic achievement by any loving means necessary" is one way we summarize the New School Foundation approach. Through private support, we fund a comprehensive plan that begins when a child is four-years-old and makes every effort to grow its own students and teachers. The plan is deep, rigorous and sustained over time. We anticipate that each partnership will have some unique features, but will include the following key elements:

• start early with high quality, integrated Pre-Kindergarten;
   • a wellness program that fosters development of the whole child;
   • small class sizes allow for individualized teaching and learning;
   • before and after school program extends learning time;
   • professional development;

The Foundation also actively encourages parent involvement in the schools and seeks to develop community partnerships.

How is the New School different from a charter school?

Occasionally people compare the New School at South Shore to a charter school. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately managed public schools. They are authorized in 44 states but not here in Washington.

The New School is a Seattle public school that receives a grant from a private foundation that has no authority over the school. All employees at the New School are Seattle School District teachers, counselors and administrators, just like any other school in the district.

Here are some of the key differences between the New School and charter schools:

Funding

Public school districts give funds to charter school managers to run the schools.

The New School Foundation gives funds to the school district to augment public funding for the New School.
Management
Charter schools are managed by the entitiy that holds the charter.
The New School is managed by the Seattle School District, just like all other schools in the district. The only requirements of the grant to the school are that it must include Pre-K, it must have a sophistictaed academic plan, it must have a wellness program and it must involve parents and community.

Regulations

Charter schools are exempted from many public school regulations, except for those concerning health and safety and basic educational requirements.

The New School is subject to all of the same regulations as any other public school in Seattle and Washington.

Unions

Charter schools are not subject to district collective bargaining agreements.

The New School is fully governed by the existing Seattle Education Association contract, as well as contracts for all other classes of employees. The only difference in hiring between the New School and other schools is that the school can hire three teachers early each year, in consideration of the fact that the school is adding a grade level each year. The school board has expressed the opinion that other public schools that are also growing (such as schools that are expanding to K-8) should also have this consideration.

Accountability

A charter school can be closed if it fails to meet academic goals or fiscal management goals specified in its charter.

The Seattle School District’s Chief Academic Officer participates in an annual review of the New School and can cancel the partnership at any time if the school’s performance or the relationship with the foundation is unacceptable.

Will the program eliminate the achievement gap?
Every element of the holistic program was carefully selected because of its research-based ability to boost students’ academic achievement. The Foundation’s commitment to supporting the program in depth and over time will have the most lasting affect. The program offers a rigorous academic focus and must meet Seattle Public School standards and Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements. To give a sense of the enormity of opportunity our partnership creates, in 2006, the New School's low income third graders were twice as likely to read at grade level than those at neighboring schools. And education experts have found that third grade reading competency is a strong predictor of a child's long term educational prospects.

Do you make grants to other schools?
The Foundation currently supports a defined program at The New School and does not make grants to other schools or organizations at this time. We are committed to working with public schools and would be happy to add more schools as funds become available.

How much does the program cost?
Currently the Foundation is contributing approximately $1.3 million a year to The New School. Our grant raised per student funding at the school by about forty percent in 2006, and the enhancement level will decline somewhat in subsequent years. This level of enhancement is consistent with the findings of a recent study commissioned by Washington State, which advised that the state's education expenditures are about thirty percent shy of what would be required to meet our aspirations for our students. For more information or to receive a copy of the Foundation’s audited financial statement, please call the Foundation office at (206) 407-2150. Since its founding in 1998 the Foundation has contributed nearly $15,000,000 to Seattle Public Schools.

How long will your program be in the schools?
The foundation's commitment to T.T. Minor was for eight years and ended in 2006. The current commitment to The New School is for ten years and is scheduled to end in 2012.

How do you plan to sustain the program?
We are currently looking into a variety of ways to sustain the most effective components of the program. These include reallocation of existing resources, new revenue sources of public funds, new partnerships and private support. The city of Seattle has partnered with T.T. Minor and The New School through their Step Ahead grant program, which provides funding for a portion of the Pre-Kindergarten seats in each school.

How is the Foundation different from the Alliance for Education?
The Alliance for Education supports all Seattle Public Schools through raising and managing funds and sponsoring programs such as leadership development and technology workshops. The New School Foundation supports programs at South Shore in a deep and sustained way. Both organizations are important venues for private support of public schools and offer many opportunities for community involvement in schools.