• Testimonials

  • "This school would not exist if it were not for the National Equity Project. If someone tells me they want to start or redesign a school, I tell them they have to work with the Project. They helped us build a community that was the foundation of our academic success – they create the conditions for success.”

    David Silver, Founding Principal
    Think College Now (CA Distinguished School)
    Oakland, CA

School Design & Redesign

Achieving equity through school design

Since 2000, National Equity Project coaches have worked with over 1000 educators to dramatically transform their schools.

The school turnaround process can reignite the passion and pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning among educators, students, and families. We have extensive experience in supporting school turnaround, new school design, school redesign, and smaller learning communities (SLC) creation at the elementary and secondary levels.

Coaches work with school leaders and a “design team” that can include students, parents, teachers and community members to develop, communicate, and implement their vision of a transformed school. Services range from the technical (school design project management and master scheduling) to the leadership and cultural dimensions of school change. Once the school reopens, we offer continued coaching support for school staff in instruction, embedded professional learning, and cultural competence to ensure sustainable progress in teacher capacity and student learning.

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“We got rid of the excuses and really focused on making positive changes.” – Recent Principal Reflection

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Turnaround & School Improvement Grants (SIG)

Race to the Top, School Improvement Grants (SIG), and other school turnaround or transformation efforts provide great opportunities, but great challenges as well. Demands for quick turnaround do not always take into account potential negative social and cultural effects on the school community. National Equity Project coaching supports Turnaround and SIG schools to meet federal and state requirements while empowering the school community to create the conditions for sustainable improvement.

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Indicators of success include:

  • Ongoing team collaboration to identify, innovate, and apply gap-closing instructional practices.
  • Dramatic improvement in equitable student outcomes.
  • Increased equity leadership supported by a system of ongoing, authentic professional development.
  • More open adult discourse about the roles of race, class, and culture in teaching and learning.
  • Increased community engagement and parental involvement.

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Small Schools and Smaller Learning Communities

We have supported the opening over 50 new small schools and smaller learning communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. We coach Design Teams of educators and parents to create and launch small schools committed to meeting the needs of every child, building collaborative relationships among staff, students, and families in the process. Through the small schools movement in which we played a lead role, Oakland Unified has been the most improved urban school district in California for the past six years.

Small schools aren’t right for every community, but small school design features such as personalization, project-based learning, career-technical education, advisories, and interdisciplinary courses can be critical elements in school turnaround and increasing achievement. We will work with your school community to design a dramatically improved teaching and learning experience for staff, students, and families.

CALIFORNIA

  • Anna Yates Elementary, Emeryville
  • Emeryville High School, Emeryville
  • Berkeley High School, Berkeley
  • Hogan High, Vallejo
  • Jefferson High, Daly City
  • Washington High, Fremont

OREGON

  • Newberg High School, Newberg
  • Roosevelt Campus, Portland

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Download a PDF summary of our School Redesign services.