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Selection Criteria for New School Teams

CES schools share a common set of beliefs about the purpose and practice of schooling, known as the CES Common Principles. Based on decades of research and practice, the principles call for all schools to offer:

• Personalized and intellectually vibrant instruction to address individual needs and interests
• Small schools and classrooms, where teachers and students know each other well and work in an atmosphere of trust and high expectations
• Multiple student assessments based on performance of authentic tasks
• Democratic and equitable school policies and practice
• Close partnerships with the school's community

Selected small school design teams will demonstrate their potential to fully implement the CES Common Principles as measured by indicators delineated in the Small Schools Project Benchmarks. Selection will also be based on a number of other factors. We are looking for new school design teams that:

• Are made up of a diverse group of stakeholders
• Have the internal resources and capacity to open a successful school
• Have a viable location for the future school (or a way to secure such a location)
• Are a match with one of our existing Mentor Schools which would support the design team and fledgling school
• Clearly articulate the needs that the new school would address, the population to be served, and articulate a compelling overall mission and concept
• Are able to leverage local resources and support
• Are situated in regions and districts where favorable conditions exist that would ensure success
• Demonstrate support from the school district or chartering agency for the creation of the new school
• Articulate the team's mission, vision and alignment with CES's philosophy of schooling

Finally, a combination of factors including student demographics, geographical location, and district/local capacity, will inform CES's decision. Through this project, we are committed to meeting the needs of young people and communities that have traditionally been educationally underserved; the majority of new schools will primarily serve students of color and students from low-income families. Most of the new schools will also be located in urban areas. While maintaining these commitments, we are also seeking a diverse pool of new schools; therefore, the selection of individual school design teams will be informed by the overall balance of the cohort. For example, we would not want all of the new schools to be located in the same geographic region.

For further information on selection criteria for new schools, please contact Laura Flaxman, Co-Director of the Small Schools Project, at lflaxman@essentialschools.org.