NYC COLLABORATES HOSTS SUCCESS ACADEMY IN A HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP FOR HUNDREDS OF DISTRICT & CHARTER SCHOOL EDUCATORS

One of NYC’s Highest-Performing Charter Networks Shares Unique Approach to Close Reading

(New York, NY, February 26, 2015) – Hundreds of experts, public school leaders, teachers and students from across New York City came together to participate in a highly sought after professional development workshop hosted by NYC Collaborates: The Success Academy Approach to Close Reading at the New York Academy of Medicine

This first-ever interactive partnership between Success Academy and NYC Collaborates was designed to bring district and charter educators a rare look into Success Academy’s approach to close reading – Success Academy students post some of the city and state’s highest scores on the State’s Common Core-aligned ELA and math tests. The workshop integrated best methods developed over years of work in literacy instruction and teacher and leadership development.

Created and led by Arin Lavinia, Senior Managing Director of Academic Experience at Success Academy and co-author of Mission Possible: How the Secrets of Success Academies Can Work in Any School, participants were able to experience firsthand aspects of Success’s approach to professional development, and more specifically, intellectual preparation and practice for adults.

“Arin Lavinia has been a critical partner in developing Success Academy’s culture of academic excellence and adult learning, which has been key to our outstanding student achievement,” said Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy. “I’m delighted that NYC Collaborates has provided us with an opportunity to share her expertise with a large audience.”

“Like professional musicians or top athletes, the best educators work to improve their practice not simply through repetition, but with rigorous intellectual preparation and study,” said Arin Lavinia, Senior Managing Director of Academic Excellence for Success. “It’s the work done outside the classroom that most profoundly improves student achievement. What I hope participants take away from today’s workshop is an approach to planning, student work study, and targeted practice that will produce truly engaging lessons in the classroom.”

“True collaboration is essential for effective and productive professional development and helps us achieve our mission of encouraging public and open conversation and partnerships that unite district and charter schools,” said Jaclyn Leffel, Director of NYC Collaborates. “Our first partnership with Success Academy allowed for a sharing of techniques, tips and best practices from some of the highest-achieving leaders in public education today, and resulted in takeaways that can be used in classrooms across the city.”

###

About NYC Collaborates
NYC Collaborates creates opportunities for educators from all types of public schools to come together to share information and collaborate to improve student achievement. Our members believe that public schools—whether district or charter—have a collective and mutual obligation to ensure that all students in the City graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college, work and life.

Spearheaded by the New York City Charter School Center and New York City’s Department of Education, NYC Collaborates is funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To learn more visit: http://www.nyccollaborates.org

About Success Academy
Founded in 2006, Success Academy is a free public charter school network operating 32 schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Admission is open to all New York City families. Students are admitted by random lottery, held each April. Last year, Success Academy schools ranked in the top 1% in math and the top 3% in English among all New York State schools on the state’s proficiency exams. Across the Success Academy network of K-12 schools, 76% of students are from low-income households; 8.5% are English Language Learners, and 12% are special needs students. About 94% of students are children of color. For more information about Success Academy, go to Successacademies.org.