Chancellor Fariña Announces New Learning Partners Plus Program

NEW YORK – As part of her commitment to bolstering collaboration between schools, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña today announced the launch of Learning Partners Plus and the continued growth of the Learning Partners Program. The new Learning Partners Plus program matches 10 host schools with 61 partner schools that will collaborate to improve in specific focus areas. Each host school will partner with five to seven schools based on a variety of factors such as grade, location, demographics, and learning focus area. In addition to Learning Partners Plus, the DOE will also continue the Learning Partners Program with 75 schools. This is more than a threefold increase from 21 schools that participated in the spring 2014 pilot. Both programs will be partially funded through grants from the Wallace Foundation. All totaled, 146 schools, with over 82,000 students across all five boroughs, will participate in Learning Partners next year - larger than the size of the entire Washington D.C. school system. 

All 10 host schools in Learning Partners Plus are led by master principals from schools that were previously host schools in the Learning Partners Program. These 10 host principals were selected because of their strong performance as host principals and because they demonstrated a capacity to support more than two partner schools. As a result of provisions in the CSA contract, the DOE named them master principals that will support the growth of multiple schools. Master principals will get an additional $25,000 and will be expected to: support the development of customized cycles of learning to drive improvements for partner schools; plan and host frequent school inter-visitations; support partner principals with leadership development; serve as a thought partner to schools in their cohort; and engage in monthly leadership trainings throughout the year. 

In an effort to further bolster the City’s leadership pipeline, select assistant principals in Learning Partners schools will participate in the DOE’s Assistant Principal Institute. These assistant principals will attend a customized program designed to prepare them for a principal role in one to three years. 

“Great educators are the foundation of a great school system, and by empowering our principals and teachers to share strong practices we are developing the expertise they need to succeed. When our schools collaborate, it’s our students who benefit,” said Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “Learning Partners Plus recognizes strong leaders in our schools and utilizes them to help improve student outcomes. This is an important program, which builds on our commitment to fostering collaboration between schools, and it will have a tremendous impact on all the school communities involved and beyond.” 

“It's exciting to double the reach of this successful program by bringing together even more school leaders and teachers from across the City to collaborate in service of school improvement,” said Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning Phil Weinberg. “Learning Partners Plus positions some of our strongest leaders to open their doors and work closely with educators from other schools to accelerate progress and create more opportunities for all students." 

“As the principal of a host school last year, I have seen the success of Learning Partners on our school community first hand. We have been able to create a learning community where teachers and staff develop their craft and learn from one another, and the results are evident in the classroom. We are thrilled to have the chance now to grow our learning community as part of the Learning Partners Plus program. This is an opportunity that I know will benefit our teachers, staff, families and most importantly, our students,” said Ed Tom, principal of Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, who is a Learning Partners Plus host principal. 

Schools involved in Learning Partners Plus and the Learning Partners Program span across all five boroughs and include pre-K, elementary, middle, and high schools. Over 260 schools applied to be part of Learning Partners and the Learning Partners Plus programs for the 2015 – 16 school year. Of the schools in the new Learning Partners Plus cohort, 28 are in Brooklyn, 14 are in the Bronx, 9 are in Queens, 12 are in Manhattan, and 8 are on Staten Island. Of the 10 host-partner cohorts, 2 are composed of elementary schools, three have elementary and middle schools together, 2 are composed just of middle schools, and 2 are composed of high schools. A complete list of schools involved in Learning Partners Plus is below. 

Throughout the year, the Office of Interschool Collaborative Learning (OICL) will observe and record strong practices and strategies, as well as effective collaborative learning activities, introduced during Learning Partners sessions. A member of the OICL team will provide tailored facilitation, professional development, project management and/or coaching to each school in the cohort throughout the school year. Both host and partner schools will receive a $5,000 allocation for program activities. 

The DOE’s Research and Policy Support Group (RPSG) will continue to conduct ongoing evaluations of both programs. Evaluations of the 2014-2015 Learning Partners Program conducted by RPSG showed highly positive results:

• 90% of survey participants believe their school made positive changes based on what they learned from other schools in their triad 
• 88% of survey participants feel like they have a community of colleagues outside of their school

Here is a complete list of schools participating in Learning Partners Plus. 

Elementary Schools 
P.S. 112 Jose Celso Barbosa, Host 
P.S. 57 James Weldon Johnson 
P.S. 206 Jose Celso Barbosa 
Dos Puentes Elementary School 
P.S. 132 Juan Pablo Duarte 
Professor Juan Bosch Public School 
P.S. 163 Alfred E. Smith 
Samara Community School 

P.S. 249 The Caton, Host 
P.S. 161 The Crown 
New Bridges Elementary 
P.S. 49 Willis Avenue 
P.S. 208 Elsa Ebeling 
P.S. 268 Emma Lazarus 
P.S. 276 Louis Marshall 

Elementary/Middle Schools 
P.S. 214, Bronx, Host 
P.S. 109 Sedgwick 
P.S. 143 Louis Armstrong 
P.S. 106, Queens 
J.H.S. 052 Inwood 
Global Technology Preparatory 
Ronald Edmonds Learning Center II 

P.S. 321 William Penn, Host 
P.S. 009 Teunis G. Bergen 
P.S. 282 Park Slope 
Academy of Arts and Letters 
The Maurice Sendak Community School 
Sunset Park Avenues Elementary School 
Riverdale Avenue Community School 
Riverdale Avenue Middle School 

I.S. 034 Tottenville, Host 
I.S. 075 Frank D. Paulo 
I.S. 051 Edwin Markham 
South Richmond High School I.S./P.S 
I.S. 061 William A Morris 
P.S. 001 Tottenville 
P.S. 6 Corporal Allan F. Kivlehan School 
P.S. 042 Eltingville 

Middle Schools 
J.H.S. 088 Peter Rouget, Host 
Corona Arts and Sciences Academy 
I.S. 5 - The Walter Crowley Intermediate School 
Sunset Park Prep 
I.S. 392 
P.S. 230 Doris L. Cohen 
Bronx Writing Academy 

School for Global Leaders, Host 
M.S. 267 Math, Science & Technology 
J.H.S. 383 Philippa Schuyler 
The School for the Urban Environment 
J.H.S. 210 Elizabeth Blackwell 
Middle School for Art and Philosophy 
Life Sciences Secondary School 

J.H.S. 216 George J. Ryan, Host 
P.S./M.S 042 R. Vernam 
I.S. 254, Bronx 
The Forward School 
J.H.S. 185 Edward Bleeker 
Village Academy 

High Schools 
Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, Host 
Bronx Leadership Academy High School 
Bronx High School for Law and Community Service 
Belmont Preparatory High School 
Pelham Preparatory Academy 
Theater Arts Production Company 
Bronxdale High School 

East Brooklyn Community High School, Host 
Brooklyn Frontiers High School 
High School for Excellence and Innovation 
Brooklyn Democracy Academy 
Brooklyn Bridge Academy 
Green School: An Academy for Environmental 

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Contact: Chancellor’s Press Office (212) 374-5141