New Haven Academy Interdistrict Magnet
“My whole 12th grade has been a life-changing experience. This is why our school is so powerful. All the Choosing to Participate projects that seniors do—if you really take them, make them your own, you can go so far.”
- India B., student, New Haven Academy
"Recently, I had a student in my office make the call, in front of me, to [U.S. Rep.] Rosa DeLauro in connection with his project on Darfur. He had never done anything like that, and he turned to me and said, 'Wow, I can do that.'"
- Meredith Gavrin, Co-founder and Program Director, New Haven Academy
"Facing History allows us, and more importantly, our students, to interact with the past, to grapple with the difficult issues in the present, and make responsible informed decisions about the future of our democratic society."
- Frank Costanzo and Joe Corsetti, Teachers, New Haven Academy
New Haven Academy’s mission is to prepare all of its students to succeed in college and become active citizens able to make informed decisions about their lives and their communities. As a public interdistrict magnet school, New Haven Academy is open by lottery to students from New Haven and from the surrounding suburban communities. The founders of New Haven Academy, Greg Baldwin and Meredith Gavrin, decided to build the school on the twin pillars of the Coalition of Essential Schools and Facing History and Ourselves.
Facing History is infused throughout all aspects of the school in both resources and approach. All students participate in a two-year sequence of Facing History seminars: Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior in ninth grade and a course on Judgment, Justice, and Memory in tenth grade. In their 9th grade class, students study Germany in the 1920’s and 1930’s. They examine the factors that led to the rise of the Nazis and the Holocaust while looking at the individual choices that citizens made. In 10th grade, students analyze multiple examples of genocide and mass violence, focusing on Armenia, South Africa, Rwanda, and Darfur, and consider what justice looks like after genocide. Humanities electives in 11th and 12th grade incorporate Facing History themes and topics. For instance, one elective focuses exclusively on "Eyes on the Prize", a resource book based on the landmark documentary series on the American civil rights movement, and another uses the Facing History journey to track Native American history in the 20th century. Finally, as a capstone to their experience with Facing History, each senior is required to design and execute an individual, independent Social Action Project to address a social issue of local, national, or international scope. The projects reflect Facing History’s culminating theme of Choosing to Participate, which aims to engage students in thinking about what it means to be a good citizen and how they can make a difference.
“To be a ’Facing History school’ means, to us, that kids are thinking critically about everything—not just in academic work, but also about the choices they make on a daily basis, in school, in their communities, and about what their role in their world is going to be,” said Meredith Gavrin, co-founder of New Haven Academy.
Facing History also plays an important role in New Haven Academy’s entire school culture and climate. At bi-weekly Town Meetings, students are recognized for making any positive choice that, according to Robert Kennedy’s words, “sends forth a tiny ripple of hope” into the school community. Students who act strongly or courageously—for example, addressing fellow students who act with intolerance, or organizing community service efforts—are recognized as “upstanders.” In an annual schoolwide project, classes are interrupted for a full day, and students attend a series of special workshops that address an issue of social concern; for example, one theme has been “violence in the community.” Facing History resources and content are also a part of NHA advisories. This year, Facing History staff began working closely with students from each advisory so that students could facilitate discussions on issues important to them. Students then facilitated two units in their advisories, one around issues of identity and membership and the second on confronting homophobia. Finally, NHA, along with several other schools from Facing History’s Small Schools Network, is exploring ways to incorporate restorative justice into its disciplinary policies and practices, including an effort to initiate a student Fairness Committee.
While a high poverty school, NHA students are performing better than the average New Haven city school according to Connecticut state testing data. And, with 100% of graduating classes to date being accepted into college, the Facing History relationship seems to be helping NHA achieve its mission to help prepare all students to succeed in college and become active citizens able to make informed decisions about their lives and their communities.
In sparking discussions about identity, prejudice, racism, and tolerance as well as getting students to think critically about the repercussions of individual choices and argue for what they believe, New Haven Academy models how one school can incorporate Facing History’s resources and themes throughout the school to improve classroom climate and prepare students to be active and engaged citizens. Meredith Gavrin states, “Kids have to know about the world, want to do something about it, and believe they have the tools to do so. In Facing History classes, they learn about the world and begin to understand that people can make decisions and take action in ways that change the course of events, the way the world is.” According to one student, “Facing History is highly necessary at any age. Not only does it teach you about others, but you grow to learn to accept yourself too. That’s what Facing History did for me. I learned to accept myself.”
School Demographics
The New Haven Academy student body is approximately 60% Black, 20% Latino, and 20% White. Approximately 65% come from urban environments while 35% are from suburban environments, with around 70% of the students receiving free or reduced price lunch. Many of the students will be the first in their families to attend college or university. Of the classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009, 100% of the students have been accepted into college.
Through the generosity of the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust, Facing History and Ourselves has developed a nationwide small school network. As part of this network, these schools share best practices, develop professional ties with their peers, and receive ongoing support from Facing History. New Haven Academy is a participating member of this network.
"Facing History at NHA," New Haven Independent, 02/02/2007
For more information about Facing History and the Small School Network, please visit: www.facinghistory.org/smallschools
