Website Info from the Early 2000s

Teachers study and implement Jean Piaget's constructivist theory in order to provide an appropriate learning environment, understand the nature of knowledge, teaching, and learning, as well as to develop a relevant and challenging curriculum.

Our shared knowledge about teaching and learning shapes our program, our roles as educators, and the environment in which learning happens. The beliefs and practices of The New City School educators are founded in current research and educational theory, and they compliment our own experiences as parents, teachers, and learners. They include:

• Learning is mental action. Knowledge is a consequence of mental action. Learning comes from resolving challenging issues and solving relevant problems. People do not and cannot absorb knowledge — learners construct reality (truth) as they question and act on the environment in order to make sense of it.
• Learners thrive in an environment where teachers respect them and take them seriously; in order to earn the trust of students and families, teachers must understand their students' needs and interests.
• People are competent learners. Throughout life, people (babies, children, youth, adults) know how to learn and continue to do so, even without "instruction" and often in spite of it.
• We use our senses, experiences, and logic to build physical, social, and logico-mathematical knowledge. These are the three types of knowledge, according to researcher and biologist Jean Piaget.
• Learners are not "blank slates" for teachers to "write on." Children have knowledge, beliefs, life experiences, and culture that they bring with them to school and that they call on as they learn. Intellectual growth is not linear; it often occurs as a sudden or dramatic leap of understanding, causing the learner to reexamine what s/he believes.
• Learning is social; people teach and learn from one another and learners develop confidence as they play a variety of roles, from novice to expert, in the contexts of classroom and living.
• Young children learn through play; they need time to grow through pretending, exploring, practicing, and inventing. The learning environment should be free of stress in order for the learner to thrive.
• Learning cannot be forced, but it can be reinforced. Knowledge is in the individual mind; it does not exist separately from or outside of people's thinking, and it neither begins nor ends in the school.

Active, project-based learning is at the core of the New City School curriculum. Projects are long-term investigations that provide opportunities for the integration of exploration, logical reasoning, critical thinking, literacy development, community action, historical perspective, and creative expression. They are driven by curricular outcome goals (California State Standards and our charter) as well as student interest; projects and investigations culminate in presentations and/or demonstrations at the Student-Led Conferences (SLC) and the Performances/Festivals (Fall Harvest, Evening for Peace and Human Rights, Spring Garden Music and Dance).

Specific skills and relevant social knowledge are taught in classroom-level lessons and reinforced through activities and games in class and in projects to be done at home. At the end of the SLC, parents are informed of ways that they too can reinforce their child's success in school through increased communication and follow-through of lessons being studied in school. All families must supervise nightly reading at home, as the children prepare for class.

Following each Program Audit, the NCS curriculum is reviewed and revised by each of the teaching teams with clear guidance and feedback from our curriculum consultants, the Content Standards for California Public Schools, the California State Frameworks, the District, and our own Charter. The result of this process is an ever-strengthening program that is "owned" by the staff and highly transparent to grantors, critics, and interested supporters.

The New City School–Long Beach Boulevard is our newest campus. It opened in August of 2007. This 12,000 square foot building, originally built as a warehouse, now has an open classroom floorplan, a large multipurpose music room and an incredible outdoor play space. Located alongside the Metro Blue Line, at the Pacific Coast Highway stop, this school is providing a high quality alternative to the neighborhood. The innovative design has already won praise from education and architecture experts. This light filled space is alive with 220 K-2 and 6-8 students. From its art filled walls, colorful murals and large play space and garden, it is a neighborhood gem in the making.

In 1999, two public school teachers, Ted Hamory and Stephanie Lee, began working to gather support for a new school in downtown Long Beach, California. They led a group of parents and educators who were concerned about the state of public education and who were equally dedicated to providing a high quality, free and public educational alternative.

The New City School opened its doors in August of 2000 to eighty students in grades K-3 with the goal of becoming a model for urban K-8 learning in the 21st century. In five and one half years, the founders of the New City School have transformed their hopeful "pitch" into a vibrant, successful school that now serves 190 children. The student body has grown steadily, one grade each year, and the school will complete its original charter plan by graduating the first class of eighth graders in June 2006.

The dual-language (English/Spanish) immersion, community and arts-focused program have collectively developed a strong, positive reputation in the city of Long Beach and beyond. For example, NCS was recognized in 2004 by the Long Beach City Council for its outstanding community service, while monthly visitation days and popular performing arts events attract many visitors, prospective parents, community leaders, and future students. The popularity of the New City School has resulted in a waiting list that has more children than there are enrolled in the school.

Several professors from nearby universities send their student teachers and volunteers to train with NCS master teachers, and several have taught their classes at the beautiful NCS site so that their teacher candidates can be exposed to the program as well as the staff and teachers who make it a reality each day.

The New City School has achieved so much in its first six years. The school has grown from a wish into a model for academic learning, community engagement and teaching the value of cultural, linguistic, and intellectual diversity. The staff, Board of Directors, and parents (with support from the LBUSD, the city, and many other supporters) have developed an innovative curriculum, renovated an abandoned building, and created a center for ongoing teacher support and professional development. As evidence of its success and validation of its concept, the New City School Charter was renewed in December 2004 by the Long Beach Unified School District with overwhelming support from their Board and hundreds of community members.

The New City School — a model for urban learning in the 21st century

We will provide a thoughtful, healthy, intimate environment in which community building is valued over competition. Through a curriculum enriched by the arts, technology, and the natural environment, we will teach students to develop into independent critical thinkers who demonstrate expertise in reasoning and problem solving, English and Spanish literacy, creative expression, and historical perspective. Toward these goals, the families and the staff of The New City School will work together as partners to understand the needs and interests of the students, to act in the service of justice, and to extend learning opportunities into the home and community.