About
THE NEW ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL CONSORTIUM is a pioneering partnership committed to fostering forward-thinking innovations in the design and delivery of secondary education across the New England region. The five partner states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont believe that our bold vision, shared goals, and innovative strategies will empower us to close persistent achievement gaps, promote greater educational equity and opportunity for all students, and lead our educators into a new era of secondary schooling.
Download the 2012-2016 Strategic Plan
Our Goals
1. Increasing five-year graduation rates across each of our five states.
2. Decreasing annual dropout rates.
3. Increasing the percentage of students enrolling in two- and four-year college degree programs or pursuing accredited, industry-certified postsecondary certificates.
4. Increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school college-ready.
Our Objectives
Our five states are committed to pursuing three long-term objectives:
1. Diplomas that certify readiness for life: High school graduation decisions that are based on students demonstrating proficiency on learning standards.
2. Student-centered learning opportunities: Personalized and flexible proficiency-based learning pathways for all students.
3. Measuring what matters most: Learner-centered accountability systems that utilize multiple measures of student achievement.
What We Do
The Consortium brings together state leaders and educators together to pursue three overarching strategies:
Policy: Advance a state-led policy agenda focused on three critical, high-leverage areas of schooling in the 21st century: graduation decisions, learning pathways, and accountability systems.
Practice: Connect and support practicing educators across states through networking activities, best-practice exchange, and our League of Innovative Schools.
Public Will: Build public understanding of and support for more innovative approaches to educating today’s students.
Why It Matters
Strong schools are the best job-creation program we have. Imagination, expertise, creativity, entrepreneurialism—these are the assets that drive innovation, create new industries, and produce the most sought-after workers. Preparing every student for success will strengthen our economy and empower our communities.
Strong schools are the foundation of our society. Democracy, opportunity, prosperity, equality—the values that have defined America—depend on an informed, engaged, well-educated citizenry. To prepare the next generation of citizens and leaders, we need great schools for every student.
Strong schools create strong communities. Schools are the cornerstones of our communities. We celebrate our students, cheer on our local teams, and welcome graduates into our workplaces, institutions, and families. To keep our communities vibrant, prosperous, and thriving, we need great schools.