Finding Success Through a Middle Ground -- Black Enterprise

In solving our school crisis, opening more charter schools is on one end of the spectrum while improving traditional public schools can be found on the other.  National Academy Foundation schools such as High School Inc. in Hartford, Connecticut, fall somewhere in the middle -- and prove to be no less effective.  NAF schools are not charter schools, but for the past 30 years they have produced more stellar results in urban areas than high-performing charters.  Four out of five NAF students attend college or other post-secondary education institutions; more than 50% are the first in their families to do so.

NAF academies are created when people in a community come together and request that a district school implement its curriculum.  There are five different types of academies: health sciences, finance, hospitality and tourism, information technology, and engineering. Employees of more than 2,500 companies volunteer in classrooms, act as mentors, engage NAF students in paid internships and serve on local advisory boards. The NAF model can also be used in charter schools, and some of America's top black executives sit on NAF's corporate board, including American Express CEO Ken Chenault, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, and former Aetna Chairman and CEO Ron Williams.  School districts par approximately $1,000 per year for each academy; additional funding comes from grants and private or corporation foundations. "NAF has a very modern, up-to-date, dynamic curriculum, which is all vetted by industry professionals," says Terrell Hill, founding principal of High School Inc. "So, they don't have folks in Texas writing the texbook and it's three years old when it gets to you." About 50% of the student body at High School Inc. is black, and about 80% of all students are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Although Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the union, it has the greatest achievement gap of 50 states. In Hartford, America's insurance industry capital, more than 10% of students were dropping out. But since three NAF academies became operational in the city three years ago, Hartford has seen great gains on the Connecticut Aptitude Performance Test.

Hill believes that NAF academies succeed because they rely on community dialogue and corporate participation. Like other NAF finance academies, High School Inc. runs a full-service branch of Franklin Trust Credit Union within the school. Hill has also had students participate in the local chapter of the National Black MBA Association's leadership program.

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