New Haven Academy – Social Action Project 2015 from Maya Ojalvo on Vimeo.

Social Action at 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.  In order to do so, we have developed a unique set of programs to help kids get involved beyond the classroom.

Decision-Making:  Young people must practice making independent, responsible decisions about how to live and work in the world.  At NHA, by connecting the themes of Facing History and Ourselves and our approach to teaching and learning, we help students learn how to be thoughtful about the decisions they make in school as family members, as community members, and finally as active citizens in a democracy.

Citizenship Education:  All NHA students engage in complex studies of social justice, prejudice reduction, and participation in a democracy across the curriculum, in and out of the classroom, and across four years of study.  Students not only learn the tools required for active citizenship, they are required to use them to demonstrate their readiness to graduate and become active, informed, involved young adults.

12th Grade Social Action Project:  Each New Haven Academy Senior completes an independently designed and executed project that addresses a social issue or community problem through collaboration with outside organizations and people involved in that work, direct service, and research.  She/he then leads a presentation that demonstrates his/her expertise on the issue he/she chose to take on and reflects on what the project has accomplished.

Community Service:  Students must earn at least 40 hours of community service.  To reflect our philosophy  that service must become a habit, each student is expected to complete 10 hours of community service each year.  service involves service to the NHA community, participation in an advisory-based service project, or service in the larger community.

After School: New Haven Academy is a Future Project site, offering NHA students a unique after-school experience that connects to our social justice theme.  The Future Project unites college students, graduate students, and young professionals in the New Haven area with NHA students for a guided, year-long adventure.  Future Coaches (volunteers) and Future Fellows (high school students) meet each week to explore themselves and their communities and take on team challenges that build leadership and creative thinking skills. Over the course of the year, Fellows design and execute a Future Project that dares them to do “the impossible.”