More than 60 schools have gotten the green light to innovate on such things as school schedules, student-teacher ratios or teacher evaluations under a new initiative established by the UFT contract.

The 63 schools are the first selected for the new Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence or PROSE program, which gives teachers a real voice in decision-making to try strategies that vary from certain contract rules and Chancellor’s Regulations.

“This is something I would have loved when I was a teacher,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said at a press conference on July 7 with Chancellor Carmen Fariña and Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris to announce the selected PROSE schools. “Innovations like this will move education forward not just in New York, but around the country.”

After the UFT’s June 3 contract ratification, 107 schools met tight deadlines to submit PROSE proposals put together by teachers, principals, parents and community leaders. A joint panel of UFT and Department of Education representatives reviewed all of the submissions and selected proposals based on the quality of the plans and whether they were the product of collaboration at the school level.

Proposals were then voted on by UFT staff in the schools, with only those approved by at least 65 percent winning selection to the program. At a third of the schools voting, the decision was unanimous in favor of the PROSE proposal. At half, 95 percent or more of staff approved the innovations. The vast majority had votes of 80 percent or more in favor.

PROSE schools

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Democracy Academy
Brooklyn International High School
Brooklyn New School
Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies                             
East Brooklyn Community High School
Expeditionary Learning School for Community Leaders         
Gotham Professional Arts Academy
Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School
Lyons Community School
Mark Twain Intermediate                                                        
Olympus Academy High School
P.S. 188 - The Michael E. Berdy School
The International HS at Prospect Heights                                                                      
The School of Integrated Learning

Bronx 

Bronx Arena High School                                                       
Bronx Collaborative High School                                            
Bronx Community High School                                              
Bronx High School for Law and Community Service              
Bronx Lab School
Bronx Park Middle School                                                      
Bronx Writing Academy
Community School for Social Justice
Comprehensive Model School Project
East Bronx Academy for the Future                                        
English Language Learners and International Support Preparatory Academy            
Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School                                
KAPPA International High School                                           
Pan American International High School at Monroe                
The Bronx Compass High School                                            
The Highbridge Green School                                                  

Manhattan

Academy for Software Engineering                                         
Beacon School
Castle Bridge School                                                               
Central Park East II                                                                  
City as School High School
Community Health Academy of the Heights (CHAH)                                   
East Side Community School
Essex Street Academy
Frank McCourt High School                                                  
Harvest Collegiate                                                                                         
Humanities Preparatory Academy                                           
Innovation Diploma Plus HS
Institute for Collaborative Education
Manhattan International High School                                      
NYC iSchool                                                                           
PS 353 The Neighborhood School
Satellite Academy High School
The Earth School                                                                                                       
The Ella Baker School
The Facing History School
The James Baldwin School                                                      
Urban Academy Laboratory High School                                
Vanguard High School
West Side Collaborative Middle School                                             

Queens

Academy for Careers in Television and Film                          
International High School                                                        
Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College        
North Queens Community High School
PS 71 Forest Elementary                                                                    
The Flushing International High School                                   
The International High School for Health Sciences
Voyages Preparatory South Queens
Queens Satellite High School for Opportunity