New York Academy State of the School Report

State of the School Report

New York Academy, March 2018

New York Academy State of the School Report

NEW YORK ACADEMY
Brian Kissman, Head of School
State of the School Report

As we are a growing school, we are continuously looking for ways to strengthen the quality of our school and our position for the future. We are proud of how far we have come this year and have a strong vision for the future of our school. In the coming year, we will take many steps to help realise that vision and continue to build on the foundation we have created to provide our students with an academically rigorous, creative, internationally-minded education.

We listen carefully to our Parents and School Community.

I begin my report by addressing the most important questions you have asked regarding the future of our school:

What is the status of NYA’s New Campus?

For the 2018-19 school year, we will be adding four classrooms to our campus here in Jubilee Hills. Next year we will add a Grade 5 and Grade 6, and we may go up to Grade 8 pending enrollment. Please be in touch if you are interested or know of friends that are interested in a middle school program for the 2018-19 school year.

We reassure you that we will begin construction on our new campus soon, with the aim to open our doors for the 2019-20 school year. We will update you by the end of April regarding the land we have purchased, and we plan to present a model of the new campus in June. This state-of-the-art campus will be near the Financial District area and we are so excited to share more as it develops.

How will you continue to improve the academic rigour of your curriculum and learning program?

We have hired 4 expat master teachers (more details later in this report) with exceptional experience on the International schools’ circuit. Not only will they teach the upper grade levels, but they will team teach with teachers at all grade levels in their area of expertise (language arts, social studies, math, science, foreign languages) and they will mentor, coach and train our teachers as well. Our curriculum is being strengthened. We have done a good job this year, and you will notice that our academic rigour will be significantly increase next year.

What will your faculty look like next year?

As I mentioned above, we have added highly qualified expat teachers for the 2018-19 school year. In addition, we are hiring a number of local hire teachers with exceptional experience and qualifications both here In India and abroad with international schools (again, more details later in the report).

How easily will my child transition to another school if needed or to a university in India or abroad?

NYA brings together the best of both traditional and progressive curriculums. Our students learn to be self-direct learners and they will be able to smoothly transition to any curriculum.

We maintain high expectations for academic achievement in reading, writing, math, and science, while guiding our students to learn to learn. We focus on the social and emotional development each child as well, which impacts their academic achievement.

Our new campus will include an elementary, middle school and two high schools – one high school will have a traditional CBSE/Cambridge curriculum and the other will have an American/International Baccalaureate Diploma curriculum. Parents will be able to choose the best option of for their child.

Please be sure to read my entire report; important points you will learn more about include:

  • A freeze on tuition and fees for the 2018-19 school year
  • The addition of school bus transportation for the 2018-19 school year
  • Referral Fee Discount (R.s.50,000 per referral of up to 5 referrals!)
  • More important news you will appreciate 🙂

NYA CURRICULUM & LEARNING

At New York Academy we prepare students to be members of our global society. In this way, it is our responsibility to not just teach them to memorize facts and figures, but to think deeply, ask questions, and care for their friends, family and world.

Of course our students do learn important facts and figures in language arts, math, science, and more, but they learn how to engage with the content and apply it to their lives while they do so.

We accomplish these goals through a multi-faceted approach to learning. We have developed Schoolwide Learner Outcomes that all teachers help their students strive toward. We follow the AERO standards, which are approved by the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools, and provide a framework for us to work from. We utilize internationally-recognized summative and formative assessments. And we get to know each student as an individual so that our curriculum and instruction can help guide them to think deeply, question thoughtfully, and reach their goals. The framework of the NYA Curriculum is:

  • School-Wide Learning Outcomes
  • Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions
  • Critical Thinking
  • Design Thinking Process
  • Academic Standards & Learning Points
  • Formative and Summative Assessments

The New York Academy Curriculum

New York Academy is making ongoing progress with the development and improvement of its curriculum and learning program. Learning standards (AERO) are in place, best practice instruction is implemented, and formative assessments are used by teachers to drive instruction with individualized and personalized learning.

The following is a summary of the The New York Academy Curriculum:

Introduction
At New York Academy we prepare students to be members of our global society. In this way, it is our responsibility to not just teach them to memorize facts and figures, but to think deeply, ask questions, and care for their friends, family and world. Of course, our students do learn important facts and figures in Language Arts, Math, Science, and more, but they also learn how to engage with the content and apply it to their lives while they do so.

We accomplish these goals through a multi-faceted approach to learning. We have developed Schoolwide Learner Outcomes that all teachers help their students strive toward. We follow the AERO standards, which are approved by the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools, and provide a framework for us to work from. We utilize internationally-recognized summative and formative assessments. And we get to know each student as an individual so that our curriculum and instruction can help guide them to think deeply, question thoughtfully, and reach their goals.

Schoolwide Learner Outcomes
At New York Academy, we teach our students more than academic content – we teach them to be productive members of our global society. We are committed to guiding them to learn with a sense of social responsibility to make the world a better place. To reach this goal, NYA has established six Schoolwide Learner Outcomes (SLOs). Our students are prepared to leave their mark on the world, due to our emphasis on shaping:

1. Independent Learners

  • I am curious.
  • I explore, discover, think, and create.
  • I self-direct my learning life.
  • I am passionate about learning.

2. Effective Communicators

  • I am an active listener.
  • I am clear and thoughtful of my words.
  • I am a conversationalist.
  • I am a writer.
  • I am a presenter.

3. Critical Thinkers

  • I reason critically as a habit of mind.
  • I think creatively as a habit of mind.
  • I think about my thinking.

4. Dynamic Achievers

  • I set goals to accomplish.
  • I take risks.
  • I am willing to learn from my mistakes.
  • I reflect on my strengths and growth areas.

5. Ethical Individual

  • I am mindful.
  • I am fair, honest, and respectful.
  • I understand right and wrong.
  • I make good choices even when no one is looking.
  • I have integrity.

6. Global citizen

I have perspective, empathy, and compassion.

I celebrate different people and cultures.

I care for others and respect differences.

I am socially responsible.

I choose to act and serve others.

Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions
Learning at New York Academy is about more than writing in workbooks and memorizing facts. It is about engaging each student in learning, and teaching them skills that have lasting value beyond the classroom.

Enduring understandings are statements summarizing important ideas and core processes that are central to a discipline. This knowledge has value outside the classroom and is something students will draw from again and again in their lives. These statements synthesize what students should understand – not just know or do – as a result of studying a particular content area. Enduring understandings are transferable and teach students to apply their knowledge to their lives rather than being forgettable facts and figures. They are big ideas that can be applied in a variety of ways to solve problems.

Essential questions require students to think deeply and process what they have learned. They cannot be answered with finality in a single lesson or a brief sentence, and definitely not with a simple yes or no – and that’s the point. Their aim is to stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions, including thoughtful student questions, not just pat answers. They are provocative and generative. They stimulate excitement in our students and engage them in the content they are learning. Our students begin to drive their own learning in a way that doesn’t stop when they leave school at the end of they day. Don’t be surprised if your childstudent comes home with thoughtful questions for you!

Critical Thinking
At New York Academy, we teach our students how to develop critical thinking skills so that they learn to innovate and solve problems rather than just memorize facts. Students are taught to think deeply about what they learn, ask questions, and seek out answers.

There are 11 Cognitive Processes that are the fundamentals of critical thinking:

  1. Activate and Connect Background Knowledge
  2. Visualize
  3. Generate Questions
  4. Make Inferences
  5. Gain Perspective and Empathy
  6. Compare and Contrast
  7. Identify Cause and Effect
  8. Conclude and Predict
  9. Analyze and Synthesize
  10. Determine Importance
  11. Monitor Comprehension

Design Thinking Process
A large part of critical thinking is the Design Thinking Process. We believe students should be actively engaged in their learning. Rather than always follow a prescribed course of study, we let them take the reins and innovate to solve problems they have identified. Design Thinking is an innovative methodology that gives students the chance to explore, learn and cultivate their curiosity.

Design Thinking has evolved over time from Theme-Based Projects and Project-Based Learning. All three of these approaches aim to engage students in learning to give them ownership and to create with purpose. Over the past several years, the Design Thinking Process has taken hold and continues to evolve as the premier way for students to learn through inquiry.

Where Project-Based Learning is widely teacher driven, Design Thinking puts the student at the center. The Design Thinking Process, or Maker Learning, aims to have students invent by creating innovative solutions to problems. Students are guided to explore dozens of potential lines of teacher-provided inquiry, and eventually to identify those lines of inquiry on their own. The students drive the process; the teacher facilitates, models, guides and coaches. What makes it groundbreaking is that it helps students learn to innovate, create, and solve problems. This will be a critically important skill set as we enter the Concept Age.

The Design Thinking Process may be defined as:

Empathize > Define > Ideate > Prototype > Test

Empathize
Before any work can begin on a project, students must gain an empathic understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. They may talk to experts and immerse themselves in the problem. The goal of this first step is to gain insight into the needs of the end-user.

Define
Only after students fully understand the problem can it be defined. Students gather all their information and synthesize it into one cohesive problem to solve. They learn to express the problem in a way that is human centered so that their inquiry is always driven by empathy and human need.

Ideate
This is where our students’ creativity really shines! Students think outside the box to generate a multitude of ideas that may help solve the problem they have identified.

Prototype
This is the experimental phase of the process. Students utilize our Maker Space to design and build their solutions.

Test
After completing the prototype, students must test it to see how well it solves their problem. The process is not always linear, as the test might help students redefine their question or lead to changes that require them to return to the prototype phase. Students are always thinking and reevaluating to see how they can better solve the problem they have identified.

Standards and Learning Points
AERO is a project supported by the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools and the Overseas Schools Advisory Council to assist schools in developing and implementing standards-based curricula. AERO provides a framework for curriculum consistency across grades K-12 and for stability of curriculum in overseas schools. This effort is in alignment with research-based trends in the development of curriculum worldwide, and particularly with the Common Core initiative in the U.S.

New York Academy has strategically chosen to adopt the AERO Standards because they provide a standards-based framework with the flexibility that allows us to innovate and create solutions tailor-made for our school community here in Hyderabad. The AERO Standards are a robust set of learning outcomes for all subjects with high expectations for academic achievement.

The New York Academy curriculum, across all subjects, makes learning outcomes for each lesson explicit and intentional with Learning Points. These are statements of what a student is to know (knowledge), understand (concepts), and able to do (skills). If you walk into any classroom at NYA, you will see the LP written on the board for the current lesson.

Our Learning Points are crafted from the AERO Standards, but written in student friendly terms:

EXAMPLE LP
Readers make meaning by thinking about the character’s desires and struggles across the events of the story (reading comprehension).

Assessments
At New York Academy, we utilize both formative and summative assessments. These assessments are designed to ensure that instruction is differentiated to meet the academic needs of each individual student.

Students have demonstrated a year or more worth of growth for a years worth of instruction this year per the data from our formative assessments.

Our assessments include:

  1. Phonological Awareness Skills Test – PAST (formative)
  2. Development Spelling Inventory – DSI (formative)
  3. Developmental Reading Assessment 2 – DRA2 (formative)
  4. 6 Traits of Writing/Small Moments Scene with Narrative Prompt (formative)
  5. 4 Traits of Presentation (formative)
  6. Basic Numeracy and Problem Solving (formative)
  7. ERB (summative)

Formative Assessments
Formative assessments are given at the start of the school year, the end of the school year, and throughout a unit of study and used to gauge student learning, drive instruction, and increase student performance. Teachers are able to respond to students needs quickly and accurately by continually measuring their learning. A student’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is determined – the area of thinking or action that a child is unable to do independently but can do successfully with the assistance of a skilled person (Vygotsky, 1978). Formative assessments provide data on a regular basis to the teacher to employ best practices per the differentiated needs of each student in word study, reading fluency, reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, and numeracy. As a result, instruction and learning are fluid and can change in accordance with each student’s needs. The formative assessments employed by NYA are used at the start of the year to gain a baseline of academic achievement and at the end of the year to measure growth. They are also used throughout the year to individualise instruction and meet the needs of each student.

Summative Assessments
Summative Assessments are used to evaluate student learning at the end of a unit of study and the end of school year and measure overall growth. They help teachers and the school analyze and reflect upon the strength of our curriculum and learning program.

At New York Academy, we utilize the ERB Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) as an end-of-year assessment. The CTP is a rigorous assessment for high achieving students in areas such as reading, listening, vocabulary, writing, science and mathematics.

Many international parents are concerned about how to measure their child’s learning against peers in the United States. The CTP, which is a nationally norm-referenced summative assessment, allows NYA to do just this. Verbal and quantitative reasoning subtests are part of the CTP beginning in Grade 3.

Growing New York Academy’s Curriculum

Teachers are working to produce Units of Study for all subject areas. A primary focus the rest of this year and next will be to develop Units of Study and to grow teachers’ capacity to improve the art and science of best practice teaching methodology.

Units of Study can be from one week to six weeks in length. New York Academy utilizes an online application, Atlas Rubicon, for the development and publication of its Units of Study across all subject areas. The general outline for the NYA Units of Study are as follows:

  • Unit of Study Overview
  • Learning Points
  • Higher Order Reasoning
  • Formative Assessments
  • Learning Activities, Engagements, and Methods
  • Instructional Resources & Links
  • Standards & Benchmarks (AERO)

Standards-Based Report Cards

As you know we have piloted a standards-based report card this school year. Standard-based Report Cards are much more informative than traditional report cards. Please understand that we list all outcomes in the report card throughout the year, but do not report on some until instruction and learning are significant enough to communicate.

Inclusion and Student Services

We have published a New York Academy Learning Support Services document to make formal our student services program, including a Referral Process and an Individual Learning Plan Process. This is a significant accomplishment supporting our commitment to being an inclusive school that differentiates learning to individualize and personalize instruction. We were most fortunate to have Kristen Pelletier, the Next Frontiers Inclusion Consultant, come to New York Academy this past January 18, 19, and 20. Our teachers, and consequently our students, have benefited tremendously. Kristen will return for the 2018-19 School Year.

PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Across the 2017-2018 school year, we have had a wide variety of events and programs:

  • Monthly All School Assemblies
  • Indian and Cultural Celebrations
  • Parent Orientations
  • Social Coffees
  • Thanksgiving Feast
  • Winter Holiday Performance and Musical Program
  • STEAM (Science – Technology – Engineering – Art – Mathematics) Night
  • Spirit Week
  • International Food Festival
  • New York Academy Spelling Bee
  • Teacher Appreciation Week
  • 2018-19 Admissions & Enrollment Social, March, 2018
  • Head of School State of the School Annual Report, February 2018

NYA PROFESSIONAL GROWTH & PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

New York Academy knows that the quality of teachers and professional growth opportunities are the number one factors that make a difference for the academic, social, and emotional growth of our students. In support of our teachers, we have developed and published the New York Academy Professional Growth Program, including professional standards for teachers to work from to establish annual professional growth goals and plans. Throughout the school year, teachers are observed by leadership and peers, with coaching and conferencing sessions as a follow-up to support professional growth.

The NYA faculty meets on a regular basis to collaborate and plan best practice instruction and learning. This best practice is referred to as a Professional Learning Community. The basic routine and protocol have teachers planning lessons together, reviewing student work samples together, and then making adjustments to their instruction accordingly based upon their collaborative analysis of the students’ quality of work and achievement.

Again, this past January we hosted a three-day workshop and training for our teachers with Kristen Pelletier, Next Frontiers Inclusion Consultant. This professional growth opportunity provided our teachers with knowledge and strategies for meeting the differentiated needs of all learners – academic, social, and emotional.

This March, NYA will welcome early childhood consultants, Jayanti Tambe and Shelly Gonzales, early childhood scholars and experts from the U.S. to observe and consult with our faculty, and to provide workshops and training for our teachers.

And, we have already confirmed our professional development consultants for the 2018-19 school year:

Consilience (based in Mumbai) is a thought leader for Integrated Technology, Maker Learning and the Design Thinking Process. Their Founder and President, Dr. Shabbi Luthra, and her team of consultants and trainers will come to New York Academy twice next year. Once at the start of the school year to do a four-day training with our teachers to learn Google Suite and Google Classroom, and then later in January to do a five-day training with our teachers in Maker Learning and the Design Thinking Process, which is all about creating the next generation of Steve Jobs, Elon Musks, and no less many groundbreaking Indian innovators of the 21st Century – Azim Premji, Narayan Murthy, Ratan Tata, and Sundai Pichai.

And again, we will also bring back Kristen Pelletier, Next Frontiers Inclusion Consultant to continue to grow our teachers’ capacity with knowledge and strategies for inclusion and meeting the differentiated needs of all learners – academic, social, and emotional.

And finally, across the school year, Mr. Brian, Ms. Umme, and Faculty will provide inhouse professional develop training.

FACULTY

New York Academy is pleased to announce that most of our faculty will return for the 2018-2019 School Year.

We are very pleased to welcome new faculty to the New York Academy for the 2018-19 School Year.

These four teachers are “master” teachers with many years of experience at outstanding international schools. Not only will they teach the upper grade levels, but they will also serve as mentors and instructional coaches to their colleagues, respective of their subject area expertise. Further, they will be instrumental in developing curriculum and building systems for our middle school and high school, which is scheduled to open at our new campus for the 2019-20 School Year. We welcome as our Master Teachers:

  • Simendea Kissman – Language Arts Teacher, Department Chair, Instructional Coach
    Ms. Kissman comes to NYA with a Master’s degree and over 20 years experience teaching upper elementary and middle school students. She is a highly qualified teacher of language arts and the humanities having taught these subjects for over 15 years. She has served two of the top international schools in the world (International School of Hong Kong, International School of Kuala Lumpur). Her positions beyond the classroom have included Language Arts Department Chair and Dean of Faculty.
  • Julie Many de Meza – Mathematics Teacher, Department Chair, Instructional Coach
    Ms. Many de Meza comes to NYA with a Master’s degree and over 25 years experience teaching middle school and high school students in mathematics. She is a highly qualified teacher of mathematics. She joins us from one of the top international schools in Shanghai (Yew Chung International School), where she has served as Department Chair for the past 10 years.
  • Mark Sathers – Science Teacher, Department Chair, and Instructional Coach
    Mr. Sathers comes to NYA with a Master’s degree and over 25 years experience teaching middle school and high school students in science. He is a highly qualified teacher of science. He joins us from one of the top international schools in Caracas, Venezuela, and before that taught at the American School of Jeddah. 
  • Shellie Banks – Foreign Languages Teacher, Department Chair, Instructional Coach
    Ms. Banks comes to NYA with a BA degree, National Board Certification in the United States, and over 25 years experience teaching elementary, middle school, and high school students in Spanish and French. She is a highly qualified teacher of language acquisition. She joins us from KAUST School in Saudi Arabia, and before that taught at the International School of Manila – both top rated schools on the international circuit.

As we expand classes and increase enrollment, we will also hire highly qualified faculty for the following positions:

  • TBA – Spanish Teacher
  • TBA – Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
  • TBA – Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
  • TBA – Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
  • TBA – Grade 1
  • TBA – Grade 2/Grade 3 Teacher
  • TBA – Instrumental Music Teacher
  • TBA – Technology Teacher

NYA WASC ACCREDITATION

New York Academy has been accepted to complete the accreditation process with WASC.

The WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) Initial Report has been completed and accepted by WASC. This is a 41-page report that addresses all aspects of the school required for the self-study process and the development of a school improvement plan. Along with the Report, NYA submitted a total of 57 documents to support our report (samples of our programs, budget, communications, operations, etc.).

Needless to say, this took a good amount of time. Our administrative team effectively collaborated to get this done. The WASC organization has reviewed our submission, and schedule a WASC Accreditation Team Visit in April of 2018 to tour our school and officially approve our WASC accreditation process.

WASC Accreditation is a three-year process, which will include significant committee work by administration, faculty, staff, and parents towards a school improvement plan. Across the three years there will be multiple visits from WASC. New York Academy expects to be fully accredited at the end of the 3-year cycle.

COMMUNICATIONS

New York Academy is committed to exceptional communication between the school and home. We have made excellent progress with our communications to parents and our school community. This 2017-18 School Year we have used a number of strategies to communicate the good work we are doing:

  • Weekly Newsletter from the Head of School
  • Weekly Blog from the Head of School
  • Weekly Newsletter from each Classroom Teacher
  • Student Friday Folders (Evidence of Work)
  • Regular News Bulletins and Emails from Admissions
  • Standards-Based Report Cards
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • “New” New York Academy Website (Launched Monday, February 26, 2018)
  • Social Media – Head of School Tweets, Facebook Posts, etc.
  • Emails, Phone Calls, and Casual Conversations – Teachers with Parents
  • Parent Workshops (i.e., Engaging in Reading)
  • All School Social Events
  • 2018-19 Admissions & Enrollment Social, March, 2018
  • Head of School State of the School Annual Report, March 2018

NYA SCHOOL COMMUNITY

New York Academy is committed to a strong school to home partnership. We maintain an open-door policy, which is appreciated by our parents.

We are forming our first Parent Association, with a core group of 5 moms and/or dads.

We have three volunteers so far and are looking for two more to complete the core group.

Two volunteers will serve as Chair and Vice Chair. The other three will commit to being a dependable part of the team. By enrollment, all parents automatically become members of the Parent Association.

The Parent Association’s purpose is to support school-community events and provide regular input to NYA as to what our perceived strengths are and what our areas for growth might be.

MARKETING

New York Academy strives to get the word out – there is a new Progressive American, International School in Hyderabad! We have used lollipops and billboards, flyers and advertisements, and social media across the school year. We have learned that what is most effective is “word of mouth.”

Most all of our parents and children are exceptionally pleased with the education we are providing our students. Throughout the year we have have toured new families, and more often than not they have enrolled.

New York Academy has grown from 40 students when we opened our doors in August 2017 to nearly 120 students today. We anticipate growing to 180 students and more for the 2018-19 school year.

For the 2018-19 School year we will invest heavily in a social media marketing campaign, and we believe the new NYA Website will make a powerful difference.

NEW YORK ACADEMY WEBSITE

The new NYA Website, launched in March 2018, is exceptionally effective at telling our story of excellence in education.

The narrative overviews are compelling and in-depth. There are more pictures (“tell a thousand words”) and videos (“tell a million words”). The NYA Website will be the foundation of our school to community communications and social media marketing.

ADMISSIONS & ENROLLMENT

In 2016-17, New York Academy opened its doors with an enrolment of 40 students. In just 18 months, as of March, 2018, our enrolment has grown to 120 students. We anticipate 180+ students for the 2018-19 School Year.

New York Academy is positioning itself to launch an Admissions / Enrollment Marketing Campaign for 2018-19 school year, beginning in the month of March.

The following three points are the key to our campaign:

  • NYA Social Event to be held at the Park Hyatt – April, 2018
  • PowerPoint and Video slideshow presenting the best of NYA
  • Presentation of NYA “To Date” and “Future” (HOS, Director, and Chairman)
  • Presentation of “Important News You Can Use” for 2018-19 (HOS)
  • Freeze on Tuition, including the 2017-18 10% Tuition Fee Discount
  • New Hires, Faculty 2018-19
  • Learning & Curriculum
  • The Future of NYA & our New Campus

2. Search Engine Marketing Campaign (paid Google and Facebook advertising)

  • Facebook, Google Paid Search Engine Marketing
  • The new NYA website will be launched in March, 2018. Including videos and photos,
    it will be key in supporting our Search Engine Marketing Campaign

3. Referral Tuition Fee Discount

  • R.s. 50,000 discount to any current NYA family for the referral of a new student that enrols
  • Each family may receive the discount for up to 5 referrals
    (i.e., total R.s. 250,000 discount for the 2018-19 School Year).
  • Once we reach full capacity for 2018-19 (i.e., 200+ students) the referral fee discount ends

TUITION, FEES, AND TRANSPORTATION

NYA Tuition and Fees for the 2018-19 School Year will remain the same for the 2017-18 School Year, including the 10% Tuition Discount, the 10% Sibling Discount, and no Capital Fee for existing NYA families.

NYA will offer transportation for the 2018-19 school year at an additional fee (soon to be communicated). High quality buses, with air conditioning, are being purchased.

NYA BUDGET 2018-19

NYA has set its budget for the 2018-19 School Year. It is a student-centered budget with a commitment to hiring high quality faculty, the improvement and expansion of our facilities, an ever growing inventory of instructional and learning resources (including 21st Century Technology), and the growth of the learning programs offered.

ADMINISTRATION & GOVERNANCE

Throughout the year the Administration Team has work effectively together to build a range of systems across the school. The following team has provided leadership to New York Academy this 2017-18 school year and will return for the 2018-19 School Year:

  • Brian Kissman, Head of School
  • Umme Salma, Principal
  • Shahana, Admissions Coordinator and Program & Events Director
  • Dorcas Geddam, Human Resource Manager

On behalf of the New York Academy Community and Stakeholders, our Board of Trustees at Sree Vidyanikethan Educational Trust (including our Chairman Vishnu Manchu and Director Viranica Manchu) monitor and hold accountable the NYA Administrative Team for the successful growth and ongoing school improvement of New York Academy.

FUTURE OF NYA AND OUR FACILITIES

New York Academy will be expanding our existing facilities for the 2018-19 School Year. We will add several classes and go up to Grade 5 and pending enrolment, possibly Grade 8, for the 2018-19 School Year.

Our aim remains to build and open our new campus for the 2019-20 School Year, which will have an elementary, middle school and high school(s). Our new campus will include two high schools – one track for traditional CBSE/Cambridge Academics and the other for an American/International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Students will be able to transition to universities or careers here in Hyderabad or abroad. We hope to announce by the end of April our land acquisition, and then formally present our vision for the new campus in June.

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