Opening with 150 students in September 2009, Innovation Diploma Plus aims to retain and graduate students who are behind grade level by creating an environment where student inquiry is the driving force for class discussions and projects. The school will be located in the Brandeis High School building.

Unlike some transfer schools that emphasize test-taking skills to pass the Regent's exams, at Innovation Diploma Plus "students should be engaged in hands-on activities," that support critical thinking skills and creativity, said founding Principal Casey Jones during a telephone interview. Class discussions will sound like college debates and emphasize the importance of an "authentic thinker," said Jones. In "capstone experience" classes, groups of two or three students will choose a particular problem or concept to study in-depth, using lessons learned in all their high school subjects. The school plans to open a video-editing lab, where students can create virtual diaries, learn Microsoft Publisher and Adobe Photoshop. 

"The program is designed for students who want to pursue college," said Jones. "I know that college may not be their primary goal, but as long as it gives them the option...for us the key thing is to provide exposure to our students." Students will visit colleges and will be able to take college courses at a CUNY school. 

All students must complete an internship, through the city's Department of Education Learning to Work program, which provides extra tutoring and career counseling as well as paid internships to 90 Innovation students. 

Innovation Diploma Plus will operate on trimesters so that students can earn up to 18 credits per year, compared with a traditional high school where students typically earn 11 credits per year in two semesters. Students will also have an advisory class four times each week to help them learn social and life skills. "We do believe advisory is an important role," said Jones. Students who need additional social support will be paired with a social worker from New York University who will provide individual and group counseling.  

A native New Yorker who attended public school, and graduated from Brooklyn Tech, Jones says his desire to open a transfer school stems from the challenges he witnessed growing up in the city. "The reason I wrote this proposal is due to the fact of a lot my friends growing up in the city didn't graduate high school. I was the kid that hung out with my friends, but I always stayed focused and on track," he said, adding that those skills served him well in the corporate world where he was a technology consultant and now as a public school administrator.

Admissions: Students must be at least two years behind grade level. Students may enter with 0 credits. Prospective students should call (718) 935-3577 to schedule an interview. Students must bring a guardian and take a test to ensure they read at a 6th grade level.  (Vanessa Witenko, February 2009, telephone interview)