New School High School of Monmouth County

The New School of Monmouth County[1] is a private school for grades K-8 located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1969 by Dr. Susan Chilvers, The New School employs a "project approach" to curriculum. Rather than dividing subject matter into discrete timeslots, units and individual facts, instructors draw together academic subjects into large scale projects, incorporating the interests and ideas of the students along the way. Plans for projects may be generated by one child, a group, a teacher, or a parent, and may end up involving just one individual, the entire school, or any sized group in between. This approach ensures that students don't get bored or "burned out," while simultaneously empowering them in many ways. It also makes their work and their time more meaningful to them, and results in a deeper understanding of concepts, as opposed to a mere retention of data. Our students learn to take ownership for planning and carrying through on their work, and they find satisfaction in their own processes, as opposed to finding it merely in the approval of others. Creative play and problem solving are an integral part of the learning process.

New School High School of Monmouth County (NSHS) was a high school in the Monmouth County area of New Jersey that opened in 1998, notable for its style of alternative education until its closure in 2004.

The New School of Monmouth County High School Founded by former public school teacher Dale Thompson and the daughter of one of the founders of the original New School elementary school, Rebekah Chilvers, the New School High School marked a radical departure from traditional educational philosophy. The New School tenets were drawn from a variety of British alternative teaching practice known as "open-classroom." Rather than relying on tests and grades to measure student progress, the New School High School or NSHS abolished these practices and instead centered on individualized learning centered on all-encompassing yearly themes. Work completed during the course of the year was collected in a portfolio, which served as an alternative method of measuring student's achievements (rather than using grades). The NSHS also had rather lax policies, compared to traditional public schools, in such areas as scheduling, dress codes, etc.

However, the NSHS never grew to a particularly large size. After a peak in enrollment in the 2001-2002 school year, the size of the student body began declining. The replacement of Dale's Thompson's co-teacher twice also caused some difficulty for the school. In 2003, the NSHS's name was changed to the Atlantic School.

The Atlantic School was short lived. In June 2004, the last graduates were promoted and the school itself shut down.

References
  1. The New School of Monmouth County The New School of Monmouth County
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