Transforming the quality of a large urban school district is complex and layered with multiple challenges.  By targeting a cluster of neighborhood schools in a growing part of the district, the chance for immediate success increases.

The Best Schools 2020 vision is built on a philosophy of neighborhood revitalization with a strong feeder of neighborhood schools from PK through twelfth grade.  By creating a neighborhood based regeneration strategy, success will be achieved and can then be replicated in other parts of the SAISD.

Many months of knocking on doors throughout the Jefferson area have resulted in common beliefs and perceptions about the neighborhood schools.  Some of these include:

• Inferior academic standards 

• Activities, clubs and traditions lost

• Unsafe school environment

• Schools that lack discipline

To begin addressing these challenges and to create the best neighborhood schools in America strong cluster schools within the Jefferson area must be formed.  The common vision for our neighborhood schools demands college readiness skills within a safe structured environment inspired by military discipline.

The framework mechanism appropriate to define the Jefferson area feeder schools is an internal charter authorization allowed under state law and created by the SAISD.  The internal charter school type options considered under this framework plan include the feeder system option combined with the partnership charter. 

The feeder system approach allows a comprehensive and continuous high standard of education from Pre-K through twelfth grade.  In addition, it is expected that to be successful and sustainable a long term partnership with a local corporation would be established under the partnership charter combination. 

The following section provides an example for the regeneration of Thomas Jefferson High School as a College High and Military Prep School. The framework vision plan becomes the model by which each of its feeder schools are designed around.