New Hope-Solebury Recognized As A Learning 2025 'System to Watch'

NEW HOPE, PA — The New Hope-Solebury School District has been deemed a “System to Watch” by the School Superintendents Association’s (AASA) Learning 2025 Network.

Only seven districts nationwide received designation as either “Lighthouse Districts” or “Systems to Watch” to recognize them as exemplars of learner-centered, future-driven schools and models of positive change in public education.

Alongside Glen Ellyn School District in Illinois and Hampton Township School District in Pennsylvania, New Hope-Solebury earned the AASA title of “System to Watch” for its progress and efforts to foster students’ future-readiness.

The AASA’s Learning 2025 Network is a cadre of 150 districts representing both suburban and urban environments engaged in working together to help drive education policy and, ultimately, improve student learning.

Grounded in the foundational work of the AASA Learning 2025 National Commission and inspired by the commission’s report, "An American Imperative: A New Vision of Public Schools," the AASA Learning 2025 Network aims to transform education, enhance student achievement and ensure no learner is marginalized.

Students engage in hands-on engineering and robotics experiences integral to New Hope-Solebury’s groundbreaking K-12 STEAM curriculum. (Photo by Lisa Schaeffer)

New Hope-Solebury High School students participate in their flexible lunch and learn period, which provides dedicated time for them to collaborate with peers, visit teacher office hours, and to support their social and emotional wellness. (Photo by Lisa Schaeffer)

New Hope-Solebury High School students in the Health Sciences, STEAM, and Innovation Pathway program listen to the career path of an electrical engineer. (Photo by Lisa Schaeffer)

New Hope-Solebury first joined Learning 2025 in 2021 and has used the platform to exchange best practices with the nation’s most future-focused educators and to further inform its own innovations, such as its K-12 STEAM curriculum, Career Pathways program, social-emotional learning supports, and block-and-learn high school schedule.

“I firmly believe that the future of public education is not just a system, but an innovative and vibrant force,” said David R. Schuler, executive director, AASA. “The districts we are honoring are glowing examples of learning communities driving that force and making innovative changes in response to the needs of their students.”

Systems were reviewed based on strategies and recommendations developed by the commission. Redesign component indicators included:

• Social Emotional-Cognitive Growth
• Future-ready Learners
• Cognitive Growth Model
• Learners as Co-authors
• Diverse Educator Pipeline
• Early Learning
• Technology-enhanced Learning
• Community Alignment

“Our district has maintained a strong reputation for academic excellence and for the personalized learning experience we offer all students. However, we are also a district deeply committed to raising the bar higher and to leading the way forward,” said Superintendent Charles Lentz.

He continued, “This recognition from AASA’s Learning 2025 is particularly important because it reflects our educators’ commitment to being a district others can see as a resource as they look to reimagine their own programs. I am delighted and extremely proud to see us recognized in this way.”

New Hope-Solebury and the other selected districts will be honored during a ceremony on February 14, 2024.