Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Robert L. Hughes, 2013Biographical NotePresident, New Visions for Public Schools.
Scope and ContentsRobert Hughes begins by discussing his education and early career as a lawyer; coming to work at New Visions for Public Schools; the creation of the New Century High Schools initiative in 2001 as a means to enact change in New York City public high schools; and the process of proposing the project to a consortium of three funding foundations (the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Open Society Institute). Hughes then discusses the specific role of the Carnegie Corporation in the New Century High Schools project; his work with the Carnegie Corporation’s Vice President, National Program, and Program Director for Urban Education, Michele Cahill; the project’s goals of improving schools at the system level and creating new educational models; the focus of the Gates Foundation on funding small schools; and the role of philanthropic organizations in impacting government agencies. Hughes continues by discussing the development of the Scaffolded Apprenticeship Model (SAM); New Visions’ transition towards becoming a partnership support organization (PSO); and the role of philanthropic organizations in supporting PSOs. Hughes also discusses the importance of personalization in education; New Visions’ shift towards work with charter schools; how the Carnegie Corporation’s support of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has impacted the next phase of the New Century initiative (New Century II); improving high school graduation rates; and the future of education in the face of increasing globalization and adoption of digital technologies.
SubjectsAccess ConditionsCopyright by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2015. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York hold a non-exclusive license to enable library activities.
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