The National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education, & Families (NLC) supports municipal leaders and their education advisors in building capacity to address educational issues, including through sharing of best practices and direct technical assistance around alternative high school pathways. As co-convener of the Alternative High School Initiative Network with a strong emphasis on identifying and creating good policy conditions for starting and sustaining high-quality alternative schools, NLC is currently pursing three goals:

1. Launch and sustain three AHSI Place-Based Partnerships to help cities redress the dropout crisis.

2. Package and disseminate knowledge and promote peer exchange and learning regarding the critical roles of municipal leaders in advancing alternatives, through:

• Semiannual meetings of the Mayor’s Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN);
• Supporting development of relevant sections of NLC’s National Municipal Policy;
• Convening an invitation-only meeting of teams of Mayors and Superintendents;

3. Packaging knowledge gained through AHSI policy explorations and the Place-Based Partnership selection and development process, for use by other potentially interested cities and partners; and

Frequently arranging for AHSI-related presentations at NLC conferences, and placing articles in Nation’s Cities Weekly.
Collaborate with Big Picture Learning to build, deepen, and strengthen the AHSI Network through a variety of means, such as:

• Disseminating the AHSI Policy Framework and key publication
• Setting the Stage for New High Schools: Municipal Leadership in Supporting High School Alternatives
• Establishing and sustaining strategic partnerships with national and regional organizations and government agencies.

Please follow the link to the High School Reform of NLC’s website for more information and access to relevant tools and resources.

For more information, or access to tools and resources in connection with NLC’s complementary expertise in municipal leadership for after school programming and K-12 school improvement, please visit: http://www.nlc.org/iyef/education/index.aspx