New Village Academy grew out of a collaboration between an Annapolis High School teacher and 21 students who began a weekly lunchtime conversation about how high school could be done differently. The teacher (NVA founder, Romey Pittman) had professional experience as an innovative school founder, leader, and EL Education School Designer. The students had personal experience with the disengagement and frustration that has become epidemic in American high schools, especially among young people from marginalized communities.

Every Wednesday the group talked over lunch. The teacher asked them what they thought should be different about high school. They shared their vision for more student choice and voice, for more meaningful ways to show their growth, and the chance to learn more practical skills connected to the real world.

When the teacher eventually told them she planned to start a new school, they demanded to be involved – and the New Village Academy Youth Advisory Board was born.