Newport School of Innovation, Newport KY

Original Research by School Decision on Newport School of Innovation

Newport School of Innovation is an alternative school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade within the Newport Independent district. Alternative schools in Kentucky are typically designed for students who benefit from a non-traditional setting, whether because of academic, behavioral, or other needs, and this one has a particular focus on project-based learning and innovation. The school opened in August 2023, making it a very new addition to the district. Its enrollment is small and heavily concentrated in high school grades, with the majority of students in ninth through twelfth grade and only a handful in middle school; no students are enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade. The student body is predominantly White, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting a high-poverty population. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the records we reviewed.

Because the school is small, state testing results for the 2024-25 school year were suppressed across all subjects and grades, meaning the state does not publish proficiency rates for groups this small. This is a common pattern for alternative schools and very small programs. There is no graduation rate data available either, though the school serves twelfth grade, so families may want to ask the school directly about its graduation outcomes, postsecondary placements, and how its project-based curriculum is assessed. The district brief notes that the school’s project-based approach is a distinct pedagogical choice, offering an alternative to the district’s other schools.

Newport is a dense, walkable Ohio River city with a historic downtown, a major riverfront entertainment district that draws visitors, and a residential fabric of older homes in historic districts. The population has been declining slightly in recent years. Housing values and rents in the area sit near state averages, and the city has a mix of service, retail, government, and manufacturing employment. The district set its real estate tax rate below the compensating rate for the most recent fiscal year, meaning property owners did not see a revenue-neutral increase. The school is located at 30 West 8th Street in the city’s downtown area.

For a family considering this school, the core question is whether an alternative, project-based setting with a very small student body, serving mostly high school students, aligns with a student’s needs. The lack of published test data and graduation metrics means a parent should reach out to the school for information on academic progress, college and career readiness, and how the school supports students who are behind or who have struggled in traditional settings. The high concentration of poverty among the student body is another factor to consider, as it may affect the range of resources and peer dynamics. The school is new, so its longer-term track record is still being established.

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Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=50%Cohort of 15 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

314 schools plotted. 35 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.