In 2013 the NYC DOE created the ESI New School Fellowship with the expressed purpose of redesigning the high school experience. In 2014, the EPIC schools , which NMSSJ is a part of, was launched. From its inception, NMSSJ has been committed to creating a community dedicated to Mastery Based learning, Restorative Justice, early college experience, social justice education and action, smart use of technology and effective Rites of Passage for young people. Like Nelson Mandela, our community believes that the access to a good education not only transforms the scholar but has the power to transform the world; we simply need the imagination and the commitment.