Achievement Network

The Achievement Network (ANet) partners with urban elementary, middle and K-8 schools to provide real-time data to school leaders and teachers. ANet designs, administers and scores interim assessments that are aligned with the state’s MCAS tests, allowing teachers to quickly assess students’ understanding of the curriculum and create plans to address gaps in student learning. In addition to providing schools with comprehensive data, ANet provides coaching to school leaders and teachers on how to make effective changes in response to data outcomes and participation in a peer Network of Schools to share best practices.

BPS Inclusive Schools Network

The BPS Inclusive Schools Network aims to improve and support the district’s efforts to provide all students with disabilities an appropriate and high quality education in the least restrictive environment. For this initiative, three teachers from each of twelve participating schools will participate in a two-year cross-school learning cadre focused on developing technological “access centers.” With guided support and training, each teacher will develop a research-based action plan to increase access to the curriculum through technology for students with disabilities and then implement their program in their classroom throughout the school year. In year two of the initiative, participating teachers would spread their learning to non-cadre colleagues, thereby impacting an even greater number of teachers and students in the BPS Inclusive Schools Network.

Countdown to High School

Countdown to High School supports the transition of 8th and 9th grade students in BPS to high schools. With year-long coursework for students and a series of workshops for parents, this initiative aims to facilitate the transition of students from 8th to 9th grade – a transition that is particularly challenging for many students and for which there are few existing supports – thereby reducing student failure and increasing the likelihood that students will be successful in high school and graduate on time. Previously funded by EdVestors, Countdown to High School is expanding its reach from 14 middle and high schools to 32 schools at its full implementation.

BPS Algebra in the 8th Grade Expansion

This initiative aims to accelerate academic achievement in math by increasing the number of students with access to and success in Algebra in the 8th grade. In 2008, less than 1% of students who were not in one of Boston’s three selective exam schools had access to an 8th grade Algebra course. Over the past three years, since EdVestors began investing in the BPS Algebra Expansion, this percentage has increased to over 20% of non-exam 8th grade students. This funding not only supports continued expansion across the district, but also provides additional supports to teachers and students to ensure the success of students taking Algebra and prepare them for higher level math courses in high school.

Dever-McCormack K-8

The Dever-McCormack K-8 is a Turnaround School where 50% of its students are English Language Learners (ELLs). With the support of EdVestors in 2009, a dual language model was piloted in a strand of kindergarten classrooms where ELLs learn side-by-side with native English speakers, thus reducing isolation and providing opportunities for ELLs to learn with strong language models. The Dever-McCormack now seeks to deepen its dual language program from a strand within a school to a school-wide model serving up to 1,200 students in grades K through 8 when fully implemented. The expansion of this program will significantly increase the opportunity for Boston families to choose a strong dual language program model for their children, whether native English or Spanish speakers.

Dudley Neighborhood Charter School

The Boston Plan for Excellence-Boston Teacher Residency (BPE-BTR) will open a new in-district charter school in September 2012 – the Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School (DSNCS) – which will use a research-based “instructional guidance system” aligning curriculum, assessment, instructional practices, professional development and collaboration, scheduling and staffing so that every child receives precisely targeted instruction in core content areas. The school, which will be a "teaching hospital" school preparing 14 to 25 new teachers each year through the Boston Teacher Residency program, has a goal of ensuring that at least 85% of students read proficiently by third grade, a key indicator of longer-term school success. The DSNCS will be both a lab site for work in other schools and a demonstration site where best practices are tested and shared with other schools.

Playworks with BPS Health & Wellness: Let's Move in BPS

The BPS Health & Wellness Department in partnership with Playworks Metro Boston aims to implement a multipronged strategy to increase the level and quality of physical activity through the school day, with the goal of improving students’ physical, social and emotional health, while creating a healthy, more inclusive school community. The initiative, which will focus on creating active and safe recess for kids, improving the quality of weekly physical education, and engaging families and after-school providers around incorporating physical activity, will work with four schools over two years, and provide extensive training and technical support for school staff, ranging from PE teachers to lunch monitors to classroom teachers.

TechBoston Academy

In order to address a decline of the number of its students enrolling in high level math courses, TechBoston Academy will implement extensive supports for middle grades students, based on their successful ELA model, to improve mathematical achievement for their students. This model includes doubling the amount of time devoted to math courses during the school day through a second targeted math class, extra support for struggling students, after-school help, tutoring and appropriate instructional technology tools. TechBoston is an historically high performing BPS pilot school that has undergone dramatic change in the past three years including the absorption of students from the closed Wilson Middle School and two nearby high schools, more than doubling its student population.