acceleration agenda

8/8/2019 Acceleration Agenda

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Acceleration Agenda20092014

A five-year strategic direction

to transform the

Boston Public Schools

May 2010

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!


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The City of Boston

Thomas M. Menino,Mayor

Boston School Committee

Rev. Gregory G. Groover, Sr., D.Min., ChairMarchelle Raynor, Vice-ChairJohn BarrosAlfreda HarrisClaudio MartinezMichael ONeillMary Tamer


Dr. Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent

26 Court StreetBoston, MA 02108617-635-9000www.bostonpublicschools.org

Email comments or questions about this document to:[email protected]

Pictured on cover: Reginald Alouidor, BPS Class of 2005;Northeastern University Class of 2010

!


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Acceleration Agenda, 20092014

Contents

OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 1

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 2

THEACCELERATIONAGENDA

I. Mission...................................................................................................................... 5

Vision: The BPS Graduate ...................................................................................... 6II. Goals .......................................................................................................................... 7

III.Academic Targets ................................................................................................ 11

IV. Key Strategies........................................................................................................ 12

Strengthen teaching and school leadership......................................................... 14

Replicate success and turn around low-performing schools............................ 22

The Circle of Promise .......................................................................... 23

Deepen partnerships with parents, students, and the community .................. 27

Redesign district services for effectiveness, efficiency, and equity.................. 32

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 36

APPENDICES

A. BPS at a Glance................................................................................................ 38

B. Dimensions of Effective Teaching................................................................ 39

C. Seven Essentials of Whole School Improvement....................................... 40

D. Achievement Gap Policy ................................................................................ 41

E. Annual Academic Targets, 2009-2014.......................................................... 42

F. Additional Resources....................................................................................... 44


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www.bostonpublicschools.org/agenda


Acceleration Agenda,20092014

O V E R V I E W

Mission

As the birthplace of public education in this nation, the Boston Public

Schools is committed to transforming the lives of all children through

exemplary teaching in a world-class system of innovative, welcoming

schools. We partner with the community, families and students to

develop within every learner the knowledge, skill, and character to

excel in college, career, and life.

Goals

! Ensure all students achieve MCAS proficiency! Close access and achievement gaps! Graduate all students from high school prepared for college completion and career

success

Academic Targets

! Reading by the end of Grade 1! Reading to learn in Grade 3! Skillful, analytical writing in Grades 4-12!Algebra 1 in Grade 8! English Language Learners acquire academic language mastery and fluency! Significantacademic growth for students with disabilities! On-track to graduate by the end of Grade 10! High school graduation! College-ready and success-bound

Key Strategies! Strengthen teaching and school leadership! Replicate success and turn around low-performing schools! Deepen partnerships with parents, students, and the community! Redesign district services for effectiveness, efficiency, and equity


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Introduction

N TODAYS GLOBAL ECONOMY, the demands on our students and the opportunities before them aregreater than ever before. The high school graduate from Mattapan no longer competes only withgraduates from Milton and Miami for college admission or a job. Instead, she also must compete with

high school graduates from places like Munich and Mumbai.

To meet the challenges of successfully educating the nextgeneration of workers and leaders, we must embrace boldnew approaches to school reform. We cannot be satisfiedwith business as usual if we are truly committed tocreating bright futures for all of our students. Where thereis success, we must celebrate and replicate. Where we arefalling short, we must take swift and decisive action fordramatic improvement.

The community entrusts in its public schools the awesomeresponsibility of educating and guiding children to becomethe successful men and women of tomorrow. We take thatresponsibility very seriously and settle for nothing less thanthe best for every child who walks through our doors.

In all that we do, we must learn from the past and aspire toa greater future. With the presentation of this five-yearroadmap for the Boston Public Schools, let us first recallwhere we started, take stock of where we are today, andcandidly acknowledge and rigorously prepare for the work

that lies ahead.

WHEREWE STARTED

The transformation of the Boston Public Schools began in earnest in the early 1990s, with the passage of theMassachusetts Education Reform Act that brought standards-based education to school districts throughoutthe Commonwealth. Boston seized the opportunity to launch a new era for the citys public schools,adopting higher learning standards and a shared commitment to establishing a true system of excellentschools. The sustained leadership of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the appointed School Committee, andSuperintendents Thomas W. Payzant and Michael G. Contompasis provided the school district with much-needed continuity and stability that led to steady academic progress. The City invested heavily in schools people, programs, and facilities to restore public confidence in the Boston Public Schools.

Guided by two five-year reform plans, Focus On Children, Boston emphasized improved classroominstruction to raise student achievement. The Dimensions of Effective Teaching (Appendix B) and the SevenEssentials for Whole School Improvement (Appendix C) established citywide expectations for ambitiousschool reform and outstanding instruction. The district embarked on innovative practices in teaching andlearning, expanded early childhood programs, and adopted new governance structures through pilot and

IToday, Boston Public Schools offers

the best education possible

forsome of our students.We have the capacity to offer the

best education possible for

allof our students. Superintendent Carol R. Johnson


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Horace Mann charter schools. As a result, more students moved from warning and failing to passingcategories on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). These innovative approachesand promising results were nationally recognized in 2006 when, after four years as a finalist, Boston PublicSchools received the distinguished Broad Prize for Urban Education as the best city school district in thecountry.

At the same time, the federal No Child Left Behind law placed education reform at the forefront of theAmerican agenda, with greater expectations for measurement and accountability, and a new sense of urgencyto effect significant improvement for students and schools with the lowest performance. Greater attention tostudent outcomes underscored persistent achievement gaps across race, ethnicity, gender, educationalprogram, and socio-economic background. Despite significant investments in high school reform, dropoutrates remained too high, and graduation rates too low. However, Boston had successfully moved from aschool district in decline to an emerging system of schools poised to reach the next level of achievement.

With the arrival of a new superintendent in the fall of 2007, Dr.Carol R. Johnson, the district prioritized listening to the voices of thecommunity to chart a course for improvement. During a 100-daylistening tour, many students, parents, staff, and community

members expressed gratitude for the progress made to date, butothers asserted that persistent achievement gaps, dropout andgraduation rates, and the demands of the future would require newapproaches to the challenges facing students and staff.

Dr. Johnson responded to the community feedback and input fromteachers, support staff, and experts by launching the AccelerationAgenda, an ambitious plan seeking to prioritize academicachievement, address access and achievement gaps, and improvealignment with operations and finance. An underlying principle

included an increased connection with families and engaging a broader group of stakeholders to own the

agenda of accelerating learning amongallstudents.

The Superintendent reorganized the structure of the district to acknowledge that elementary, middle, and highschools face similar challenges but also may require different approaches and more specialized expertise. Byorganizing central office supervision and support by level, the district is becoming more focused on thechanging needs of children and families at different transition points in their educational development.

The Acceleration Agenda was and continues to be informed by studies commissioned by the district andother community and higher education partners (See Appendix F). These reports document uneven access tohigh-quality course offerings across the district, and the need for more differentiated responses for studentswho arrive having had interruption in their schooling experience, having had multiple school transitions, or

needing additional time and supports to succeed. The Acceleration Agenda emphasizes that every studentmust have full access to quality teaching and educational opportunities, and that resources must be distributedequitably to address inequities. This five-year strategic direction integrates these efforts and moves the districttoward a multi-year set of aggressive and accountable targets focused on achieving high school graduation andcollege readiness for all.


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Despite encouraging progress, much work remains to be done to achieve our goals. Although we have madeextraordinary gains in improving MCAS passing rates over the past decade, too few of our students areproficient. Even though we have narrowed the achievement gap at some levels, stark performance disparitiesremain among student groups. And while Boston can be proud to have one of the highest college enrollmentrates in the country, too few of our students complete college. Only when we directly confront thesechallenges, commit to addressing them, and hold ourselves and others accountable for results will we

overcome them. As a district and as a community, we must not be satisfied until allstudents possess theknowledge, skill, and confidence to succeed in college, career, and life.

WHEREWEARE GOING

This five-year strategic direction lays out the key goals, targets, strategies, and initiatives that will mobilize theBoston Public Schools to achieve our mission. It is motivated by a strong sense of urgency that every childhas only one opportunity to receive a high-quality education. It is informed by ongoing conversations withthe communities of our city. And it seeks to take advantage of this unique moment in history, when theenvironment for education reform is enabling changes that only years ago may have seemed unfeasible, if notimpossible.

While the political environment favors reform, the financialenvironment a nation emerging from recession, a statefacing continued billion dollar revenue shortfalls anduncertain prospects for future growth requires the districtto pursue a reform agenda without anticipating many newresources, and in some cases, fewer resources than have beenavailable in the past. The critical and urgent need to movethe academic agenda forward, amid the reality of limitedfunds, will require the district to review current investments and expenditures, discontinue some investments,and better align and target our academic priorities with the resources available. This plan recognizes thatthese aggressive goals will not be achieved overnight or in a single year. Rather, the work will be well-plannedand sequenced over a five-year period, 2009 to 2014, with an aligned strategy that connects academicinitiatives and fiscal resources.

Our work must move ahead. In some cases, we will need to make very difficult choices to reallocateresources to where they are needed most. We are seeking partners who will make strategic investments thatare catalytic and maximize the impact of our work. Ultimately, we will make use of every resource human,fiscal, and time to provide every child in Boston with the best education possible.

Our students and our schools are performing across the full spectrum of achievement levels. Just as we havestudents at high risk of dropping out, we have students earning Adams Scholarships for scoring advanced andproficient on MCAS. While there are students who need tutoring after school to keep pace with theirclassmates, there are also students seeking after-school opportunities to practice the violin or excel in

robotics. Similarly, we have schools in need of immediate intervention, schools considered some of the finestin the nation, and schools at every point in between. Our work is designed to raise the bar across the board from those in need of remediation to those performing at the highest levels. This plan is about continuousimprovement for allschools and allstudents. Everyone has room to grow.

As John Dewey wrote at the turn of the last century, What the best and wisest parent wants for his ownchild, that must the community want for all of its children.

Education, then, beyond allother devices of human origin, is

the great equalizer of the

conditions of men the balance-

wheel of the social machinery.

Horace Mann


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I. Mission

HE LAUNCH OF A NEW FIVE-YEARSTRATEGIC DIRECTION for theBoston Public Schools provides a

valuable opportunity to revisit and updatethe school districts mission statement toreflect our values and purpose. While wemust continue to focus on children,putting their needs first and foremost in allof our decision-making, we must also bemore explicit about the expected and

promised outcomes of that focus. Themission statement must proudly state theunique strengths of our school system and

challenge all of us to reach to new heights.

Therefore, we propose for theconsideration of the Boston SchoolCommittee and the community thefollowing revised mission statement toserve as our mantra moving forward:

In order to work collectively toward thisshared mission for our school district, theentire community must also share a visionand commitment to our Boston PublicSchools graduates. What are the

characteristics we strive to instill in theyoung men and women who have earned ahigh school diploma?

We propose a portrait of the BPS graduateupon completion of high school. Webelieve the children educated in ourschools should grow as learners and asindividuals through a variety of rich

experiences that prepare them to becomethe scholars, innovators, and leaders oftomorrow.

T

Boston Public Schools Mission Statement

As the birthplace of public education in the nation, the Boston Public Schools is

committed to transforming the lives of all children through exemplary teaching in

a world-class system of innovative, welcoming schools. We partner with families

and the community to develop in every student the knowledge, skill, and

characterto excel in college, career, and life.!


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VISION: The Boston Public Schools Graduate

1. Loves to learn, views the world as a classroom without walls,and thinks critically about the issues within it.

2. Succeeds academically in college-level courses across contentareas.

3. Masters verbal and written expression in English, withemerging proficiency in a second language.

4. Uses mathematical skill, scientific inquiry, and state-of-the-arttechnology to invent new solutions to persistent and

unanticipated problems.

5. Exhibits growth, self-discipline, and reflection throughinnovative expression and artistry.

6. Acknowledges and respects people with diverse backgrounds,histories, and perspectives.

7. Assumes personal responsibility for physical and emotionalwell-being by making healthy choices.

8. Contributes confidently and positively in professional andsocial settings, both independently and as a member of a team.

9. Demonstrates resourcefulness and resilience in the face ofsetbacks and obstacles, relying on personal assets and support

from others to achieve goals.

10.Participates actively in a democratic society as a responsible,courageous leader who challenges injustice.


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II. Goals

! Ensure all students achieve MCAS proficiency! Close access and achievement gaps! Graduate all students from high school prepared for college completion and

career success

In order to achieve success, the entire Boston Public Schools community school and central staff,parents, students, and partners must work together toward a shared set of overarching goals. Thesuccess of each student must define and guide our work every day, reminding us what we seek toaccomplish and why. Each of us must remain firmly committed to these goals and understand ourparticular and unique role in helping to achieve them.

The most important work of the Boston Public

Schools takes place in classrooms, where we strivefor outstanding teaching and learning so that everychild performs at the highest levels and reaches hisor her full potential. From pre-school throughhigh school, teachers are at the forefront educating, challenging, and encouraging ourstudents to acquire new knowledge and skills. Allother stakeholders in the district have aresponsibility to support classroom instruction incentral offices, on school buses and athletic fields,in dance studios and cafeterias, at home and in thecommunity. Together, we must create theconditions for rigorous learning and studentgrowth. These goals serve as our beacon theoutcomes to which we aspire every day.

! Ensure all students achieve MCAS proficiencyThe Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is administered to all public schoolstudents in Massachusetts. The tests measure performance based on the Massachusetts CurriculumFramework learning standards and enable the state to report on the performance of individualstudents, subgroups, schools, and districts. In addition, the MCAS program is used to hold schools

and districts accountable for the progress they have made toward the objectives of the No Child LeftBehind legislation that all students be proficient in Reading and Mathematics by 2014.

Certainly, MCAS scores are only one measure of success. We know that standardized tests tell only aportion of the story about the complex task of educating all students in every classroom, and takenalone, they paint an incomplete picture. However, MCAS exams remain one of the cornerstones ofeducation reform in Massachusetts and provide valuable information about the state of our schools.

Adult issues in our schools,

in the political arena, and

throughout our city,

must take a back seat to our

efforts to develop, educate,

and in some cases,

rescue the youth of our city.

Superintendent Carol R. Johnson


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MCAS results play a significant role in the measurement of Adequate Yearly Progress and helpdetermine which schools and which students are making significant gains and which schools andstudents are in need of improvement. MCAS results are a reminder that accountability requiresevidence.

Massachusetts learning standards, and the corresponding MCAS exams to measure them, are among

the most rigorous in the country. In order to earn a high school diploma, students who attend publicschools in Massachusetts must pass Grade 10 MCAS exams in Math, English, and Science, in additionto meeting district graduation requirements. But to be successful in college, our students must achievemore thanpassing. In fact, to meet the State graduation requirement, students must now demonstrateproficiency through higher MCAS scores or through an Educational Proficiency Plan.

Today, proficiency is the standard by which all students and schools are measured. We must insistthat our children have more than a basic knowledge of subject matter; we must expect them to think,apply knowledge in new settings, and learn to express themselves in creative ways. As noted earlier,Boston has made great strides in moving students from warning and failing levels to passing levels.Now we must move all of our students even further, into the proficient and advanced categories onMCAS. Every student in every grade must reach these levels of understanding and performance in the

classroom and on the exams.

! Close access and achievement gapsLike cities across the country, Boston continues to face persistent achievement gaps among differentgroups of students. We cannot label ourselves a great school district when some students areperforming at the highest levels while other students are not. Therefore we must redouble our effortsto prevent and eliminate achievement and access gaps.

The most notable achievement gaps are reflected in performance disparities:

! Byrace and ethnicity: between Black and Latino students and their White and Asian peers;! Bygender: between male and female students;! Byprogram: between students with and without disabilities; and! Bylanguage: between native English speakers and English Language Learners.

The Boston School Committee adopted an Achievement Gap Policy that guides the work of schoolsand the district in eliminating performance disparities. We must put this policy into practicesystemically and continue to identify and address achievement gaps at all levels from the classroomto the district as a whole. Our school communities must engage in frank discussions about these gapsand take intentional steps to eliminate them. We must identify and confront the root causes ofachievement gaps, always asking ourselves why some students excel when others do not. It is

unacceptable to attribute these disparities to the students themselves. Rather, it is our responsibility asadults to set high expectations for every child and ensure that all students have access to rigorouscurriculum, effective instruction, and the supports they need to achieve at the proficient and advancedlevels, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, educational program or socio-economic background.

Similarly, we have a responsibility to eliminate access gaps. We recognize that some children haveaccess to a full range of high-quality programs and resources, while others do not. The Acceleration


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Agenda is designed to grant all students access to opportunities in rigorous academics, arts, athletics,and extra-curricular activities. We must ensure that resources of all kinds including funding,partnerships, and programs are distributed equitably throughout the city. Where unevenness exists,we must be intentional in redirecting resources to schools that need them most.

!Graduate all students from high school prepared for college and career success

In order to compete in the expanding global economy, find career success, and achieve personalfulfillment, all Boston Public Schools students must graduate well-prepared for the academic and non-academic challenges of life after high school. Today, most jobs in the Boston area require a two-yearor four-year college degree a trend that will only continue in the future. Students who earn a collegedegree are more likely to pursue a career that unleashes their potential and offers personal andprofessional fulfillment. College graduates earn almost twice the income of high school graduates overthe course of their lives giving them the power to improve the quality of their own lives and thoseof their families. Furthermore, Americas preeminence in the world hinges on our ability to educateall students at high levelsFor our students to become college graduates, theymust first become high school graduates who arewell-prepared to succeed in post-secondary studies.We have the great challenge and opportunity toensure that every child who enters the BostonPublic Schools makes continuous progress on thepath to earning a high school diploma and isassisted in making a smooth and successfultransition to college. Like cities across the country,Boston faces unacceptable dropout and four-yeargraduation rates. We will work harder and smarter

to ensure that every student especially those atgreatest risk of dropping out receive the supportsthey need to complete high school and college.

A students path to a successful and meaningful career cannot begin in college. Our high schools willexpand efforts to introduce students to a broad range of skills and professions and help them beginexploring careers that meet their interests and abilities. In partnership with area businesses, ourstudents engage in learning and mentorship in the workplace, during the school year and in thesummer. These experiences enable our students to imagine a future for themselves as financialanalysts, lab technicians, computer programmers, or whatever their aspirations may be. A strongfoundation in technical or vocational education that meets industry standards, coupled with rigorous

academic preparation, will help some students transition to skill-oriented careers in the trades andother labor markets.

My math teacher is extremely

vibrant. Because of him, I scored

advanced on the math MCAS. He

uses lively tactics to get his students

involved in learning. He always

pushes me to do better and tells meI can achieve anything. He would

never allow me to fail. He has

always believed in me.

Student, Monument High School


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These dreams will only become reality ifstudents first earn a high school diploma.Boston has emerged as a national leader intaking a data-driven approach to dropoutprevention and recovery. Several years

ago, the district commissioned a landmarkstudy by the Parthenon Group to provideunprecedented data about students whohad dropped out, in order to identifytrends and devise a series of strategies toreduce the dropout rate. The studyrevealed important information aboutstudents who did not complete high schooland highlighted warning signs to identifyand support these students before theydrop out. The result is Graduation forAll, a comprehensive strategy for keeping

young men and women in school andreclaiming those who have left, puttingthem back on track.

At the heart of the strategy to graduate allstudents is a commitment to redesigningevery Boston public high school into arigorous college preparatory school, whereevery student is challenged and supported

in and out of the classroom. Schools mustoffer a wide range of academic andenrichment opportunities that helpstudents grow as scholars, artists, leaders,athletes, and citizens. We must see our

schools as a bridge, not a barrier, to collegesuccess. We must tear down the divide ofa two-tiered system that recognizes thetalents in some students while leavingothers behind. In its place, we must builda system of high schools in which allstudents are valued, celebrated, and giventhe tools and resources to excel in theirareas of strength. We must also recognizethat not every BPS graduate will completethis standard in a traditional four-yearsequence. Differentiation in time, course

delivery, and customized supports areessential components to receiving ameaningful and useful high schooldiploma. The graduates of Boston PublicSchools will leave our schools ready toshape a brighter future for themselves, forour city, and for the global communitythey will inherit.

III.

Academic Targets

H

E

AC

C

E

L

E

RATIONAGENDA includes a set of specific annual targets to measure academic progress across key areas.

T

Recent Boston Public Schools graduates now attending area colleges and universities join officials

to announce the expansion of Advanced Placement programs citywide.


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The following table outlines the five-year targets to be achieved by 2014. For additional detail, includingannual targets for each school year, see Appendix E.

Academic Goal Target by 2014

Reading by the end of Grade 1 " 80% of 1st Graders reading at or above grade level on DIBELSassessment

Reading to learn in Grade 3" 100% of 3rd Graders pass MCAS English" 85% score proficient or advanced" Racial achievement gap fewer than 5 percentage points

Skillful, analytic writing in

Grades 4-12" 20 point increase (compared to 2009-10 baseline) in the percentage of

students scoring Level 3 or 4 across all content areas

Algebra I in Grade 8 " 80% of Math 8 students receive a B or better on the final exam" 40% of non-exam school students take Algebra I in Grade 8

English Language Learners

acquire academic languagemastery and fluency

" 90% of ELLs improve two or more steps on the MEPA within thesame grade span, or one or more steps between grade spansSignificant academic growth

for students with disabilities" 40% of special education students demonstrate high or very high

growth on MCAS English and Math

On-track to graduate by

the end of Grade 10

" 90% of 10th graders pass Math and ELA MCAS exams required forgraduation

" 75% of 10th graders also will pass Science MCAS exams required forgraduation

" 100% of students not proficient in ELA or Math fulfill an EducationalProficiency Plan (EPP)

High school graduation

" Annual dropout rate 3% or lower" 80% four-year graduation rate" 70% four-year graduation rate for ELLs and special education students" 85% five-year graduation rate" 75% five-year graduation rate for ELLs and special education students

College-ready and success-

bound

" Average combined SAT score of 1650 or better" 100% of students take at least one college-level course (Advanced

Placement, Honors, International Baccalaureate, dual enrollment)during high school


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IV. Key Strategies

HEN WE THINK ABOUT THE

WORKrequired to achieve ourvision of the knowledgeable,

skillful, confident BPS graduate, we knowthat our efforts must be customized basedon the needs of specific schools,classrooms, and students. However, eventhese highly individualized plans forimprovement must be guided by a set ofhigh standards and district-wide strategiesfor success. These should be shared by theentire system, and should shape ourdecision-making and priorities, not onlyfrom a fiscal perspective, but also in terms

of our core beliefs about what is requiredto create a world-class system of schools. Itis easy to point to individual schools ofexcellence in our community. What weseek is a community where all schoolsexcel.

While our academic goals and targets areclear, and our vision for the college-readyBPS graduate defined, we recognize thatwe must have a road map to get there. We

need a set of strategies that, when executedeffectively, will propel every schoolforward to serve all students.

We have identified four key strategiesdesigned to close achievement gaps andreach proficiency for all. Thesestrategiesare truly interdependent our success inachieving our goals depends on our abilityto implement each strategy successfully. If,for example, we have great teachers andleaders but offer ineffective district

services, educators will be distracted fromthe core work in the classroom byadministrative and operationalproblems. Similarly, if we replicatesuccessful practices in schools but donot have strong partnerships, studentsmay not have the social and emotional

supports they need to be ready to learn,and academic gains made during the schoolyear may be lost during the summer. Our

ability to achieve our goals is only as strongas our ability to work as a team andcollectively implement all of the keystrategies in an aligned fashion.

We believe the four strategies are powerfullevers and include key objectives thatdelineate our priorities, under which arelisted the programs and initiatives that willachieve these objectives and our mission.We know that the need is urgent, and our

time is limited. Therefore we have notwaited. Some of the initiatives in thisdocument are already well underway.Others will be implemented over thecoming months and years, with the help ofour community and business partners, ourfamilies, and the educators in our schools,who will be asked to change, innovate, andbe flexible in ways that are far frombusiness as usual.

While it is critical to have a clear directionand long term plan for improvement, wemust also remain responsive to thechanging needs of our students andcommunity. Over the next five years,programs and initiatives will evolve.However, we are committed to the beliefthat in order to have strong schools allacross the city, we need the best teachingand leadership, an intentional focus onreplicating success and turning aroundour lowest performing schools, a

commitment to effectiveness, efficiency,and equity in all of our district services,and a true partnership with all of thestakeholders in our efforts to build a betterBoston for our children and our collectivefutures.


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Overview of key strategies

! Strengthen teachingand school leadership! Emphasize rigorous instruction.! Eliminate access and achievement gaps.! Use data to improve instruction.! Hire, support, and reward only the best people.! Replace ineffective teachers and leaders.! Provide multiple paths to graduation.

! Replicate successandturn aroundlow-performing schools! Adopt a district-wide accountability system to ensure the success of all schools.! Expand successful schools, programs, and practices.! Hold low-performing schools accountable for dramatic improvement.

! Deepen partnerships withparents, students and the community! Engage families and students.! Expand and align community partnerships.! Extend learning time.

! Redesign district services for effectiveness, efficiencyand equity! Improve service while reducing costs.! Hold central offices accountable for school results.! Ensure resource equity.!

Prepare for the future.


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Key strategy:Strengthen teaching and school leadershipCHOOL IMPROVEMENT begins and endswith outstanding classroom teaching.Students must be challenged and inspired

every day by master teachers and dedicatedparaprofessionals who adapt instruction to theneeds of each learner, so that all children reachtheir full potential from struggling students inneed of additional support to studentsperforming at the most advanced levels in needof additional challenge.

We must ensure that teachers hold students andthemselves to high expectations. We are workingto prepare teachers and all staff to be culturally

competent, and specifically, we are training staffwith additional strategies to address the needs ofEnglish Language Learners and students withIndividualized Education Plans. We will identifyteaching practices that offer the highest leveragefor learning, and provide teachers with the toolsand curricula that will help them prepare ourstudents for the rigor of college work.

These goals can only be achieved by creating asystem that will recruit, retain, and continue tosupport the strongest educators while replacingthose who are ineffective. Evaluations must be

tied to student achievement; excellent teachers andleaders should be rewarded for theirtransformative work in our schools. We also havean obligation to develop those educators

committed to improvement but requiring guidanceto go from good to great. We expect to work inpartnership with the Boston Teachers Union tocreate a flexible and responsive system of staffingassignment, use of instructional and professionaldevelopment time, and school autonomy andaccountability that will result in the kind of highperformance that is both recognized and rewarded.

In order for teachers and leaders to work togetherto close achievement gaps and move schools

forward, we must make data-driven decisions thatput the needs of children before adults. We mustprovide schools with timely information thatallows them to measure student progress on anongoing basis and respond with appropriateinterventions.

The key to school transformation is improvedteaching and learning particularly bystrengthening educators skills to acceleratestudents academic growth. However, it takesmore than great instruction to change thecharacter of a school. Principals, teachers, parents,and students also must focus on the culture andclimate of the school community. A trulyexemplary school must offer rigorous classroomlearning, but it must also create a welcomingenvironment, with high expectations for studentsand staff performance and relationships. A deepsense of mutual respect and support mustpermeate the school. When families and visitorswalk through the front door, they will knowinstantly that this is a school that values children

and is truly committed to their personal andacademic success.

S

The teacher is the real

soldier of democracy.

Others can defend it, but only

(s)he can make it work.

General Omar Bradley


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Programs and initiatives to support key strategy:

Strengthen teaching and school leadership

!Emphasize rigorous instruction.

! Dimensions of Effective Teaching! Cultural Competence Training! Revamped Professional Development! Multi-tiered Interventions

Eliminate access and achievement gaps.

! ELL Program Expansion! Special Education Program Expansion! Dual Certifications! Early Childhood Expansion and Accreditation! Elementary Reading Program! Advancement Via Individual Determination

(AVID) College Preparation Program! Advanced Work Class (AWC)! Algebra in Grade 8! College-Level Courses! On-line learning! Ten Boys Initiative! Newcomer Assessment & Counseling CenterUse data to transform instruction.

! Individual Student Profiles (Leading and LaggingIndicators)

! Formative Assessments! School-Based Data Teams (AI2)! Instructional Rounds (Classroom Observations)! MyDATA Student Information System! MCAS Growth Data (district, school, classroom,

student)! Student Constructive Feedback Survey

Hire, support, and reward only the best

people.

! Recruitment and Hiring of a Qualified and DiverseTeaching Force

! Evaluation and Compensation Linked to StudentAchievement

! Retention of the Strongest Teachers! Principal Development ProgramReplace ineffective teachers and leaders.

! Termination of Underperforming Staff! Expedited Dispute ResolutionProvide multiple paths to graduation.

! Credit Recovery! Re-Engagement Center! Newcomers Academy! Alternative / GED Programs


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Emphasize rigorous instruction.

! Dimensions of Effective Teaching The districtadopted a set of skills, characteristics, and behaviorsthat describe effective educators who propelstudents to achieve at high levels (see Appendix B).

These principles of instruction, beginning with highexpectations for all students, will not just live in theteacher evaluation document, but will inform andshape the professional development of our teachersacross all levels and content areas.

! Cultural Competence TrainingBPS willimplement a train the trainer model to bringcultural proficiency tools and strategies to everyschool, through both school-based and externalresources. We will provide all schools withprofessional development and guidance to identifyachievement gaps and assess beliefs and attitudes inorder to implement strategies to eliminate thesegaps. We will work more intensively with a selectgroup of schools with persistently large performancedisparities.

! Revamped Professional Development Giventhe unique challenges each school faces and theunique strengths and development needs eachteacher brings, it is critical that professionaldevelopment is of high quality, results-oriented, andcustomized to individual schools and teachers. Across-functional task force of Boston Public Schools

staff is examining the best ways to align andintegrate professional development offerings toimprove teacher effectiveness and make significantgains in student achievement.

! Multi-tiered Interventions BPS will establish aResponse to Intervention (RTI) service deliverymodel in all schools, which uses a multi-tieredapproach to literacy instruction, coupled with aproblem-solving philosophy. This model willprovide safety nets for struggling readers andwriters, establish support for students with

behavior-related issues (PBIS), and significantlyreduce the number of students referred to specialeducation.

SPOTLIGHT:

Teacher Quality

Outstanding classroom instruction is at the core of

student and school improvement. Our children will

achieve success only if they are educated by first-class teachers with the commitment, skill and

beliefs to help every child reach his or her full

potential.

Therefore, in order to ensure that our children are

taught by the very best, we must prioritize the

recruitment, hiring, and development of top-notch

teachers and have both the means and the will to

evaluate and remove ineffective teachers.

BPS has earned national recognition for its

investments in human capital, particularly programs

to help educators hone the skills needed to advance

their careers. To accelerate progress, we must

reassess and strengthen programs to attract and

develop the best teachers and leaders. We will

expand efforts to recruit, hire and retain a more

diverse workforce that reflects the population of the

students we serve, particularly teachers of color.

We must also groom teachers from within our own

ranks, by strengthening programs to help our

paraprofessionals, high school students, and others

to become the great teachers of tomorrow.

Above all, we cannot settle for mediocre instruction

in any classroom. Teachers who cannot improve

students academic growth must be properlyevaluated and dismissed. We will work with the

teachers union and others to ensure that only the

most skilled and accomplished teachers are

entrusted with the responsibility of educating our

children.

We will continue to use Boston Teacher Residency

(BTR), Teach for America, and other innovative

teacher quality research and development

programs, and work with institutions of higher

education to improve the quality of teacher

preparation programs. We will also negotiate

contracts with the Boston Teachers Union to revisit

teacher performance compensation and evaluationwith a greater emphasis on student outcomes.

Excellent teachers should be rewarded for

improving their students academic performance,

teachers with significant potential should be

nurtured, and teachers whose students fail to make

gains must be held accountable for those results.


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Eliminate access and achievement gaps.

! English Language Learners Program ExpansionBPS will develop, create, and sustain new and existingresearch-based, high-quality programs that address the needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) and SpecialEducation students. For ELLs, these include Sheltered English Instruction Language Specific, ShelteredEnglish Instruction (SEI), Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE), and Two-Way Bilingual, or dualimmersion programs. The School Committees ELL Task Force will help guide this transformational work,

convening regularly and providing quarterly reports to help accelerate the achievement of students learningEnglish.We have embarked upon a national search for the first Assistant Superintendent for SpecialEducation. Informed by the recommendations of the Council of the Great City Schools review, the new leaderwill expand efforts to ensure all students with disabilities perform at higher levels.

! Restructuring Special Education and Student Services - After conducting a national search, we have hiredthe first Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Student Services. Informed by therecommendations of the Council of the Great City Schools review, the new leader will expand efforts to ensureall students with disabilities achieve at higher levels. Starting in September 2010 and continuing into the future,we will strengthen the continuum of settings and array of services for all students, expand the availability ofinclusive settings and services for students with disabilitites, improve and increase the options for students onthe autism spectrum, and develop more effective approaches to transition planning and service delivery.

!Dual Certifications BPS will increase the number of teachers who are dual certified in their content area andSpecial Education or English as a Second Language (ESL) through new teacher hiring, SPED and ESLPathways Programs, and other professional development opportunities, with the goal of 80% of our teachersbeing certified in SPED or ESL by 2014.

! Early Childhood Expansion and AccreditationBostons early childhood programs are among the best inthe country. They are content-rich in science, literacy, arts and math. Over the past five years, BPS hasexpanded to serve more than 2,500 children in pre-kindergarten classrooms, with demand increasing every year.BPS will continue to strengthen and expand programs, particularly full-day K1 classrooms for four-year-olds.Seven BPS elementary schools have earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children (NAEYC), affirming that these programs offer high-quality, state-of-the-art education to helpget children off to a successful start. Mayor Menino and Superintendent Johnson have established a goal ofevery Boston elementary school achieving this distinction within 10 years.

! Elementary Reading ProgramTo ensure a consistent,rigorous program of study that prepares all students to read andwrite proficiently, BPS has instituted professional developmentalong with Pearsons Reading Street, a district-wide reading programfor students in kindergarten through grade 5. Additional materials(Sidewalks) are designed to support struggling readers.

! Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)BPScontinues to train 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teachers to implement theAVID elementary program, which is a nationally-recognizedcurriculum designed to prepare students in the middle forcollege through skill-building and college exposure.


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! Advanced Work Class (AWC)So thatevery qualified student will have access to anaccelerated curriculum in the intermediate andmiddle grades, BPS will review our AWCofferings, and strategically expand or revampprograms to meet the demand across the city.

! Algebra in Grade 8To ensure that ourstudents are prepared for college level math bygraduation, it is critical that we increase thenumber of Grade 8 students taking andpassing Algebra 1. While eighth grade Algebrahas traditionally been a course for exam schoolstudents, Algebra 1 will be a standard course atevery middle and K-8 school by 2014.

! College-Level Courses in High SchoolWe know that students who are exposed tocollege level work in high school are more

successful when they graduate. This is why wehave set the target that 100% of our highschool students take at least one AdvancedPlacement, International Baccalaureate,Honors, or Dual Enrollment course beforecompleting Grade 12. BPS has received a $2.4million federal grant to expand AP access andincrease achievement in these courses.

! Online Learning In our global society, it isimperative that every student develops theability to access and critically evaluateinformation with a mastery of tools and skills

that allow for 21st century communication,collaboration, and learning. Online learningprovides opportunities for students to engageactively with rigorous content, extendinglearning beyond the traditional classroom. Inan online experience, students interact with theteacher and one another in a morecollaborative way, affording students control

over their learning and empowering them toset the pace at which they progress throughtheir education. BPS has been awarded a two-year federal grant through the AmericanReinvestment and Recovery Act (ARR) tosupport online learning for high schoolsstudents. The grant enables BPS teachers to

design core content course curricula anddeliver instruction in a student-driven onlinelearning management system.

! Ten Boys InitiativeFifty Boston PublicSchools are taking an innovative new approachto closing the achievement gap with programsspecifically geared to Black and Latino boys.The schools have created Ten Boys clubs,primarily comprised of boys of color whoperformed in the "needs improvement"category on the MCAS exams last year, in an

effort to help them move to the "proficient" or"advanced" levels on the state tests and to helpthem reach their potential through mentoringand collaboration. The program is designed toprovide the boys with additional support tosupport their academic, social, and emotionalgrowth into successful young men.

! Newcomer Assessment & CounselingCenterThe redesigned center ensures thatwhen a family whose home language is notEnglish registers with the Boston PublicSchools, the child is tested and the family

provided counseling about appropriateprogram and placement options. Multilingualstaff are trained to assess students, K2 throughhigh school, in reading, writing, listening andspeaking, and help families understand theschool choices to meet their childrensacademic and linguistic needs.

Hire, support, and reward only the best people.

!Recruitment and Preparation of aQualified and Diverse Teaching ForceSee Spotlight on page 16.

! Evaluation and Compensation Linked toStudent AchievementRewards should bebased on results, and BPS seeks to revise the

evaluation process and compensation structurefor school-based and central office staff tofocus on performance and outcomes. Thisincludes a rigorous, data-driven review forteachers being considered for tenure, which isa critical gateway into a BPS teaching career.


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! Retention of the Strongest TeachersWhile the Boston Teacher Residency remains anationally acclaimed, innovative model of in-house teacher development for those enteringthe profession, we will expand opportunitiesfor second-stage teachers to further e levatetheir craft, creating a cadre of master teachers

in the district.

! Principal Development Program For thepast several years, the Boston PrincipalFellowship has served as our primary model toidentify and train the future leaders of our

schools. In partnership with the SpringfieldPublic Schools and the Wallace Foundation,the district established new leadershipstandards. With these standards, coupled withthe best practices from the existing program,we will create a redesigned intensive learningexperience for beginning and veteran

principals and headmasters, in order to equipour schools with the transformationalleadership required to develop the intensiveteam improvement work around instruction, aswell as school climate and culture.

Replace ineffective teachers and leader

! Termination of Underperforming StaffInour urgent effort to accelerate studentachievement, we must ensure that the mostqualified adults are providing services to ourstudents. BPS will work with the BostonTeachers Union to redesign the teacherperformance review process. We also willprovide principals with the necessary intensiveassistance required as they conduct evaluationsof teachers who are not generating significantstudent achievement in their classrooms.Principals and central office staff will be heldto the highest standards, through school

performance reviews and other measures suchas the balanced scorecard. A pattern ofunderperformance will result in staff dismissal.

! Expedited Dispute ResolutionsLabordisputes can often drag on over time,becoming costly and pullingtime, resourcesand attention away from the teaching andlearning in our schools. BPS will work with theBTU to develop an expedited disputeresolution process that will seek to settle thesematters in a fair, timely, cost-effective mannerfor everyone.

Provide multiple paths to graduation.

! Credit Recovery A thorough study of the BPS dropoutchallenge confirmed that many of the students who dropped outof high school were just a few course credits short of graduation.BPS has instituted a robust credit recovery program, wherestudents can take courses for credit online, allowing them to makeup additional classes during the school year and summer. Thisprogram, in combination with night school courses and SummerReview courses, have helped us achieve our lowest dropout rate intwo decades. Two years ago, the district instituted a new SummerCommencement Ceremony, which provides students and theirfamilies the opportunity to celebrate high school completion inAugust. We will request that the State offer MCAS retests to

students in grades 11 and 12 in the summer. We will also requestthat the State continue to add administrations of ELA, Math, andScience MCAS exams so that students have more opportunities tofulfill graduation requirements.


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! Re-Engagement CenterAs we engage inthe work of reclaiming our students who havedropped out of our schools, we must providethem with personalized supports for asuccessful transition. The new Re-Engagement Center allows students to make

up classes, work with specialists who will findthe best educational match for their uniquecircumstances, and customize support forthem until they earn their high school diploma.In its first year, the center served more than500 students.

! Newcomers AcademyTo address the lowgraduation rate for English Language Learners,BPS created Newcomers Academy, a transitionprogram for students ages 14-18 who recentlyarrived to the United States with limited

English proficiency. The program providesshort-term academic, linguistic, and socialsupport to prepare students for successfulentry to a diploma-granting high school. This

program, combined with Boston InternationalHigh School and other ELL supports, providethe needed safety net for late arriving EnglishLanguage Learners with interruptions in theireducation.

! Alternative/GED ProgramsAlternativeschools and programs are an importantcomponent in the system of supports fordropouts and off-track youth. Theseprograms exist both within the district andwith community partners who serve ourstudents. The district will conduct SchoolQuality Reviews (SQRs), reconfigure, andrealign the network of alternative educationand GED providers both BPS andcommunity-based to the recommendationsfrom the Parthenon Study, which suggests that

the district should move towards anEducational Options Model that ensures highquality educational settings for all students.

Use data to transform instruction.

! Individual Student Profiles (Leading andLagging Indicators)Every school isprovided with a report containing profiles ofits new incoming students. Summaryinformation on key leading and laggingindicators includes demographiccharacteristics, engagement in school, learningoutcomes in core subjects, MCASperformance, and history of off-track statussince Grade 6. The report allows schoolleaders and teachers to proactively address theneeds of individual students who are at greaterrisk of dropping out and may need extrasupport from the moment that they arrive atschool.

! Formative Assessments BPS launchedformative assessments for students in Grades

3-12 to provide useful data to teachers, schoolleaders, and staff in order to improveinstruction. Every six weeks, teachers will usethese formative assessments to assess studentprogress, diagnose areas of difficulty, andidentify students not predicted to passupcoming MCAS exams. Teachers will use

this data to design targeted, appropriateinstructional strategies.

! School-Based Data Teams (AI2 ) A jointinitiative of BPS, Boston Plan for Excellence,and Boston Teacher Residency, with fundingfrom the Carnegie Corporation, AcceleratingImprovement through Inquiry (AI2) aims toaccelerate gains in student learning whilebuilding the capacity of teacher leaders andadministrators to systematically lead schoolimprovement efforts. School teams track eachstudents progress toward graduation using astructured inquiry method to identify andrefine strategies that improve studentoutcomes.

! Instructional RoundsInspired by medicalrounds, this model for educators has emergedfrom Harvard Universitys Public EducationLeadership Project with Dr. Richard Elmore.All BPS Academic Superintendents andprincipals are beginning to use this model forassessing performance in classrooms,diagnosing instructional and school climate


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problems, and aligning data elements to guideinterventions.

! MyDATA Student Information SystemTimely and accurate data are the backbone ofthe districts accountability strategy. BPS willlaunch a new student information system

called MyDATA, a comprehensive suite oftools that provides cohesiveness among keyeducational stakeholders such as schooladministrators, teachers, students, parents, andour community partners to ensure andimprove student success.

! MCAS Growth Data The MassachusettsDepartment of Elementary and SecondaryEducation released the first year of growthdata this past fall, which measures the rate ofimprovement for individual students as

compared to their peers with similar academichistory, from one year of MCASadministration to the next. This allows us to

assess how fast we are accelerating studentprogress at the district, school, classroom, andsingle student level, and analyze the factorsthat contribute to very high growth. The newmeasure also provides a more nuancedassessment of school progress, given that someschools performing at low levels may

demonstrate considerable growth.

! Student Constructive Feedback SurveyThe Boston Student Advisory Councilpresented a proposal to the School Committeethat would enable students to complete asurvey twice per year to provide teachers withconstructive feedback on their classroompractices. The tool would be used not forevaluation purposes but to give teachers robustinformation about students own experiencesin class so teachers may reflect upon and

improve their practice. In May 2010, theBoston School Committee approved thisproposal.


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Key strategy: Replicate success and turn around low-performing schools

LTHOUGH THE SPECIFIC INTERESTS andneeds of each family may vary, all familiesare alike in their desire for outstanding

schools. In every community, the people ofBoston have articulated their urgent need for morehigh-quality options. Boston Public Schools offersaccess to award-winning, nationally-recognizedschools whose results are heralded and whosepractices are researched and shared across thecountry. Our families demand and every studentdeserves nothing less than the best we have tooffer.!!A strong accountability system is essential to

ensuring that every school provides students withthe best education possible. We have developed anew accountability framework to ensure that eachschool receives the supports and interventions itneeds to accelerate progress. New school progressreports will equip parents and community partnerswith the information they need to support schoolimprovement and hold staff accountable.

The accountability system also shines a spotlighton successful schools, programs, and practices that

are advancing students to higher levels ofperformance and academic achievement. Wherethere are schools that have proven successfulthrough improved outcomes, we will continue toexpand capacity so that more students can benefit.Where successful programs have increased studentachievement elsewhere, such as InternationalBaccalaureate, we will offer new opportunities andexpand access. And where teachers generateoutstanding results, we will identify, document,and replicate their promising practices.

While the accountability system highlights bestpractices, it also focuses attention on areas ofunderperformance. When schools dont educate

students well or meet the high expectations of ourcommunity, we must work to improve the qualityof those schools. In schools that requiresubstantial improvements, such as theCommonwealth designated Level 4 turnaroundschools, we must take swift action to put them ona new path to excellence. In extreme cases, schoolsthat are deemed unable to make the fundamentalchanges necessary for improvement may notreopen in their current form. Instead, the existingprogram would be replaced by one with a proven

record of success in order to meet the needs ofstudents and families in that building.

Expanding what works and significantly alteringwhat doesnt require innovative approaches thatchallenge the status quo. The new educationreform law passed by the Massachusetts legislaturein January 2010 provides us the ability to create atleast four Horace Mann in-district charter schools.These new schools will surely replicate bestpractices from our portfolio of successful

programs, but they also allow us to establish newmethods of reaching excellence. For Level 4schools, we must take dramatically differentapproaches to turning around underperformancethrough innovative use of time, resources, andhuman capital.

The accountability system is built on the premisethat every school and every child from the moststruggling to the most advanced has the potentialto improve. As a district, we must put thestructures and innovative practices in place to

build a culture of accountability across all schools.


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The Circle of Promise

There are highly chosen, successful schools inevery neighborhood of the city. However, whenwe identify groups of schools in greatest need ofimprovement, we cannot overlook a

disproportionate representation of strugglingschools in particular areas most notably thecenter of the city, including Roxbury, NorthDorchester, and sections of Jamaica Plain and theSouth End. That is not to suggest that all of theschools in this area are underperforming; in fact,some of the most successful and sought-afterschools in Boston are in these communities.However, given the higher concentration of low-performing schools, we must take a strategicapproach to address disparities in these

communities.

We are referring to this area of high need and evenhigher potential as the Circle of Promise. Thestudents and families in these communities areoften faced with challenges that extend beyond the

classroom and require the collective support of ourentire community. We envision a community ofstakeholders creating a circle of support aroundthese families and students that is connected toschools, but also addresses the broader array ofneeds that become barriers to student success. Wewill need our faith-based, business, and non-profitpartners to concentrate strategic resources andtime in support of the schools, students, andfamilies within this circle. We must do all that wecan to ensure that the promise that this

community and its children hold is fully realized.

!!

!


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Adopt a district-wide accountability system to ensure the success of all schools.

! School Performance Index The Office ofAccountability is developing a sophisticatedtool that will enable the district to measureschool performance more accurately. Factorsto be considered include student absolute

performance, student growth, the quality ofthe school climate, and the number of familiesthat choose a school.

! School Supports and InterventionsFramework Boston Public Schools seeks toensure that all schools are on a path ofcontinuous improvement. Based on the resultsof the performance index, the Office ofAccountability is developing a framework toensure that each school receives appropriate

supports and interventions. This frameworkwill enable the district to provide a transparentand equitable means of accelerating schoolprogress.

!School Progress ReportsIn the fall of2010, Boston Public Schools will release a newSchool Progress Report, aligned to the districttargets, that publicly reports school results andprovides families and community groups withthe meaningful information they need tounderstand their schools performance. Thisreport will empower families to be moreinformed and engaged in school improvementefforts.

Expand successful programs and practices.! Pathways to Excellence See Spotlight on

page 25.

! School AutonomiesPilot schools weredesigned to serve as laboratories of innovationfrom which much could be learned districtwide. Our schools with increased flexibilityaround staffing, governance, budget,scheduling, and curriculum will be held tostrong results, and will be expected to sharetheir innovative practices with schools

throughout the district. In cases whereincreased autonomy at the school level wouldprovide the best results for our students, wewill expand the network of pilot schools,Discovery schools, and Horace Mann in-district charters.

! International Baccalaureate andMontessori While Boston is known acrossthe country as an innovator in education, wecontinue to look for programs that havedemonstrated extraordinary success. We will

adopt some of these nationally andinternationally recognized programs in ourschools, beginning with the Montessoriprogram in the East Boston Early EducationCenter and the International Baccalaureateprogram at the Quincy Upper School andSnowden International High School.

! Teacher Leaders and Teams From MCASand Advanced Placement performance data toNational Board Certification to nominationsfrom inspired students, there is quantitativeand qualitative data to identify the expertpractitioners who can serve as an incredibleresource in our design and delivery ofprofessional development for all teachers. It isimperative that we build structuredopportunities for these exemplary teacherleaders to open their classrooms and model

their practice to other teachers. We also knowthat in our highest performing schools,educators work together as a collective team tolearn from one another and address studentsneeds. !!

! School ExemplarsFrom internal measuresand accolades such as school climate surveydata and EdVestors School on the Move Prizeto external assessments such as the GastonInstitutes study and Harvard/BostonUniversitys data on Special Education, we

have a wide array of schools in our districtwhose programs can serve as models forreplication. We must formalize relationshipsamong school leaders to learn best practicesfrom other principals.


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Hold low-performing schools accountable for dramatic improvement.

! High Expectations for Immediate Results After aninitial diagnostic assessment, each school identified as aturnaround school is expected to demonstrate gains of10 points or more on its English Language Arts or MathMCAS Composite Performance Index a measure that

shows the extent to which students are progressingtoward proficiency.

! Timely, Targeted Use of New LegislativeFlexibilities In January 2010, the Massachusettslegislature passed An Act Relative to the AchievementGap, a historic education reform law that providesBoston Public Schools with additional tools to turnaround its lowest performing schools. Boston is theonly district in the state to utilize the expeditedturnaround process that allows the district to makechanges in school staff, programs, and schedules toaccelerate student achievement.

! Intensive Monitoring, Support, and Intervention The district will provide each school with supports andinterventions that are proven to turn around low-performing schools. Each school will receive immediateinvestments that provide for additional instructionaltime, targeted content support for teachers, and more.Central office staff will partner with school leadership tomonitor school progress, identify challenges, and adoptplans to maximize opportunities for each school to meetits performance targets.

Serious Consequences for Failure to Meet Targets!Failureto meet the performance targets requires accountability. Eachschool identified as a turnaround school that does not meet itsperformance target by 2012 or earlier will be reconstituted,including possible replacement of all staff, including the principaland teachers, with new staff.

SPOTLIGHT:

Pathways to Excellence

In the fall of 2008, Superintendent Johnsonpresented to the School Committee and the

community an ambitious plan to expand,

close, consolidate, relocate, and create

schools. The proposals were designed to

replace ineffective schools with higher

performing programs proven to meet the

needs of students and families, while at the

same time, making better use of district

resources during a time of unprecedented

fiscal challenges.

Elements of the Pathways to Excellence

plan are now in place, with new andimproved programs opened in September

2009. The reorganization included the

creation of seven new or expanded

kindergarten-through-grade-8 (K-8)

programs, which offer families greater

continuity between the elementary and

middle grades. The district also created

more seats in innovative pilot schools, with

three new schools and the expansion of two

others.

These initiatives helped set the stage for the

next phase of work to transform the districtsunderperforming schools into thriving

learning communities. For example, two

middle schools that consistently failed to

make academic progress the Wilson in

Dorchester and the Lewenberg in Mattapan

have been replaced by a new TechBoston

Academy Lower School and the Young

Achievers K-8 Pilot Math & Science School,

respectively.

Additional components of the Pathways to

Excellence proposal will be reviewed over

the coming year as part of a federally-funded study of student assignment.

In these and other turnaround schools

across the city, BPS families now have

greater access to excellence for their

children.


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Key strategy: Deepen partnerships with parents, students, and the community

CHOOLS ALONE CANNOT ENSURE that everychild achieves academic success and personalwell-being. Parents and families remain our

most important partners. Therefore, educatorsmust do everything possible to develop strong,sustained relationships with families and keypartners to challenge, engage, and support studentsin and out of school. We must forge robust home-school connections with ongoing communicationamong parents, teachers, principals, other adults,and students themselves, focused on academicimprovement. Families must have a clearunderstanding of expectations for teaching andlearning, as well as an active role in school

decision-making, particularly through School Siteand Parent Councils.

Similarly, we must ensure that students have avoice in the decisions that affect their lives andtheir learning. At the school and district level,

students must have a place at the table to expresstheir ideas, concerns, questions, and aspirations.They know better than anyone what works and

what does not work to keep students in school,engaged, and on track to success.

Our students also must understand the effort andhard work necessary to graduate college-ready.Adults are not always able to reach the studentsmost disaffected in our schools. Creating andsustaining a peer culture that seeks and iscommitted to excellence requires a peer culturethat values education. Our best hope of creatingthat culture lies in the hands of student leaderswhom we develop to be our best and mostconvincing translators to those who may otherwisenot see education as in their long-term best

interest.

We must tap into the rich resources in Boston the world-class colleges and universities, healthcare providers, cultural institutions, non-profits,community based organizations, and businesseslarge and small to expand access to high-qualityprograms that address students academic, social,and emotional needs and help students to see theconnection between school work and careerpossibilities. We must also better acknowledgeand appreciate the service of volunteers who give

their time and expertise to assist our teachers andmentor our students.

And we must rethink our use of time. The currenttraditional school day is not sufficient to achieveour ambitious goals. We must expand learningtime and change the way we use the school day to help students advance to higher levels andafford teachers time to have the collegialconversations that enhance teamwork and sharedaccountability. We cannot increase time without

the joint efforts of our community partners.Together, we will create a strong system ofsupports that help equip all of our students forsuccess in college, career, and life.

S

Michael Davis (East Boston High School Class of

2010, Student Representative on the Boston School

Committee) with Mayor Thomas M. Menino.


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Programs and initiatives to support key strategy:

Deepen partnerships with parents, students, and the community

Engage families and students.

! Parent University! Student Leadership and Peer Culture! Whole School Improvement Plans! Family-Friendly Schools Certification! Family and Community Outreach! School Choice

Expand and align communitypartnerships.

! Community Partnership Coordination! Institutional Advancement! Arts Expansion! Athletics and Enrichment! Student Health and Wellness! Thrive in Five! Higher Education Partnerships! Career Explorations

Extend learning time.

! Extended Day! Community Learning Initiative


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Engage families and students.

! Parent UniversitySee Spotlight on this page.! Student Leadership and Peer CultureAll high schools are

expected to have an active system of student governance thatempowers students to play an active role in decision-making attheir schools. Two students from each school serve on theBoston Student Advisory Council (BSAC), the vehicle forstudent leadership and voice at the district level. These studentengagement systems are being expanded to middle schools, sothat younger students can develop leadership capabilities andcontribute to school improvement efforts. In addition to theseformal mechanisms for engaging student leaders, schools alsomust adopt ongoing means of ensuring student voice isencouraged, heard, and addressed both in decision making andin classroom instruction.

! Whole School Improvement Plans (WSIP)Every schoolhas a Family and Student Engagement plan embedded into itsWSIP, the school-based strategic plan for improvement, basedon student data and input from staff and the community. Theplans must emphasize and hold school communitiesaccountable for meaningful parent involvement, particularly insupporting the instructional needs of children.

! Family-Friendly Schools Certification BPS will identifyFamily-Friendly Schools that have exemplary familyengagement practices linked to student learning. Using theBPS Family Engagement Standards rubric and feedback fromschool climate surveys, schools will assess their familyengagement practice, plan programs, and implement successful

strategies to improve their efforts. Schools with exemplarypractices in engaging families will be used as models for otherschools.

! Family and Community Outreach The district willcontinue to strengthen and expand communication withfamilies about policies and procedures, as well as the majorissues, challenges, and opportunities in the Boston PublicSchools. BPS will find new ways to seek input and supportfrom families, including developing a diverse cadre of parentsto serve as advisors and ambassadors on critical issues.

! School Choice The Office of Welcome Services was createdin December 2008 to support Boston families with theinformation they need to choose, enroll, and transition successfully at all grade levels. Working in partnership withEnrollment Services and Family and Student Engagement, the district launched Middle O!, a summer celebratoryevent to support families as students move into middle school. Principals and counselors now engage in district-wide professional development sessions so that they can best support their students around middle and high schooloptions. This year, we will provide every eighth grade student with a school choice manual and host a FreshmanForum in June to prepare students for high school.

SPOTLIGHT:

Parent University

In the fall of 2009, BPS launched Parent

University, a year-long training andeducation program to help Boston parents

support their childrens personal and

academic growth. The program offers

parents and other caregivers a free series

of workshops, including several full-day

Saturday sessions, to become more active

partners in teaching and learning.

Funded in part through the American

Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA),

Parent University is designed to help

families increase their understanding of:

how children learn and develop;what their children should be learning; how to help their children get what they

need to succeed; and

how to bring other parents together towork for school improvement.

Participants who earn a minimum number

of credits participate in a graduation

ceremony for Parent University at the end

of the year.

!


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Expand and align community partnerships.

! Community Partnerships CoordinationBPS is fortunate to have strong partnerships with a wide range oflocal organizations at the school and district level. Partners from business, arts and culture, higher education,health and human services, volunteer organizations, and other sectors provide immeasurable support tostudents in and out of the classroom, during and after the school day. The adoption of this five-year strategicdirection presents a valuable opportunity to conduct a comprehensive inventory of partnerships and develop

strategies to ensure full alignment with the goals and priorities of the Boston Public Schools. Our partnershave sometimes found it difficult to connect with district priorities in a systematic way. We must establish acentral point of contract for communicating with our partners, harnessing resources, and ensuring maximumimpact for children. We must be sure to hold accountable those who operate before- and after-schoolprograms in our schools, to ensure that student learning and enrichment opportunities are equitably distributedthroughout the city.

! Institutional Advancement The district securedexternal resources to support the establishment of theInstitutional Advancement Office to align and enhanceour development and fundraising efforts. This newlyestablished office will direct and expand the districts

fundraising and serve as the liaison between many of theexternal partners and district priorities.

! Arts ExpansionBPS, in partnership with EdVestors,is working to expand students access to high-qualityexperiences in arts and music through a $2.5 millionfundraising effort and strategic implementation plan. TheWallace Foundation awarded an additional $750,000 toenable the BPS to develop the long-term plan necessaryto achieve the goal of all students in kindergarten throughGrade 8 receiving arts instruction at least once weeklythroughout the school year.

! Athletics and EnrichmentBPS has partnered with the Mayors Office and Suffolk Constructions Red &Blue Foundation to create the Boston Scholar Athlete program, an initiative that aims to raise $7.5 million infunding and equipment to link academics and athletics, and establish or improve the quality of high schoolmens and womens sports teams through 2012. Additional fundraising of $3 million per year thereafter willhelp establish training programs for all coaches, and implement tutoring and mentoring programs for allathletes. The Play Ball! Foundation has partnered with our middle schools to create the first Middle SchoolFootball League, with plans to expand the program in the years ahead. Athletics remain a powerful tool forengaging students in constructive after-school activities. Additional opportunities in urban debate, science andtechnology exploration, and the arts offer students a broad range of extra-curricular activities.

! Student Health and WellnessFamily and community partners also have a valuable role to play inpromoting the health and wellness of our students. As we strive to prevent childhood obesity and ensure that

our children understand the importance of health, nutrition, and exercise, we rely on parents and other partnersin the community to help students make healthy choices in and out of school. Moreover, we seek tostrengthen and expand relationships with the Boston Public Health Commission and health providers,including mental health professionals, to provide additional support to students with particular social andemotional issues that interfere with their education. We must continue to build on Boston Connects and othermodels that establish ongoing relationships between school staff and community providers to address the fullrange of students academic and non-academic needs.

After raising three children inBoston Public Schools, I finally feel

like the district is living up to being

a real team player. I finally feelheard and valued, and most of all,

my family feels part of the process

of change for better schools,

families, and communities.

BPS Parent


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! Thrive in Five A new city initiative led by Mayor Menino and the United Way helps ensure that all childrenarrive at school ready to learn. This comprehensive approach focuses on strengthening programs across thecity that support families and children from birth to age five. BPS plays an active leadership role in helpingfamilies and communities promote, define, and measure school readiness, and serves more than 2,000 studentsages three and four through early childhood programs in sixearly education centers and many elementary and K-8 schools.

! Higher Education Partnerships BPS is a lead partner inMayor Meninos Success Boston initiative to ensure that all BPSgraduates earn a college degree. In partnership with localcolleges, businesses, and nonprofits, BPS is committed to everystudent Getting Ready, Getting In, and Getting Through.This initiative expands work throughout the district that teamspremier higher education institutions with our schools, in aneffort to bridge the transition from high school to collegeentrance. Another example of these ongoing relationships isStep UP, where Boston College, Boston University, Harvard,Northeastern, and Tufts have partnered deeply andcollaboratively with ten Boston Public Schools in order to raise

student achievement and support the whole student.

! Career Explorations It is imperative that our students areexposed to opportunities that nurture their future career goalsand interests, and prepare them for a 21st century workforce.The Mayors commitment to this effort is evidenced throughBostons summer jobs program for teens, which employs thousands of our students across our city. Ourtheme-based high schools, along with our partners in business, industry, and service, also provide internshipsand integrated academic experiences during and after the school day. We plan to strengthen the career andtechnical/vocational offerings to ensure that these programs meet industry standards and lead students to post-secondary and trade certifications.

Extend learning time.

! Extended DayRecognizing that the traditional school day does not afford ample time to meet the full rangeof students academic and non-academic needs, many pilot schools and several non-pilot middle schools nowoffer an extended school day for all students. We recognize that the early childhood and middle grades are aparticularly critical time to ensure that students are engaged and on-track. Extra time daily allows for additionalacademic support in literacy, math, and science for students who have demonstrated a need in these contentareas. It also allows for enri

acceleration agenda

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