New at BPE

The Boston Teacher Residency is one of six finalists in the Innovations in American Government competition. Executive Director Jesse Solomon will present at the JFK Forum at the Harvard Kennedy School on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Read more in the press release from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School.

The Boston Teacher Residency was named one of the Top 25 Innovations in American Government by the Ash Center at Harvard Kennedy School. The IAG awards honor local, state, and federal organizations for "creative problem solving." Of the Top 25, five finalists and one winner will be announced later this year. 

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Blackstone Elementary School, with help from the Boston Plan for Excellence and City Year, is tackling chronic absenteeism. Read the story in the Globe.

Teacher Gene Roundtree tells Education Week about the multi-tier intervention plan his team has implemented to improve attendance--and, in the long-term, MCAS proficiency. Teachers are tracking each student's attendance and using that data to determine the best use of student supports. Read more.

Listen to a story on WBUR today about students at Brook Farm Academy who are tracking their progress to graduation.

Until recently, many Boston students were unclear where they stood on the path to graduation and college eligibility. The Boston Public Schools, with support from BPE, has recently launched a graduation progress tracker that puts key data in one place, helping individual students see where they stand....

A recent story in the Boston Herald describes how Madison Park High School students have been motivated to improve their grades, thanks to a public display of grade point average (GPA) data. Madison staff are using this data to help students understand where they stand and what they need to do to improve. The Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE) provided the data analysis as part of a schoolwide effort to use data to...

This week, the Board of Trustees of the Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE) voted that Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) head Jesse Solomon will lead BPE in a convergence of the two organizations that promises to break new ground in improving schools in Boston. He will succeed Ellen Guiney as executive director this June. Under Guiney’s leadership for the last sixteen years, BPE worked closely with Boston Public Schools (BPS) and helped to establish a clear focus and goals that lead to...

New Mission staff have posted grade point average (GPA) data in a colorful hallway display to help students see where they stand in relation to college expectations. The article, originally printed in BPE's FOCUS newsletter, is now featured on Boston.com's Your Town website.

He was joined by Melinda Gates and US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and spoke about the need for shared responsibility to support strong schools and better outcomes for students. Watch his address to the TechBoston community and the nation--with a shout out to Boston Teacher Residency. Read...

Boston Neighborhood Network News is airing a story this week on the promising work of Blackstone Elementary School staff and students, and their partnership with BPE and City Year. See it here.

The Boston Teacher Leadership Resource Center has a new resource for teachers looking to make a difference beyond their own classrooms. The Teacher Leadership Connections page includes information and links for leadership development and funding opportunities that help teachers make a difference in their schools and in the district.

We've recently added summaries of recent Boston School Committee meetings to our website. "School Committee in Brief" is part of our effort to keep the Boston community informed about recent developments in district policy and engaged in efforts that improve student outcomes.

Staff from the Blackstone Elementary School and Orchard Gardens K-8 share their recipe for accelerating student learning: close tracking of individual students' progress paired with aggressive instructional interventions. Three months into the school year, they are already seeing impressive growth--in morale and learning. Read more in Sunday's Boston Herald. See how this data-driven...

Teachers Meredith Innis and Wendy Lai traveled to the Dominican Republic in summer 2010 to explore micro entrepreneurship, supported by a grant from Fund for Teachers. Last week, students in their entrepreneurship course put the results of their work on sale at English HS. Read about it in the Jamaica Plain Gazette.

This week, the state launches a new tool that helps schools identify students who are off track to graduation--and intervene before its too late. The new data tool is informed by early warning indicators BPE developed and has piloted with schools over several years. BPE Director of Data Analysis and Evaluation, Jennifer Amigone, spoke to WBUR about the power of this data. Hear the...

Principal for a Day brings 155 community leaders into Boston schools - and inspires new partnerships. Read about architect Lynne Deninger's visit to the Carter Center in the South End News. Watch Liz Brunner's report of her visit to English High School that aired on Channel 5.

As our schools strive to accelerate student learning, we recognize that the notion of a “lone leader” is a thing of the past. In effective schools, leadership is distributed across the many individuals—administrators and teachers alike—who help the school carry out its core work: effective teaching and engaged learning. Through their roles in building a collaborative culture, supporting organizational learning, promoting equitable schools, and establishing...

In a recent article in ASCD Express, Back on Track: How an Urban High School Strategically Led At-Risk Students to Success, Brighton High School leaders and teachers describe their success getting more students on track for graduation. With data tools and facilitation support from BPE, Brighton staff identified struggling students and designed an intervention system that provides...

We are seeking experienced teacher leaders to participate in designing practice-based, graduate credit-bearing courses that can support BPS teacher leaders to strengthen the skills that are important for their roles. 

The courses will form the core of the new Boston Teacher Leadership Certificate, an initiative to accelerate student learning by strengthening teachers’ capacity to be resources for school and district improvement....

The work of Blackstone Elementary School teachers and their new principal, Steve Zrike, was highlighted in today's Boston Globe. This article is part of a series that will follow the Blackstone and other turnaround schools as they reorganize to dramatically improve student outcomes. BPE is partnering with the Blackstone staff in an intensive version of our...

Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) is one of 49 finalists (out of over 1,700 applicants) for the Investing in Innovation (i3) federal grant initiative. After securing matching funds, BTR will be eligible to receive $4.8M over four years to build on its successful teacher preparation and support model, supplying Boston's turnaround schools with a cadre of excellent teachers.

BPE looks forward to working closely with BTR to ensure the success of this...

The Marshall Elementary School and New Mission High School are leading the way in using data to accelerate student attendance and learning results. BPE honored the two schools for their success in boosting student results while sharing their struggles and successes in the Making Data Public contest.

By publicly highlighting student attendance data daily among teams of teachers this year, the Marshall Elementary school saw a dramatic increase in K2-5 students who attend school 92-...