The Boston Plan for Excellence is the primary partner of the Boston Public Schools in designing, piloting, refining, implementing, and institutionalizing elements of the district’s reform initiative. That partnership focuses on the following two areas:

• Work with schools to support principals and teachers in their efforts to improve instructional practice and student performance

 

• Work with central offices to amend policies that impede schools from doing theool Improvement, as well as its professional development model (coaching), tools for analyzing student performance data, professional networks for teachers and principals, and other successful innovations that have been adopted by the school com work that is expected of them

To date, that partnership has yielded the design of the district’s blueprint for reform, Whole-School Improvement, as well as a new model for professional development (in-school "coaching"), tools for analyzing student data, and other initiatives, In addition, the local education foundation directs Boston’s in-district teacher preparation and licensure program and serves as a core partner in the reorganization of the city’s secondary schools, High School Renewal.In tackling central issues, the Boston Plan staffs a special district management team, REACT, which addresses systemic operational problems schools have identified, such as the inequitable distribution of special education students across schools.

Complementing school and central work are widely distributed research reports, publications, and videos intended to help build common understanding of the effort. Recently, the Boston Plan has taken on two other important initiatives: Principal For A Day, which brings corporate and civic leaders into the city’s schools, and Fund for Teachers/Boston, which awards grants to teachers for summer travel and study.The Boston Plan is guided by a volunteer board of trustees representing the city’s corporate, higher education, foundation, and civic communities and is funded by private donations, foundation awards, and state and federal grants.A new BPE report, Partnership for Performance, details the work, 2001-2005.

For a more complete account of the first ten years, 1995-2005, download past reports.