Research and Policy

A Learning Arm to the District

Supporting strong schools and classrooms often requires stepping back: to study and understand the impact of new initiatives and old, hard-to-change patterns, and to examine district policies that may or may not align with effective school practices. The Boston Plan’s research and policy team takes on several of these complex issues each year, providing research-based evidence to inform the BPE's school-based work and policy analyses to inform the BPS central office.

Research

The research staff evaluate the Boston Plan’s own work with schools and central office and provides research support to internal projects. This research points Boston Plan staff toward specific problems or promising practices that can guide current initiatives or suggest new directions for its work. The research staff provide similar support to the district, conducting select evaluation and research projects of activities in high-importance areas, such as new teacher development and instructional coaching.

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Policy

The Boston Plan researches and advocates for policies and conditions that enable schools to become and stay effective. The policy staff work closely with other Boston Plan staff to examine the policy implications (or obstacles) raised by school improvement initiatives, and with central office staff to vet and implement policy solutions.

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