As a lead partner for Boston's high school renewal work (HSR), BPE's responsibility has been to coordinate with the Boston Public Schools so that all of the work is aligned with the district’s instructional and professional development priorities. To accomplish this, BPE works closely with the other HSR partners — Jobs for the Future (JFF), the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC), and the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) — and key district administrators to monitor and support effective implementation of workshop instruction in the context of personalized small learning communities or small schools. BPE also collaborated with key central administrators to support and monitor the effective implementation of workshop instruction and Collaborative Coaching and Learning (CCL) in high schools.

BPE has also taken the lead in reducing students’ disaffection by helping them to find a collective voice. In fall 2002, BPE convened Student Researchers for High School Renewal (SRHSR) with a threefold purpose: to guide a group of secondary students through the process of identifying and closely examining school-related issues that negatively affected them; to
motivate schools to act on the findings of the students’ research; and to create a mechanism for student voice in schools and across the district. SRHSR surveyed 1,500 students on school climate and compiled careful reports by school on students’ perceptions.

Related documents and materials

• School Climate in Boston's High Schools: What Students Say
• High School Renewal Baseline Report
• Focus on High Schools - Proposal to the Carnegie Corporation