Since the group was first convened in March 1998, the Boston Plan has staffed the Resource Action Team (REACT), an interdepartmental group of managers chosen to solve some of the most complicated operational problems slowing the pace of schools' reform efforts. One of its early projects was to commission a joint student on professional development spending in the district; the report, which was produced by the Boston Plan, led to immediate changes in how the district organized, funded, and provided staff development. The remedy to another thorny issue, the inequitable distribution of special needs students across schools, is being phased in, and REACT is now investigating new resource allocation methods.

For the last several years, some of REACT’s work has focused on building stronger communications and more personal relationships between central administrators and schools. The district now asks principals to rate annually the services of specific central departments; all central office staff also make a visit to a school, much like Principal For A Day and organized by the superintendent's office, to strengthen relationships.

Other REACT work has included analyzing issues in the teachers’ contract in advance of negotiations, collaborating with the special education office on a strategic plan, reversing policy that allowed high schools to lock out students who were tardy, and winning approval to move high school start times to later in the morning to increase student attendance and reduce tardiness.