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Whole School Paper
Boston Collegiate Charter School:
By Eileen Callahan, Dean of Curriculum and Assessment,
Keeping the Promise: The Massachusetts Charter School Dissemination and Replication Project A Project of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007 ABSTRACT Boston Collegiate Charter School has been offering a successful rigorous, college preparatory program for students in grades 5-12 since 1998, evidenced by strong performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System and a one hundred percent college acceptance rate. Boston Collegiate maintains five keys to its success: (1) a community where students are known as individuals; (2) strict structures balanced with positive reinforcement; (3) an outstanding faculty with retention initiatives; (4) a data driven approach to curriculum and programs; and (5) explicit teaching of college readiness skills. This paper discusses the methods by which we implement these keys to success, including advisory programs, enforcement of behavioral codes, teacher support and professional growth, student support programs, and college readiness curricula.
In the fall of 1997, school founders, concerned that Boston high school graduates attended college at a significantly lower rate than Massachusetts graduates statewide, (Massachusetts Department of Education, 1996) and noting the significant earnings differential between high school and college graduates, (U.S. Department of Education, 1996) proposed a safe, academically rigorous public school that would offer children from every Boston neighborhood the opportunity to receive an education that would prepare each of them for college (Peiser, Fortin, & Lynch, 1997). They wrote: “We want to re-imagine what a school can be. We want to hire the most knowledgeable, the most stimulating, and the most enthusiastic instructors. We want to show students the miraculous features of the natural world and the beauty of writing the perfect sentence. We want students to see not the struggle of the challenge but the pleasure of the struggle — the joy of conversing in a foreign language, that the French they learn on the South Boston waterfront is the French they speak in the taxis of Paris. We, as parents, educators, and community members, want to transfer and infuse the love we have for learning to the children of Boston. We want to show kids what school and their future can be and not what it has to be. This is the ethos of our school” (Peiser, Fortin, & Lynch, 1997, p. 11). With this vision in mind, our founders, two graduates of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government teamed with then State Senator Stephen Lynch who lived in and served South Boston, to found what is now one of the best public schools in Boston. At the time, South Boston was facing a “contagion of despair” (Rimer, 1997). In addition to six well-publicized teenage suicides that took place within the first nine months of the year, approximately seventy South Boston teenagers, predominantly male, were hospitalized for attempts at, or thoughts of, suicide (Rimer, 1997). Our founders believed that a small and welcoming, yet demanding school could offer a sanctuary and path forward for the city’s youth. In September 1998, South Boston Harbor Academy, Boston’s fifth charter school, opened to 120 students in grades 5 through 7. Keeping in mind our desire as a public school to serve students across the city, in 2004 we relocated to a larger facility in neighboring Dorchester and took on a new name: Boston Collegiate Charter School (BCCS), a name that reflects the school's commitment to serving all communities in Boston. In 2007-2008, its tenth year, BCCS serves four hundred students in grades 5 through 12. We have sent four graduating classes to college with a one hundred percent acceptance rate; most graduates will be the first in their families to earn college degrees. Students increasingly come from all over the city, and they are ethnically and economically diverse. (See Appendix A) Forty-one percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and eighteen percent qualify as special needs. MISSION Boston Collegiate Charter School’s mission is straightforward and ambitious: To prepare every student for college. As only twenty-one percent of our students have a parent who graduated from college, we embrace the simplicity of the statement and the profound challenge it poses. Teachers and school leaders come to Boston Collegiate every day with urgency and a desire to do whatever its takes to show our students what school and their future can be. The founding 120 students, their families, the staff and school leaders shared the recognition that a bold vision, meticulous attention to the operational details of a school, and a keen understanding of the school’s local community and city were complementary and essential to our school’s future success. Continually balancing these aspects remains a key tenet that informs our mission. We strive to maintain a balance between an environment that is demanding and structured, and an environment that provides caring and individualized attention. We try to balance our pride in our accomplishments with our goal of working to continually improve. We attempt to maintain a balance in incorporating the unique perspectives, attributes and needs of all the members of our community: our constantly evolving mix of students; and our smart, entrepreneurial staff members and trustees, whose different professional backgrounds bring a myriad of strengths and skills. INDICATORS OF OUR SUCCESS “BCCS has made me a success over the past years. It has made me a better decision maker and an analytical reader. It also showed me different opportunities and gave me determination to pursue things I strive to accomplish” (BCCS 12th grade student, personal communication, September, 2007). We measure our success in several ways: college acceptances; Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) performance; additional internal and national assessments; applications, attendance and retention rates; and outside interest in our school. (See Appendix P) We are proud that for our fourth consecutive year, one hundred percent of our graduating seniors earned college acceptance. Since our first class graduated in 2004, collectively, our seniors have been awarded over three million dollars in scholarships for academic achievement. In 2006, for the fourth consecutive year, one hundred percent of our tenth grade students passed the English and Mathematics MCAS (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2006). BCCS is the only public school in Boston to achieve this performance for four consecutive years. In addition, we were one of only two schools in the state to have one hundred percent of our tenth grade students score Advanced or Proficient on the MCAS math exam (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2006). Compared to Boston averages, our students achieved higher passing percentages and higher rates of students scoring advanced or proficient on every MCAS exam across all grade levels (Massachusetts Department of Education, 2006). Our students also exceeded the statewide average passing percentages on all MCAS exams. (See Appendices L & M) Boston Collegiate students are enrolled via lottery in the fifth grade. Slots made available through attrition in grades 6-8 are filled from our waiting list. Our high school is populated solely by our middle school graduates. In ten lotteries, from 1998-2007, we received 3,688 applications. In 2007, 576 students applied from every neighborhood in the city of Boston: 254 for 66 fifth-grade slots, and 322 for the 6-8th grade waiting lists. In April, 2007 our waiting list for grades 5-8 had 1,346 students (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student Profile, 2007). The average daily student attendance from 2003-2006 was 95-96% and in 2006, retention of non-graduating students, excluding those who left for exam schools, was 96% (see Appendix S) (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Annual Reports, 2004, 2005, 2006). We take pride in the above accomplishments and in the many national and international visitors who seek to learn from and replicate our school’s structures and best practices. However, we embrace this success with humility, and with the conviction that we can always be better. We spend our shared energy looking inward with the relentless desire to do a better job at preparing students for college and ensuring their success as they embark on their journey to higher education. KEYS TO OUR SUCCESS There are five keys to the success of our program at Boston Collegiate:
Maintaining a Community Where Students Are Known as Individuals “We focus on building relationships with individual students and consistently communicate (through tone, words, and actions) our belief in each and every student’s ability to succeed” “BCCS is really small. I get more attention and the teachers push me to get high grades and to make wise decisions. This helps me to be prepared for tests and is preparing me for college” When asked, “What has been the benefit of attending a small, college-prep high school?” the answer from over ninety percent of seniors is close teacher/student relationships (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Senior Interviews, 2004-07). Creating a small-school feel is a key factor in carrying out our school mission. By preparing students for college and encouraging them to attend, we are asking many of them to take a risk, and to do something different from what anyone in their family has done before. Whether it is through our advisory program, our small class size, or traditions that highlight the closeness of our community, we believe it is that feeling of “known-ness” that helps to make many of our students willing to take this risk. The trusting relationships our students build with teachers and with each other create a foundation that allows them to know themselves better and, consequently, face new challenges. Almost all our graduates note in their senior exit interviews that they were known at BCCS, whether they wanted to be or not. Our small class size (twenty-two students in the middle school, fourteen in the high school) and small school size contribute to our students’ sense of belonging, which, in turn, leads them to buy in to our community expectations and strive to achieve academic success. In addition to small class sizes, an essential aspect of our program that has allowed us to maintain our small-school feel is our advisory program. Through advisory, we provide a safe and nurturing environment through which students can develop a strong relationship with a teacher who can help them address their academic, social, and emotional needs. Middle School Advisory: In the middle school, advisories are comprised of approximately twenty-two students and led by a core academic teacher for that grade level. In addition to conducting basic administrative tasks, advisors keep close tabs on the overall well-being of their advisees and communicate with families on a regular basis. Advisory groups are formed by teachers and school leaders, and they are carefully selected to create a heterogeneous mix. The first twenty-five minutes of every morning is spent in advisory. For the first ten minutes, advisors take attendance; greet students; hold a meeting to set the tone for a positive, safe and respectful classroom community; place homework in specific class folders; and share announcements. During the remaining fifteen minutes, students engage in silent, sustained reading. Advisories come together again during lunch, and for the final ten minutes before dismissal to wrap up the day and listen to end-of-day announcements. As a way of continually promoting our college-oriented mission, advisories are named after the alma maters of the advisors, and advisors are encouraged to teach their advisees cheers that inspire spirit and pride for the college named. We inspire our students to meet our community expectations by having advisories compete against one another for achievements, such as best attendance, best homework completion and best spirit. High School Advisory: With an average size of fifteen students, high school advisories are purposely smaller than middle school advisories in order to address the unique social, emotional and academic needs of high school students. The goal of high school advisories is to provide a space where students can focus on who they are as students, learn from their peers, and regularly discuss their academic progress, as well as social and emotional issues (Boston Collegiate Charter School, The Red Book, 2006). High school advisors see their students with the same regularity as middle school advisorsóthree times per day. They, too, build pride around their alma maters and engage in spirit contests, but the general focus is more adult and academic. In lieu of silent sustained reading, high school students participate in Student Cohorts during morning advisory. Cohorts are teams of no more than five students who work as small study groups to prepare for exams, research a paper, or tackle a class-related project. Working in this structure exposes students to the benefits of group study, helps them address their academic needs, and encourages them to work as a team, all key skills required for college success. Each cohort has a leader, who is initially chosen by an advisor or grade-level teacher for demonstrating leadership potential. These positions are revisited at intervals throughout the year, and leaders are rotated, based on group needs. Cohort leaders meet regularly with the high school principal to work on developing peer leadership skills. They are responsible for maintaining a group calendar of work to be accomplished, keeping the group on task during work time and serving as liaisons between their advisor and their group. Traditions: Simple traditions also help create an atmosphere where all students are known. Hallways decorated with photographs of our students chronicle their experience at the school from fifth grade to twelfth grade. Grade levels rally around weekly assemblies and “community-building” days, where we celebrate individuals' minor and major accomplishments, acknowledging such things as students' birthdays, summer experiences, and of course, college acceptances. Grade-level teams work hard to bring the students off-campus as well. Time spent playing a game on the Boston Common, hiking in a local state park, walking to the beach, or attending a local theater production provides invaluable opportunity for students and teachers to connect with one another and further engage in building community. Perhaps the most poignant tradition that conveys a sense of belonging is giving senior commendations at our commencement ceremony. Graduation at BCCS is not simply about recognizing the valedictorian and commencement speaker; it is about celebrating each one of our graduates. Prior to the ceremony, seniors write reflections or “appreciations” for each of their classmates. When they arrive at graduation, they find one of their own writings on their seat. Each senior reads an appreciation of a peer during the ceremony. It is at this moment, as students are acknowledging the greatness in each other, that visitors to our school realize that our classes are not just a group of students, but a family. Balancing Strict Structures with Positive Reinforcement “In order to make high expectations attainable rather than intangible, there must be clear structures and supports in place to help students achieve these goals. [Each of our] students need[s] access to extra help, consequences for not doing [his or her] best, and the knowledge that the adults in the school believe in [his or her] ability not only as a scholar, but also as a human being.” (BCCS Faculty Member, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). “If I hadn’t come here, I’d probably still be in the 9th grade. Teachers here push you to do well. They stay on your back until you get it done” (BCCS, 11th grade student, personal communication, September, 2007). Before students arrive in the fifth grade, most invariably have heard about merits, demerits and homework club from their friends or older siblings enrolled at BCCS. When they arrive in their uniforms on the first day of school, they immediately enter a BCCS Code of Conduct “boot camp” that brings this system of merits and demerits to life. The BCCS Code of Conduct clearly outlines a firm and consistent discipline policy, in which students are not allowed to disrupt the education of others and in which each infraction has a consequence (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student and Family Handbook, 2006). Our school-wide system of enforcing negative consequences with students who do not meet behavioral expectations and rewarding those who behave with positive consequences supports a safe, orderly, and respectful learning environment, which permits us to focus on what is most importantóthe instruction and academic achievement of our students. Our code of conduct outlines strict policies for such issues as attendance, lateness, and the dress code, and procedures for detention, in-school and out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions, while emphasizing distraction-free classroom learning time. It is reviewed in detail with all students and families at the start of every school year, beginning in the fifth grade, at mandatory family orientation sessions held in August. At this orientation, each family receives a copy of our Student and Family Handbook, in which the code of conduct is documented, and each family is required to sign off that they have read it and understand its content. (See Appendix E) A demerit system enforces school expectations throughout the middle school and the high school. Students in grades 5-8 who receive three demerits in one week for such infractions as lateness, being unprepared in class, or an un-tucked shirt receive a detention. In the middle school, students start each week with a clean slate, even if they earned one or two demerits the week before. By ninth grade, we operate on the assumption that students should know what to do and what not to do. Students in grades 9-12 earn demerits and detention for many of the same infractions as the middle school, but high school students’ demerits last for one month. In grades 5-7, demerits are recorded on a clipboard that lists every student’s name in the class. One student carries the clipboard from class to class and hands it to the teacher at the start of every class. Teachers inform students directly when they have earned a demerit and record the demerit on the clipboard during either a break in the lesson or at the end of class. In the eighth grade and the high school, students carry their own demerit sheets and receive detention if they do not have the sheet when a teacher asks for it. For all students, detention may also be earned through single offenses, such as disrespect of community members or property, or failure to return signed progress reports and report cards (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student and Family Handbook, 2006). We can't under emphasize the importance of school-wide behavioral expectations in facilitating effective classroom instruction. As one teacher noted, “Nearly one hundred percent of our classrooms are structured in a way that promotes positive student behavior with a school-wide system of behavior expectations and consequences—both positive and negative. Once these are in place, it is possible for students to participate in other aspects or forms of learning” (BCCS Faculty Member, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Just as there are specific negative behaviors for which students receive consequences, there are also specific positive behaviors that can earn students rewards. Students in grades 5-8 accumulate merits for demonstrating commendable qualities such as thoughtfulness, improvement, and generosity. Teachers record merits on clipboards, just as they do demerits (merit sheets are blue and demerit sheets are yellow) and students periodically cash in their merits for small items such as colorful pens, pencils and ice cream. They can also save their merits to earn privileges, such as making school-wide announcements on the loud-speaker, possessing a week-long elevator pass, or selecting a staff-member of their choice to be their servant for a day. In the summer of 2005, a small group of high school and middle school teachers recognized the need to create a behavioral incentive system that would be more appropriate for high school students. The first step in this process was to articulate four core values that describe what we expect, not only from our students but from the entire school community each day: to be Mindful, Achieving, Professional, and Prepared, or MAPP. (See Appendix G) To emphasize these concepts, we began to use this language throughout the halls and classes of the high school. Our second step was to adapt the existing high school merit-based incentive system to the four MAPP values and to create an individualized incentive system based on the theme of a map (MAPP) of success for high school students. Since then, in grades 8-12, teachers have awarded MAPP “miles” to students, which, depending on the number of miles gained, can earn them recognition at assemblies; gift certificates at local stores; or special items, such as a graphing calculator (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student and Family Handbook, 2006). (See Appendix H) Another component to our code of conduct is a system by which students are accountable as a group. In all grades, teachers award classes a rubric score from 0-4 to assess their group performance on the basis of MAPP at the end of each class period. To determine this score, teachers consider observable criteria, including preparation for class; work ethic; degree of respect, cooperation, and participation; and quality of questions and comments. Advisors tally scores each week; classes in grades 5-7 receive rewards such as ice cream parties or small field trips, while students in grades 8-12 receive individual miles. (See Appendix H) This system is relatively new for our high school students, and we still work hard to gain their buy-in and participation. However, the point of all these structures and systems is that they allow for a safe environment where students and teachers can focus on learning. Members of the staff depend upon each other to enforce all aspects of the code of conduct consistently. It is this consistent application of the code of conduct that aids in nurturing the communal and familial feel of the school, the sense that we’re all in it together working toward the same goalóacademic achievement and skill development that will prepare students for college. Hiring Smart, Outstanding People and Encouraging Them to Grow and to Stay at BCCS “There is a sense that no classrooms are easy, have low learning expectations, or have teachers who allow behavior that is disruptive to learning. The teaching standards are high and the hiring process is extremely selective. (BCCS Faculty Member, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). The success of our school is built on high expectations, a structured academic environment, and exceptional teachers. Without great teachers, nothing else matters. We fervently believe that exceptional teachers are central to our students' success. We recognize that teachers must have the support and tools they need in order to succeed with their students, to uphold a consistent and positive school culture, and to grow as professionals in their craft. In addition to the principals and department chairs who work to support teachers in their instruction, the school purposefully created the position of Dean of Curriculum and Assessment in order to ensure and support effective and rigorous classroom instruction, 190 days per year. The presence of the Dean of Curriculum indicates that focus on instruction is a school-wide priority. Both the principals and the Dean of Curriculum visit classrooms weekly to observe for 5-10 minutes and provide immediate, written feedback on strong instructional indicators such as student engagement, board use, checking for student understanding, measurability of aim, and the level of lesson rigor. (See Appendix J) These frequent class observations are balanced by more in-depth observations by the Dean of Curriculum. Once per year, each teacher receives a pre-arranged half-hour, minute-by-minute transcript of a class as well as one formal, full-class observation that includes a pre- and a post-observation meeting to share detailed, written feedback. This is our primary strategy for assuring that teachers are able to continuously provide outstanding instruction. Outstanding instruction cannot be executed without the time to plan thoughtful, standards-based lessons that balance the introduction of content along with the practice of skills required for college. (See Appendix I) With a few exceptions, teachers teach no more than four classes per day or twenty classes per week, have no more than twenty-two students per class, and have two daily hour-long planning periods. They receive course reimbursements up to $500/year as well as stipends if they opt to teach Saturday School. Teachers have tools to support their work: each has his or her own computer, e-mail account, telephone, and desk in an office with teachers from the same grade or department to facilitate planning and collaboration (Boston Collegiate Charter School, We Are Looking For Teachers, 2006). An effective e-mail community, we rely on a distribution system that allows us to communicate easily and often to specific grade levels or departments, quickly transmitting information to the right people. In addition to ensuring that teachers have the time to think individually about their classes and receive frequent feedback on the execution of their lessons, we are also deliberate in creating opportunities for staff to collaborate with other grade level and department teachers. In fact, working with other high quality, smart and dedicated teachers towards achieving a common mission was widely cited in a 2007 school survey as a key contributor to our success (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Whether planning a department’s study on aligning curriculum vertically, as our math department did recently with geometry standards from grades 5 -12, or developing curriculum to practice the collegiate skill of annotating a non-fiction passage in all subjects, grade-level offices facilitate conversations and foster a high level of communication among teachers. The Executive Director noted that since our school’s inception, the teacher offices have been the wellspring of our most successful systems and structures. Furthermore, they have provided a setting for crucial team-building, combating the isolation that can characterize the teaching profession (K. Sullivan, personal communication, April 19, 2007). Leadership: In addition to the support they receive as classroom instructors, teachers are also given opportunities to lead and shape the policies that they are expected to consistently enforce. Department Chair positions re-open each spring in order to give many teachers an opportunity for leadership. Department chairs work closely with the Dean of Curriculum and the principals on developing and reviewing curriculum, observing teachers, and supporting them in accessing professional development opportunities. Any and all instructional concerns and initiatives are vetted through the department chairs for their input and insight. School leaders also rely on the insight and perspective of teachers, and encourage their leadership on issues. Staff members share the understanding that they have a voice in decision-making and are able to enact change. As one staff member noted, “the school realizes that staff with a diverse set of professional backgrounds leads to innovative thinking and thoughtful approaches to solving challenging issues” (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Many of the school’s critical structures, such as Homework Club, class rubrics, and Saturday School, were initiated in staff discussions. “The distance between the real issues and the policy makers is a hallway at most. Leadership and teachers feel directly connected and responsible for how their school works or doesn’t work” (BCCS Faculty Member, (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Teachers are encouraged not only to voice their opinions, but also to showcase their strengths in areas where the school needs growth and attention. For example, several years ago, an exceptional advisor provided guidance and feedback to other advisors and regularly advocated for students outside her own advisory group. Recognizing the need to bring consistent expectations to all advisories, the school formalized her role as Advisory Coordinator for both the middle school and the high school. Currently, she is responsible for checking in regularly with all advisors and helping them become better in attending to the academic, social and emotional needs of their advisees. More recently, a ninth grade teacher worked diligently to incorporate school spirit and led the ninth grade to victory in the high school’s first “Spirit Week.” In school year 2007-2008, this same teacher has agreed to take on the role of “High School Culture Coordinator” to solidify rituals that enhance school spirit, and to nurture student engagement by offering regular opportunities for students to lead and organize events. Retention: We are pleased that we have been able to attract and hire excellent teachers from a high quality group of applicants. And we are pleased that on the whole, teachers are satisfied with our professional culture, support, and leadership opportunities. We annually conduct an on-line, anonymous survey for teachers regarding their professional experience at BCCS. Results from the winter of 2007 indicated the following:
Despite this indication of job satisfaction, retaining smart, reflective and dedicated teachers is not always easy. To that effect, a Teacher Retention Committee was pro-actively formed in 2005 in order to discuss and implement structural and policy changes that could improve teachers' professional lives and facilitate a better work-life balance. We actively strive to retain our great teachers for many reasons. First, teachers who are working happily and feel they are growing professionally create a positive, thriving school and enhance overall student achievement and staff/student morale. Second, high retention levels promote a sense of a team and a strong, consistent school culture. Third, hiring and training new staff carries costs in terms of time and money. Fourth, a solid track record in retaining teachers serves to attract more high-quality teachers to the school. Finally, we know that teachers improve with experience; thus, retaining teachers will lead to an even stronger staff, and, in turn will make it easier for us to fulfill our mission (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Teacher Retention Committee Recommendations, 2006). Using Data to Reflect On and Drive Improvement In and Out of the Classroom “I do not think the kind of results BCCS has enjoyed are attainable through simply hard work and intuition, small classes, and dedicated teachers. There is an emerging science surrounding this process, standards-based and very reliant on quantitative feedback” (BCCS Trustee, (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). The way in which our teachers positively impact instruction and exceed our school’s expectations for their performance is extensive and directly related to the data-driven, reflective culture that permeates our building. Our primary focus has always been student achievement. To ensure that students progress academically throughout the year, school leaders and teachers use data to gain feedback about what students comprehend, and to guide subsequent instruction and determine supplemental supports. (See Appendix K) MPSP: Our participation in the Massachusetts Public School Performance Project (MPSP) Charter School Network gives a clear example of how our school uses data to improve instruction. Through the MPSP, a series of externally prepared assessments that are aligned with the Massachusetts Frameworks in English and math are administered to students six times during the year in area pilot and charter schools. These assessments, currently for grades 5-8, provide feedback within seventy-two hours of test administration about student understanding at multiple points: by standard, by answer choice, and in relation to their peers (See Appendix N) (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Annual Report, 2006). Test results are shared throughout the “network” of participating schools, and BCCS teachers are able to compare their students’ scores to the scores of students in all network schools. Although the assessments cost teachers a class period for each test administration, the immediate data on student performance immediately impacts instruction; consequently teachers are supportive of the assessment project. Teachers devote an hour on the Monday following each test to discuss student results. Working in pairs, teachers scour data, looking for the standards students have not yet mastered and breaking down test questions centered around these standards into the skills required to answer correctly. Teachers then create action plans, which involve either re-teaching a lesson or referring specific students to one of our many tutoring and support programs. One teacher involved in the process for the last two years stated, “The MPSP data analysis helped me to think more clearly about what concepts and skills my students had mastered, and more importantly which skills they still needed to work on intensively. Perhaps more importantly, the experience working with MPSP last year motivated me to run data analysis of my own unit tests this year, which furthered my understanding of my students' progress.” (P. Friedmann, personal communication, June 2007). Using the data we gather to inform both our curriculum and our overall program requires significant planning and communication among staff members. We build sufficient time into our schedule for school leaders and teachers to regularly meet, plan, and collaborate. On Mondays, we currently dismiss students at 2:00 p.m. and schedule all staff, middle and high school meetings from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Immediately following, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., we meet either by grade levels or departments. Agenda items at our grade-level meetings include student concerns, grade-level expectations, rubric trips and merit awards, and curricular plans across disciplines. Department meetings address curricular issues on a department level, best practices related to subjects, professional development opportunities, and school-wide instructional initiatives. In addition, we build four to five professional days into the calendar to cover such topics as planning and developing assessments. It is often the case at these Monday meetings that student or programmatic issues arise that require our further attention. Our school stands firmly behind the philosophy that data should inform not only instruction, but any systemic change. It is with this belief that we regularly reflect on our programs, and it is with data, combined with teacher vision and anecdotal evidence, that the following positive changes have occurred in our history. Homework: In the second year of our school, teachers were frustrated with the lack of quality homework that students were submitting, the number of students who were choosing not to complete their homework at all, and the number of students who were completing their homework before the start of school or during class time. To remedy this issue, school leaders and teachers devised a homework policy that requires all students to complete their work on time each day. To enforce this, advisors facilitate homework collection during Advisory and distribute completed homework assignments to teachers. Middle school teachers check homework for its quality and completion, and log the names of students who need to remain after school for either homework improvement or completion into a data base. An automatic dialer notifies families that their students need to stay until 4:00 p.m. in Homework Club (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student and Family Handbook, 2006). To emphasize greater individual responsibility in the high school, we do not send students in grades 9-12 to Homework Club. However, to support their transition to high school, we may instead assign one-hour mandatory tutoring for unsatisfactory work to ninth graders only. We find that by outlining our clear expectations for homework completion and consistently enforcing Homework Club requirements, over ninety percent of our students complete all homework assignments each day (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Annual Report, 2006). Tutoring: In the first years of the school we partnered with organizations such as City Year and Boston Learning Center to administer the bulk of our after-school tutoring efforts; however, we continued to find that students made the most significant academic progress through one-to-one or small group tutoring by their classroom teachers, who knew them and the material best. Therefore, we changed the program so that any student failing or in danger of failing a class is now required to stay after school for tutoring with the teacher of that class until 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. Teachers identify these students based on standardized tests, middle school interim assessments, internal assessments, progress reports, and report cards (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student and Family Handbook, 2006-07). To ensure that this program works smoothly, every day teachers list the names of students who need to stay for tutoring with them on the school's internal computer network, and the school informs their families. If a student is failing or in danger of failing several classes, grade level teachers create a personal weekly tutoring schedule for the student, and advisors notify the family. According to our Executive Director, “Tutoring offers a quiet and individualized time of instruction conducted by the experts for the students who need it most” (K. Sullivan, personal communication, April 19, 2007). As one student noted, “The after school tutoring here has really helped me. If I don’t understand something in class, I go to tutoring and it makes it easier so I can pass tests and quizzes” (BCCS 7th grade student, personal communication 2007). Saturday School: In our fourth year, we noticed that a significant number of students across grade levels continued to struggle with the rigorous college-preparatory course load of our middle and high school, despite after-school tutoring. We therefore instituted Saturday School as an attempt to address the additional tutoring needs of students. We issue invitations to students to attend Saturday School along with progress reports or report cards; attendance is not required but it is highly encouraged. To be eligible and invited, a student’s progress report or report card must indicate that he or she is failing or at risk of failing, and the student must already consistently attend after-school tutoring (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Student and Family Handbook, 2006). Saturday School is staffed by teachers who are paid a small stipend. For grades 5-9, BCCS Saturday School teachers focus on providing academic instruction and individualized support to help students develop the learning skills necessary for academic success. From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., students organize materials, improve work from the previous week, and complete skill-building assignments and homework. We place greater responsibility on students in grades 10-12; no tutoring is provided, and a student must secure sufficient work from his or her teachers in advance. At the end of each progress report or report card period, students may graduate from Saturday School if they are passing their classes, or they may be invited to continue if they are still failing. In 2005-06, fifty-three students, or 14.3% of the student body, were failing at least one class and attended Saturday School for some part of the year. Of those fifty-three students, twenty-four passed their classes, thirteen passed all but one, and sixteen failed two or more, resulting in retention in their current grade (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Annual Report, 2006). Enrichment: Extracurricular activities offer new experiences for students, and they also help students and staff develop relationships outside the classroom. As one teacher noted, “Enrichment classes are important after school to give students an incentive to complete their work well, behave, and to give them an opportunity to show that they are good at things other than academics” (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Staff members and outside providers offer competitive varsity sports and other enrichment activities throughout the year. These include martial arts, visual arts, a school musical, the BCCS Yearbook, role-playing games, web-design, ball-room dancing, lacrosse, tennis, knitting, and the National Honor Society. In 2006-07, we launched BCCS-Plus, a supplementary academic and enrichment program open to all students but designed to support those most at-risk. Targeted at students who regularly participate in after-school tutoring from 3:00-4:00 p.m., and consequently miss many opportunities for enrichment, this program offers enrichment opportunities staffed by outside providers from 4:00-5:00 p.m. We used data from Homework Club attendance to identify middle school students in this category, and informed their families that their children would be at school until 5:00 p.m., so they could participate in enrichment, as well as in tutoring. The results of the program’s first year are encouraging: of the twenty-eight students who were enrolled in BCCS-Plus, eighteen (64%) passed their classes, including four of the five retained students (T. Jackson, personal communication, June 2007). Teaching College Readiness Skills Explicitly “I graduated with sixteen kids in my class and now I was one of 4000, everything was just so big.” (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Alumni Survey, 2007). Our graduating seniors regularly comment upon the “family” atmosphere of their class and our school, and we work to maintain these familial connections after graduation. Our college counselor maintains contact with all alumni through regular emails and phone calls, and invites them back to BCCS throughout the school year. For example, one morning each November, alumni are invited to speak with high school students and share thoughts on their college experience and an alumni night is planned once per year for students to reunite with their teachers and peers. To combat the initial loneliness and isolation that often comes in freshman year, care packages are sent to all enrolled college students. As with any family, we actively work to keep the relationship between BCCS and its graduates strong. From our college counselor's continued contact through email and phone calls to all our graduates, we have found out that our alumni are having difficulty remaining in college. Despite a one hundred percent acceptance rate, currently, only seventy-eight percent of our alumni are enrolled in college (Boston Collegiate Charter School, Alumni Survey, 2007; B. Martinson, personal communication, 2007). While the individual reasons vary from the pressure of being the first in their family to attend college, to being unable to meet the financial costs of college, the bottom line is that some of our graduates are struggling to be successful. We want to ensure that our alumni continue to succeed in college and beyond. Therefore, we are reflecting on how our curriculum and instruction can explicitly teach college readiness, and how we can further use data to make effective structural changes to our college counseling program. While we know that we are still in the early stages of ensuring that all our students meet success in college, we are relentless in our pursuit of finding solutions, big and small, to this challenge. A first step in addressing this difficulty was to create a full-time college counseling position, and to expand that role to include maintaining an active link with our alumni and providing them the necessary guidance and resources to make positive decisions for their futures. For our current students, we have realized that we need to go beyond symbolic rituals, traditional academic classes, and visits to local and regional college campuses. We need to teach college readiness explicitly. Our College Readiness Committee, which consists of eighth grade and high school math and ELA teachers, the Executive Director and the College Counselor has been gathering once a month to discuss this issue. One of the things we are concerned with is our students' performance on the PSAT and SAT. In contrast to our considerable success on MCAS exams in Math and English, our students struggle to succeed on the PSAT and SAT. Also in contrast to the familiarity our teachers have with the MCAS, the PSAT and SAT are more unknown. The impact of a mediocre performance on the SAT is significant and has an impact on a student’s ability to access financial scholarships. Our college counselor states, “Our students are struggling to reach the 1000 mark and it is hurting their ability to reach top schools. For those that don’t hit 1000, it’s essentially cutting them off from most scholarships. One of my students got in to a well known college but knew he could never afford it. He was turned down for a great merit scholarship simply because his SAT score was below 1000. Twenty points kept him from a $10,000 scholarship.” (B. Martinson, personal communication, July 2007). To this effect, the College Readiness Committee has developed the following plan, which we will implement in the 2007-2008 school year.
The College Readiness Committee also realized that preparation for the SAT is only a portion of what needs to be done to ensure our students are college-ready. A complementary challenge is enabling our students to perform with a greater level of independence in order to be prepared for college. Data from both alumni and teachers confirms that our students have relied too heavily on teacher support to tackle the serious academic projects and assignments of junior and senior year. One teacher commented, “Our school does a lot to provide academic structures for our younger students so that they can learn what it means to be students at our school. We have struggled with ways to remove [this] scaffolding, so students, after they learn the drill, begin to take more ownership of their own learning” (BCCS Faculty Member, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). In response to this issue, in 2006 we created a Collegiate Skills Coordinator position, and designated a senior teacher to enact the detailed scope and sequence of “Collegiate Skills” that grade-level teachers and alumni spent the previous year putting together. (See Appendix O) As part of our “College Readiness” curriculum, teachers now explicitly teach such skills as active reading, discussion protocols, communication, and organization. We vertically align grade-level skill expectations to ensure that students graduate with the necessary cognitive tools for college (J. Ogundipe, personal communication, April 20, 2007). High school students meet in Collegiate Skills classes once per week to focus on targeted skills; in school year 2007-2008 the program will be intimately linked with the college counseling program, with classes meeting two times per week. CHALLENGES We acknowledge that while we’ve described the teaching of college readiness skills as a success, the struggle for all of our graduates to meet college success is one of our biggest and most pressing challenges. Turning a challenge into a success, using data to inform a programmatic path, and actively encouraging and supporting teachers to inform change is our approach to this challenge and something from which we believe that others can learn. Larger, ongoing challenges, more closely connected to our charter school status, are more difficult to resolve. Teacher Sustainability “Our teachers put forth so much effort and energy into the school dayÖWe struggle to find a balance between school and personal lives” (BCCS Faculty Member, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). One of our primary challenges is keeping our most valuable asset, our teachers. As one staff member noted, simply, “The school day doesn’t end when the bell rings” (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Staff members acknowledge a paradox: the heavy workload is required to meet our high expectations for ourselves and our students, but that workload is arduous and can tire and overwhelm teachers. The typical day for a teacher begins at 7:15 a.m. and goes until after 5:00 p.m. The school year is well over two hundred days for teachers, our policies require much energy to enforce consistently, and the stakes for all that we do are high. In addition, our compensation does not increase on par with other urban and suburban public schools. The Teacher Retention Committee, formed in 2005, continues to examine how we can support and promote teacher sustainability. For two years the school has adopted many of its recommendations, including financial incentives to stay beyond three years, and other monetary and non-monetary benefits for teachers. Establishing a teacher retention committee and instigating other efforts to streamline teachers’ responsibilities are steps towards addressing the challenge of keeping teachers for the long-term, but we are still figuring out how to create a professional environment that simultaneously allows a sustainable work-life balance for teachers and maintains a school built around strong relationships and very high expectations. Facility Needs “The school has no assembly space where the whole school (or just the middle school or high school) can comfortably gather for meetings, events, sports, arts programs. This is important because it impedes a strong culture and identity in the school, especially at the high school level” (BCCS Faculty Member, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Although we are thrilled to be in our own, newly renovated facility, we do not have a gymnasium or a large space in which we can gather all of our high school or all of our middle school for culture-building assemblies, family and evening events, or school-wide celebrations. We have spaces that we can borrow for major events (we held our school musical at a gymnasium at another school and have a “home” basketball court over a mile away), and outdoor space that we can use in mild weather. Our staff is creative in planning small events in classrooms and in hallways; however, our school suffers for lack of a space year-round in which we can gather consistently without advance planning. The high cost of facility financing makes this need difficult to address. While we have plans in the more distant future to build our own gymnasium, our short-term plan is to identify an appropriate additional facility that can consistently meet our immediate assembly needs. OUR PLACE IN THE BROADER CHARTER SCHOOL MOVEMENT As a charter school we embrace our autonomy and flexibility as our primary strengths. Hiring outstanding teachers has been a constant since the school was conceived, and as a charter school, we enjoy the luxury of devoting extensive time to hiring. We begin the process each winter and, as a result, are able to have teachers joining the school spend time visiting classes, watching experienced teachers and debriefing lessons. Teachers new to the school meet colleagues and see a school year in motion. Potential teachers are interviewed by a team of school leaders and a department chair. Therefore the people who will supervise and work with the teachers are the ones who hire. Control of hiring has been important to us because of our focus on a team approach to strong instruction. We need to hire people with whom we know we can work, and who are likely to be able to work with us. We are constantly aware of our unique role on the broad landscape of school reform, and, as a community, note distinct advantages and disadvantages to our charter school status. The disadvantage of being a charter school lies primarily in the mechanism for charter school funding. The funding formula is outside the school’s control, dependent on a state formula and the local district’s expenditures. This uncertainty, which makes it difficult to operate and plan, is compounded by the charged political climate that threatens to continually alter the formula. Charter schools are required to acquire and finance their facilities without significant public funding, which drains personnel resources and strains finances. In addition, the “constant need to prove ‘results’ and ‘success’ to the outside community can create an atmosphere that feels concerned with those issues above all else” (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). It can be frustrating and disappointing to have to wonder, from year to year, what the fate of our funding and political status will be, especially after nine years of success and a waiting list of over 1300 students. Our mission of preparing all of our students for college is simple and ambitious. Due to our ability to identify challenges and respond to them quickly, we have been able to achieve our mission and continually improve on it. Our teachers appreciate working with their colleagues, whom they identify as motivated, engaged, united by the mission, collaborative, hard-working and supportive of the school’s structures and expectations. (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007). Our autonomy enables us to control our hiring, and modify our curriculum, policies, and structures in an expeditious manner, in order to fulfill our mission of preparing all students for college success.
About the Authors Eileen Callahan, Founding Teacher and Director of Curriculum and Assessment, Boston Collegiate Charter School Ms. Callahan has Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies and a Master’s Degree in American History from Fordham University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard University. Prior to helping found Boston Collegiate, Ms. Callahan taught high school social studies in New York City for five years, where she also served as her department’s chairperson. At BCCS, Ms. Callahan has served as a history teacher, History Department Chair, and High School Director. After serving as Dean of Curriculum at Excel Academy Charter School, Ms. Callahan returned to BCCS in 2006 as Director of Curriculum. Susan Fortin, Co-Founder and Trustee, Boston Collegiate Charter School Ms. Fortin has a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science from Williams College, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. A co-founder of Boston Collegiate, Ms. Fortin served as Director of Operations during the start-up period and first year of operation. Ms. Fortin has served on the Board of Trustees since 1999, and served as Board Chair from 2002-2006. Prior to co-founding BCCS, Ms. Fortin worked for a non-profit analyzing public sector budgeting and financial management, as well as state education funding and accountability reform. Kim Everett, History Teacher, History Department Chair, and Advisory Coordinator, Boston Collegiate Charter School Ms. Everett has a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion from Haverford College, and a Master’s Degree in ESL from the College of New Jersey. Ms. Everett joined Boston Collegiate in 1999. Ms. Everett previously taught English and social studies at the Tobin Community Middle School in Roxbury, MA, for five years, and worked as an ESL instructor both at Roxbury Community College and in Namibia, Africa. Kathleen Sullivan, Executive Director, Boston Collegiate Charter School Ms. Sullivan has a Bachelor’s Degree from Williams College English and a Masters Degree from the University of Mississippi in Secondary Education. Prior to joining Boston Collegiate in 2000, Ms. Sullivan taught high school English in the Mississippi Delta and worked in a farm-workers' community in Florida. Before becoming Executive Director of BCCS in 2005, Ms. Sullivan served as a fifth grade English teacher, English Department Chair, and Dean of Administration.
School Contact Information: Boston Collegiate Charter School email: info@bostoncollegiate.org
Appendix A Student Profile, 2006-07 In the 2006-2007 school year, the school enrolled 392 students in grades 5 through 12, with the following characteristics: Gender. Of our 392 students, 56% are girls and 44% are boys. Residence. The majority of our students reside in Dorchester (38%) and South Boston (37%). An ever-expanding number of students (25%) come from neighborhoods throughout the city, including Charlestown, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, South End, and West Roxbury. Racial Makeup. 69% of our students are White Non-Hispanic, 22% are Black Non-Hispanic, and 9% are Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and Bi-Racial. Initially, the school’s location was a barrier to attracting families of color. However, as the school has developed a strong reputation across the city, we have attracted students from diverse backgrounds and from neighborhoods beyond South Boston. With our permanent location in Dorchester, we project that Boston Collegiate’s student population will continue to grow increasingly racially and economically diverse. The chart that follows demonstrates the beginning of this shift. Boston Collegiate Racial Makeup, 1998 vs. 2006
Limited English Proficiency. There are currently no students enrolled at Boston Collegiate who are limited English proficient, nor are there any students presently enrolled who are linguistic minorities. Boston Collegiate has developed preliminary educational plans should this situation change. Special Education. 18% of our students qualify as Special Education. Free and Reduced Price Lunch. 41% of our students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Parental College Attendance. 21% of our parents have graduated from college, while 79% have not.
Appendix B
OUR HISTORY
Appendix C
Boston Collegiate Charter School Organizational Flowchart 2006-2007
Appendix D
SAMPLE STUDENT SCHEDULE Note: This is a sample schedule only. For each student, times, schedule, and course offerings may vary. If we want students to learn more, we need to expect them to spend more time learning. Our longer school day and longer school year afford students this very opportunity. The typical BCCS student follows the sample schedule below.
*Please note, staggered dismissals, announcements, or other factors could add 5-10 minutes to these dismissal times. **Please note, first dismissal on Mondays is 2:00 PM to allow for professional development time for teachers.
Appendix E BCCS Family Accountability Contract In order for students to learn and grow, it is essential that we all do our part. Boston Collegiate Charter School students, parents, teachers, and administrators all have responsibilities to promote student learning and growth. We are all educational partners who must do our part so that students can learn to the best of their ability. BCCS’s Student and Family Handbook outlines what students, teachers and the Principal must do to ensure student success. This Family Accountability Contract describes important responsibilities and school expectations that families accept once they choose to enroll at this school. Keep in mind that all the items below are drawn directly from our Handbook. We know that the choice you made in coming here is a precious one and we want to make sure that you have a full and clear understanding of your responsibilities. ATTENDANCE
HOMEWORK
CODE OF CONDUCT
PROMOTION POLICIES
STUDENT DRESS POLICY
STUDENT LUNCH
FAMILY SUPPORT
In exchange for what students and families do, we promise to provide students with a safe and orderly environment in which they’ll enjoy studying and learning and we promise to prepare each student for college.
Appendix F PROMOTION POLICIES
Appendix G MAPP MINDFUL
ACHIEVING
PROFESSIONAL
PREPARED
Appendix H
INCENTIVES
Overview of Individual Incentive System: Grades 5-7
Grade 8
Grades 9-12
Overview of Group Incentive System: Grades 5-7
Teachers should:
Grade 8
Grades 9-12
Appendix I
INSIDE THE CLASSROOM From the BCCS Red Book, an instructional handbook given to all staff at the start of every year. Every year, students list their teachers and their classroom experience as the reason they love BCCS. Teachers regularly rise to the challenge of designing academically rigorous and stimulating lesson plans that instill a love of learning in their students. BCCS’s success depends on the work of excellent teachers that care deeply about their subject and their students. Extraordinary teachers are on the MAPP. Extraordinary Teachers are Mindful
Extraordinary Teachers are Achieving
Extraordinary Teachers are Professional
Extraordinary Teachers are Prepared
I. Overview of Collegiate Classrooms: The following list of shared ideas, collected and documented over the years, serves as an overview of some characteristics that define BCCS classrooms. While it is not an equation for how to succeed as a teacher at BCCS, it gives an introductory sense of what is expected and what works. Move Around the Room
Check In with Students
Create a Positive Rapport
Use the Board
Share Enthusiasm
Foster Professionalism in Students
Prepare Students and Classrooms for Visitors
II. Curriculum Expectations: Building a Standards Driven Curriculum Curriculum development is an important part of what every teacher does, and here at BCCS, we spend a lot of time and energy documenting this work in a consistent and useful format. BCCS teachers develop curriculum aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. While State learning standards, objectives and skills are not all-encompassing, they are our starting point. Documenting our curriculum insures long-term planning and is highly effective in keeping classes on pace, reaching long-term goals and delivering content that is both relevant to students and engages them in learning. The Planning Process Before the school year begins, mindful teachers answer three questions about their classes: What do students need to know? How are students going to learn the skills and content they need to know? How will I know if students master the skills and content that I teach? What do students need to know? The breadth of knowledge and skills that must be taught throughout the year and the order in which the content and skills are presented are outlined specifically in a Scope and Sequences for each class. How are students going to learn the skills and content they need to know? Each teacher is responsible for a Course Description that describes the course and the departmental standards for each year. The Course Description includes a Syllabus that outlines the units and the time each one will take. The units are further described in Unit Plans that reflect the things students will know and be able to do at the end of each unit as well as the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks that link to those skills and content. Finally, teachers are asked to use a standard Lesson Plan format (please see the Appendix for samples of these forms). How will I know if students master the skills and content that I teach? When planning units and lessons, teachers are expected to assess students’ mastery of content and skills at regular intervals. This may come in the form of a test or quiz or through other assessments (See Section V. Assessment). Ideally, the final assessment of a unit is written in advance of the start of the unit to set clear and specific goals for the content and skills students are expected to master by unit’s end. Frequent internal assessment of student mastery and performance and preparation for external assessments is crucial to our mission. The Writing Process For each unit plan, extraordinary teachers ensure:
For each daily lesson plan, extraordinary teachers ensure:
III. Daily Lesson Planning When crafted and implemented correctly, the BBC is a useful tool for shaping and guiding in-class time. The BBC consists of a Do Now, Aim/Objective, Agenda and Homework assignment. Written clearly on the board before class and in the same place everyday to ensure consistency, students know exactly what is expected of them from the first moment they enter class. The BBC can then be used as a road map throughout the rest of class, to indicate where the class is going and where it has been. At its core, the BBC helps answer the question, “What do I want my students to know and to be able to do by the end of class?”
Appendix J BOSTON COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCHOOL Classroom Observation Form (5 - 10 minute observation) Teacher: ___________________________ Date: ____________________ Observer:___________________________ Class: ____________________
Additional Notes:
Appendix K ASSESSMENT In addition to traditional classroom assessment measures and science project and other performance evaluations, BCCS uses several other assessment tools to evaluate the progress of our students:
Appendix L Boston Collegiate Charter School MCAS Performance, 2000-2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
