Roxbury Preparatory Charter School: Student Achievement is our Bottom Line

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Roxbury Preparatory Charter School:
Student Achievement is our Bottom Line.

By Laura Christian, Director of Development
Dana Lehman, Co-Director
Joshua Phillips, Co-Director

For Keeping the Promise: The Massachusetts Charter School Dissemination and Replication Project, a project of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 2007

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, a middle school serving underprivileged students in grades 6-8 in Boston, Massachusetts, has redefined what families can expect from urban public education. Our teaching and learning model, which is centered on high academic and behavioral expectations, a safe, strict, and structured learning environment, and a professional culture of excellence in teaching has yielded impressive results. On several Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams, Roxbury Prep students have outperformed students in the most affluent districts in the state (Massachusetts Department of Education, MCAS, 2006). One hundred percent of our graduates continue on to a high school with a college preparatory mission, and eighty-seven percent have gone on to enroll in college.

We attribute our success to a rigorous academic curriculum through which teachers break down standards into compact learning objectives and communicate these expectations to students and their families. Our extended academic day includes double periods of reading/language arts and mathematics; we provide homework support, tutoring, and a summer academic program to give students ample opportunity to achieve academic success. Our curriculum is data-driven; we assess students through MCAS, the Stanford 9, the SSAT, and internal comprehensive assessments, and then use this data to determine baseline levels and skill deficits, plan our overall curriculum, and identify students in need of extra help. We support our teachers through allowing ample time for planning, collaboration, professional development, and leadership.

Coupled with academics, we emphasize character development and community-building through an enrichment program, an advisory program, and the Roxbury Prep Creed. We reward students for exemplary actions, and enforce strict consequences for violations of our code of conduct. The result of all our efforts is a community-wide culture of achievement that is promoted by the school's leaders, embodied by staff, and embraced by families and students.

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