Best Practices And Dissemination Activities Guide

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Funding provided by the United States Department of Education Charter Schools Program.

Primary Author: Kim Wechtenhiser, Consultant, ClassMeasures, Inc. Graphic Design by: Moore and Isherwood Communications, Inc.

Thank you to all the public schools — district and charter — that have worked in collaboration on the projects featured in this publication.

2 Dear Educators:

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 allowed for the creation of Commonwealth and Horace Mann charter schools: new kinds of public schools, operating under five-year charters granted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and directly overseen by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE). A charter school is given increased autonomy to organize around a core mission, curriculum, theme, or teaching method and has increased flexibility in governance. In exchange for this autonomy, the school is required to produce academic results or risk losing its charter. The Massachusetts statute defines multiple reasons for establishing charter schools, including a requirement to disseminate best practices and create replicable models.

Over the last 15 years, many Massachusetts charter schools have become nationally-recognized for their superior academic achievement and innovative educational methods. I am pleased to present this new publication which is complemented by a user-friendly webpage on the Department’s website, which highlights the important work that charter schools and district partners are doing in sharing innovative, educational best practices. It is my hope that showcasing these practices and partnerships can further the important dialogue that is necessary between educators in all types of public schools to support achievement at the highest levels for all students in the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

www.doe.mass.edu/charter

3 Table of Contents

Overview ...... 5

Boston Preparatory Charter Public School – Expanded Learning Time: Making Every Minute Matter ...... 7

Community Day Charter Public School - Meeting the Needs of Students, Families, and the Community ...... 9

Neighborhood House Charter School - Project for School Innovation ...... 11

River Valley Charter School - Montessori Made Public ...... 13

Sturgis Charter Public School - Ensuring College Readiness: IB for All ...... 14

Additional Projects and Website Information ...... 16

4 OVERVIEW

When charter schools became part of the public education landscape with the passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act, they were charged with studying, documenting, and disseminating their best practices to public schools throughout the Commonwealth. Many charter schools have shared their innovative solutions to meeting the needs of all types of student learners, partnering with public school districts, individual schools within districts, and other charter schools to share key design elements of their academic programs as well as organizational, governance, and management practices.

This Best Practices and Dissemination Activities Guide provides an overview of the types of practices and activities that have been successfully developed in charter schools, and highlights five schools in detail. The Guide focuses on activities undertaken by a charter school in collaboration with a district or schools within a district that included mutual sharing of best practices or sharing practices of the charter school. The activities are also documented, making them accessible to all schools and district.

The best practices and dissemination activities not highlighted in this document are listed at the back of the Guide and are available in greater detail on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website at www.doe.mass.edu/charter. In addition to providing more descriptive information about the practices themselves, the website also allows users to easily search the full catalog of activities by project topic and for particular audiences (such as teachers, principals, other school leaders, and board members). Each profile listed in this Guide and on the website also includes a list of documentation or other resources that have been developed as a result of these dissemination activities, as well as contact information for individuals at each charter school who can provide more information about the specific practices and collaborations between charter and district schools listed in the back of this Guide.

The Guide highlights five particularly notable best practices and dissemination activities. These include practices and activities that have established an infrastructure for further collaborations between charter schools and districts and schools, and also whole school models (such as Montessori and the International Baccalaureate Programme) that have not traditionally been considered options available to or successful with all students who attend public schools. These best practices and dissemination activities represent productive collaborations between charter schools and traditional district schools, and may serve as a model for more district and charter school collaborations to come. It is the hope of the Department that this Best Practices and Dissemination Activities Guide and the accompanying, searchable online catalog of practices and activities increase the accessibility of this information for all public schools and districts across the Commonwealth. On behalf of the participating schools, the Department invites and encourages you to reach out to the schools and individuals identified within the profiles included within this Guide and on the Department’s website.

The Guide catalogs a range of best practices and dissemination activities, including practices related to: • School mission; • Internal and/or external student assessment systems; • Using schoolwide and individual student assessment data to inform curriculum and instruction;

5 • Developing, refining, and documenting curricula; • Instructional practices; • Practices in instructional leadership; • At-risk learners; • Special education students and English language learners; • School culture and classroom management practices; • Schoolwide or individual professional development programs; • Community involvement; • Organizational capacity; • Board oversight and governance practices; • Compliance with state and federal law; • Budgeting and long-range fiscal planning strategies; • Fiscal policies and procedures; and • Annual reporting requirements.

6 Boston Preparatory Charter Public School

Expanded Learning Time: Making Every Minute Matter

School Name: Boston Preparatory Charter Public School Location: 1286 Hyde Park Ave Hyde Park, Massachusetts 02136 Grades Served: 6th through 10th grade Total Enrollment: 290 students Best Practice: Expanded Learning Time: Making Every Minute Matter Contact: Amanda Gardner, Principal 617-333-6688, [email protected] or Cindy Snow Director of Dissemination Massachusetts Charter Public School Association 413-625-0135, [email protected]

Authorized by the Massachusetts Board of Education in February 2003, Boston Preparatory Charter Public School (Boston Prep) opened in the fall of 2004 to serve 100 students in 6th grade. At full capacity, the school plans to serve 350 students in grades 6-12. The mission of the school is to “utilize rigorous curriculum, extended academic time, and a range of supports for children and families to prepare 6th – 12th grade students to succeed in college. An environment structured around scholarship and personal growth cultivates students’ virtues of courage, compassion, integrity, perseverance, and respect.”

In its nearly five full years of operation, Boston Prep has achieved impressive results. In the spring of 2008, in math, 98% of eighth grade students at Boston Prep scored advanced and proficient on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). In English language arts, 93% of Boston Prep students scored advanced and proficient. In addition, 53% percent of Boston Prep’s 8th grade students scored proficient on the science and technology MCAS assessment, exceeding statewide performance.

Boston Prep attributes its students’ success in large part to the extended learning time provided by the school. A central tenet of its mission, extended time on learning at Boston Prep provides students with opportunities to develop core virtues of courage, compassion, integrity, perseverance, and respect, as well as opportunities to learn new art techniques and participate in athletic programs and small group academic support sessions.

Consistent with the Expanded Learning Time Initiative supported by the Massachusetts legislature and Massachusetts 2020, Boston Prep applied for and received a federal dissemination grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2008 to share key components of its expanded learning time program, as well as the key design elements of the expanded learning time programs at eight other Massachusetts charter schools, including MATCH Charter Public School, Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, City on a Hill Charter Public School, Marblehead Community

7 Charter School, Rising Tide Charter Public School, KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School, Neighborhood House Charter School, and Codman Academy Charter Public School.

The dissemination project will take place over a two year period, beginning in January 2009. First, Boston Prep will conduct a survey of critical practices, benefits, and challenges faced by its peer schools that also offer expanded learning time opportunities for students, and will document its findings in a report. This report will be distributed widely to all superintendents and principals in Massachusetts, operating charter schools and charter school applicants, colleges and universities in Massachusetts that offer teacher and administrator training programs, and will be posted on the Boston Prep and Massachusetts Charter Public School Association websites. The document will also be shared with critical decision makers in education policy, including legislators, the governor’s office, the commissioner of education, and district schools that have received planning grants from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish their own expanded learning time programs.

Boston Prep will study its own model in further detail and produce a case study of its expanded learning time program. The case study will summarize critical practices of the model, as well as identify benefits and analyze resulting challenges the school has faced in implementation of the program.

Finally, the dissemination grant will make it possible for the nine participating schools to offer eleven study tours to a total of approximately 110 Massachusetts educators. The study tours will be offered starting in the spring of 2009 and through the 2009-10 school year, enabling participants to become familiar with the school and its programs, with a specific focus on the key design elements, benefits, and challenges of the school’s expanded learning time program. The study tours also provide opportunities for educators to exchange ideas and discuss challenges and opportunities related to their work, with a particular focus on expanded learning time. These study tours will be facilitated by the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.

To learn more about this project, to participate in one of the upcoming study tours, or to learn more about the school’s expanded learning program, contact Amanda Gardner, Principal at Boston Prep, or Cindy Snow, Director of Dissemination at the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.

8 Community Day Charter Public School

Meeting the Needs of Students, Families, and the Community

School Name: Community Day Charter Public School Location: 73 Prospect Street 190 Hampshire Street Lawrence, Massachusetts 01841 Grades Served: Kindergarten through 8th grade Total Enrollment: 330 students Best Practice: Meeting the Needs of Students, Families, and the Community Contact: Laura Richane Director of Curriculum and Partnerships 978-682-6628, [email protected]

Community Day Charter Public School (Community Day) is located in Lawrence and serves 330 students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The mission of Community Day is to “provide a kindergarten through grade eight school that will draw upon our considerable experience in working together as a community to develop and implement a curriculum that discovers and supports the special characteristics and unique learning styles of each student.”

Consistent with the population of the city in which it is located, Community Day serves a racially and linguistically diverse student population. In 2007-08, the school’s population was approximately 87% Hispanic, 9% White, 2% African American, and 1% Asian. Approximately 29% of the school’s population was limited English proficient, 18% were students with special needs, and 64% of the school’s students qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Despite the challenges facing the students served by Community Day, including students’ limited early literacy and social skills, the school has graduated 8th graders prepared to attend elite and selective secondary schools. Many more of its students graduate from high school and enroll in colleges and universities across the country.

Through Keeping the Promise: The Massachusetts Charter School Dissemination and Replication Project, sponsored by the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, Community Day has documented and begun to share the key design elements of its charter that have served as the foundation of the school’s success. In 2007, the school’s founding and current Executive Director co-authored, with the Director of Development, a whole school paper entitled Meeting the Needs of Students, Families, and the Community. The paper, published on the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association’s website, details specific elements of the school design that have enabled the school to successfully educate a group of students whose demographics would otherwise indicate academic failure.

9 In particular, the paper details the school’s academic program and organizational and fiscal operations that have allowed the school to meet both its mission and its accountability plan goals. For example, the school’s standards-based, academically challenging curriculum is carefully documented, monitored, and revised when necessary to ensure that the school’s teachers have access to up-to-date information when planning and designing teaching and learning opportunities. In addition, the school benefits from an analyst who tracks and analyzes data from the student assessment system to support the school’s use of data to improve teaching and learning. The school also relies on a supported immersion model for English language learners, that emphasizes the development of early literacy through the school’s two, full-day kindergarten programs. Further, Community Day develops individualized education goals for all students, which assist educators in meeting each students learning level, with a goal of bringing them to proficiency at each grade level, each year.

In addition to the whole school paper, the Keeping the Promise project entails facilitated study tours for charter school and district school educators at the demonstration school. Through the study tours, dozens of educators from around the state and country have toured the school and observed its best practices. Educators have participated in an on-site workshop to discuss these key design elements. Subsequent to the study tours, participants will receive follow-up support and consulting services through the school itself, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, Project for School Innovation, and the Massachusetts Center for Charter Public School Excellence to assist them in implementing some or all of the school’s key design elements.

To learn more about Community Day’s best practices, or to participate in a study tour and workshop at Community Day, please contact Laura Richane, Director of Curriculum and Partnerships.

10 Neighborhood House Charter School

Project for School Innovation

School Name: Neighborhood House Charter School School Location: 21 Queen Street Dorchester, Massachusetts 02122 Grades Served: Kindergarten through 8th grade Total Enrollment: 400 students Best Practice: Charter School Dissemination at Scale Project for School Innovation Contact: Kevin Andrews, Executive Director 617-825-0703, [email protected] or Ruth Feldman Executive Director Project for School Innovation 617-825-0703, ext. 4, [email protected]

Neighborhood House Charter School was among the first charter schools approved in Massachusetts. Founded in 1994 by a group of local parents, the school opened with a goal of becoming both a neighborhood-based school as well as a community resource that would provide health care and social services, while providing an alternative educational option to the families of Boston. In its thirteenth year of operation, the school has established itself as a permanent part of Boston’s public school landscape, and serves 400 students who attend pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

The school’s educational philosophy—Succeed Anywhere—guides its academic program and strong commitment to teaching and learning. Dedicated to doing whatever is necessary to give its students the knowledge and skills to succeed in secondary and post-secondary endeavors, Neighborhood House has committed to “developing and sharing with other public schools innovative practices that improve public education for all students.”

In 2000, after a year of planning, the school founded an affiliated, yet independent, organization to support the sharing of best practices between and among charter and district public schools. Supported by a federal dissemination grant awarded through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the school incubated and launched Project for School Innovation (PSI), a separate 501c(3), to “broaden the impact of successful education reform through the two-way exchange of effective practices between charter and non-charter public schools.”

In its first year of operation, PSI engaged six charter and district school partners in a research and action collaborative, including: the Patrick O’Hearn School, the Mather School, Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School, Conservatory Lab Charter School, Frederick Douglass Charter School, Neighborhood House Charter School, and Roxbury Preparatory Charter School.

11 Today, the mission of PSI remains largely the same, to “cultivate grassroots networks for public district and charter school educators to share their successes and drive school change,” but, both the organization and the scope of collaboration and dissemination efforts has grown exponentially. Through PSI, district and charter schools alike have studied and documented numerous best practices, and have joined forces with their peers and colleagues in public schools across the Commonwealth to identify and effectively implement practices that work for teachers, students, and school principals.

One vehicle for dissemination of best practices is the By Teachers, For Teachers book series. After a year of rigorous study and reflection, a group of teachers at selected schools write a step-by-step, how-to guide about their most effective practices. From character development to successful mathematics programs and curriculum, PSI has published seventeen books, including one documenting the Neighborhood House innovative “KidLab” science program. PSI also trains teachers in providing professional development workshops on these practices, and facilitates opportunities for the “PSI Associates” to connect with and engage other educators around the state and country in support of effective implementation of the practices. Since 2007, PSI has also hosted an annual Learning Exchange Conference.

PSI’s contributions to dissemination efforts also include the formation of an “At-Risk Consortium,” comprised of four charter public high schools that aim to serve students who have dropped out of school or who are at risk of dropping out. Additional information is provided under The At-Risk Consortium. Other activities include study groups such as the Model School Study Group; Support Network for Innovative Classrooms; Support Network for Innovative Principals; and the Support Network for School Excellence, which supports whole school change efforts. To become involved in one of PSI’s dissemination initiatives, or to learn more about PSI’s work with district and charter schools, contact Neighborhood House Charter School or the Project for School Innovation.

Fast Facts: The Project for School Innovation has:

• Touched over 240 educators in traditional district and charter schools through over 30 intensive research and support groups; • Published 17 teacher and educator-authored guidebooks on effective practices; • Distributed over 5,000 books and DVDs to educators nationwide; Presented at 24 local, state, and national conferences; and • Supported the development of 35 school action plans.

12 River Valley Charter School

Montessori Made Public

School Name: River Valley Charter School Location: 2 Perry Way Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 Grades Served: Kindergarten through 8th grade Total Enrollment: 288 students Best Practice: Montessori Made Public Contact: Dale Bishop, Director 978-465-0065, [email protected]

With the approval of River Valley Charter School in 1999, the Massachusetts Board of Education authorized the state’s first public Montessori school. The founders envisioned a new school that would not only offer additional educational options for families in Massachusetts, but one that would irrefutably demonstrate that Montessori is an effective and viable choice for students and their families. In 2003, the school, which serves 300 students in kindergarten through 8th grade, applied for a federal dissemination grant through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to fund Montessori Made Public. Through this program, the school researched, documented, and refined the school’s assessment system, the River Valley Assessment Toolkit to demonstrate that River Valley and the Montessori way have provided the educational environment, support, and coaching that allows students to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to access high quality secondary and post- secondary educational opportunities.

In 2004, the school applied for an additional federal dissemination grant to launch comprehensive documentation and sharing of Montessori Made Public. Through the production of a documentary DVD and a series of workshops, the school aims to share its successes and challenges in establishing a public Montessori charter school, as well as the experiences of two other schools, a charter school in Jefferson County, Colorado, and a district public school in Yonkers, New York.

The professionally-produced DVD provides an introduction to Montessori Made Public and the application of the Montessori model and philosophy to a public school environment. Specifically, the video highlights the River Valley Assessment Toolkit. The DVD also addresses the use and success of the Montessori philosophy and materials in preparing public school students to perform well on state- mandated testing systems under No Child Left Behind, as well as the contributions made by each of the three profiled schools to the overall public education landscape within their communities.

Notably, River Valley hosted the first Montessori Public School Conference in 2008. The school attracted over 90 educators and administrators from each of the five other public Montessori schools in the state, including Zanetti and Gerenca Elementary Schools in Springfield; Placentino Elementary School in Holliston; Tobin Montessori School in Cambridge; and Hillview Montessori Charter School in Haverhill. Through this conference, the schools shared successes resulting from the application of the Montessori model to a public school setting, as well as the challenges to doing so. Attendees observed classes and met in focus groups to discuss topics of their choice. River Valley regularly distributes the Montessori Made Public video, and hosts visitors to the school through its River Valley View school visitation program. To receive a copy of the DVD, to visit the school, or to learn more about how to launch a Montessori program within your school or district, contact Dale Bishop, the school’s director. www.doe.mass.edu/charter

13 Sturgis Charter Public School

Ensuring College Readiness: IB for All

School Name: Sturgis Charter Public School Location: 427 Main Street Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601 Grades Served: 9th through 12th grade Total Enrollment: 350 students Best Practice: Ensuring College Readiness: IB for All Contact: Eric Hieser, Executive Director 508-771-6785, [email protected]

In 1998, the founders of Sturgis Charter Public School envisioned creating an International Baccalaureate school that would be successful with the spectrum of learners who would enroll at a public school population. As a regional charter school that draws its 9th through 12th grade students by lottery from Barnstable, Bourne, Carver, Chatham, Dennis-Yarmouth, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Nauset, Plymouth, Sandwich, Provincetown, and Wareham., Sturgis realized this goal in 2004, the same year Sturgis graduated its first senior class, and was eligible to apply for and be granted endorsement by the International Baccalaureate Organization.

In celebration of the IB endorsement, and consistent with the vision of the school’s founders, Sturgis launched a campaign—IB for All—to share their belief in and success with the IB model as a viable educational option for all students. The school aims to challenge conventional wisdom that IB is a program best suited for elite students. Sturgis also strongly believes that through its rigorous academic program geared toward preparing students for success on the IB exams, students will also be prepared to take and demonstrate proficiency on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. Funded by allocations within the school’s budget, the school leadership and faculty of Sturgis began to document and share the success of the IB program in helping all students demonstrate college readiness, including special education students, English language learners, other at-risk students, and those students looking for a challenging and intellectually rigorous education.

Since 2004, Sturgis has been recognized nationally and internationally for the success of its model. As a result, the school’s leadership and faculty have presented at numerous conferences and provide tailored consulting services to public schools and school districts looking to expand the school choice options available to the families within their communities. Their reach has been extensive. Since 2005, the school has worked directly with over eighteen schools and school districts from the Bay State, including Boston Public Schools, Brockton Public Schools, Cambridge Public Schools, Haverhill Public Schools, and West Springfield Public Schools, and in Oregon, and Honduras, and has given numerous presentations at national conferences. Most recently, the school partnered with IB North America in their dissemination efforts. In the summer of 2009 IB North America will formally train over 20 faculty and staff members from Sturgis to serve as ambassadors of the IB for All model. Charged with spreading the word of the success of the program with all public school students, Sturgis will continue to create customized workshops and presentations for individual schools and public school districts interested in offering an IB program to their communities. To learn more about IB for All, or to discuss the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Programme at your school, contact Eric Hieser, Executive Director of Sturgis Charter Public School.

14 Additional Projects and Website Information

The following list provides information on additional dissemination projects undertaken by Massachusetts charter schools, including the project focus and contact information. This information is also available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website at www.doe.mass.edu/charter/bestpractices and will be updated as additional projects are undertaken. The website provides you with the capacity to search by topic and keyword to access additional details about these projects.

Best Practice Programs featured in this publication are in bold.

Charter School Best Practice Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School Building Character and Achieving Academic Piel Hollingsworth, 617-361-0050 ext. 114, Success [email protected] Cindy Snow, Massachusetts Charter School Association, 413-625-0135, [email protected] Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School Creating Positive School Culture through Piel Hollingsworth, 617-361-0050 ext. 114, Character Education [email protected] Supporting Students to Reach High Ruth Feldman, Project for School Innovation, 617-825- Standards 0703 ext. 3290, [email protected]

Atlantis Charter School Whale of a Mystery Science Curriculum Cheryl Engle Belknap, Curriculum Director, 508-646- 6410, [email protected]

Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School Content-Area Professional Development: Lori Likis, Director of School Improvement, 617-497- Science 7771, [email protected] Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics: A School-wide Approach Facing Restructuring: How a Strong School Faced Failure Boston Collegiate Charter School Key Design Elements of a Successful College Kathleen Sullivan, Executive Director, 617-265-1172, Prep Program [email protected] Cindy Snow, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 413-625-0135, [email protected]

Boston Preparatory Charter Public School Expanding Learning Time: Making Every Amanda Gardner, Principal, 617-333-6688, Minute Matter [email protected] Cindy Snow, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, 413-625-0135, [email protected] * Boston Preparatory Charter Public School A School-Wide Approach to Behavior Amanda Gardner, Principal, 617-333-6688, Management: The Demerit Database

15 [email protected] Using Data to Drive Instruction

City on a Hill Charter Public School Training Urban Teachers Benjamin Conrick, Director of Certification and Professional Development, 617-445-1515, [email protected] City on a Hill Charter Public School Implementing a Mission-Driven Program Erica Brown, Head of School, 617-445-1515, [email protected] Codman Academy Charter Public School Teaching Literacy through Shakespeare Meg Campbell, Executive Director, 617-287-0700 ext. 103, [email protected] Community Day Charter Public School Meeting the Needs of Students, Families, Laura Richane, 978-682-6628, and the Community * [email protected] Online Professional Development Program

Replicating the School Model Using Data to Drive Instruction Using Community Resources to Enhance the Teaching of History Conservatory Lab Charter School Making Learning Visible Diana Lam, Head of School, 617-254-8904, [email protected] Conservatory Lab Charter School Music Education Diana Lam, Head of School, 617-254-8904, [email protected]

Edward W. Brooke Charter School Improving Student Achievement in Jon Clark, Head of School, 617-325-7977, Mathematics: A School-wide Approach [email protected] Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School Ten Common Principles of the Coalition of Teri Schrader, Principal, 978-772-3293, Essential Schools [email protected] Hill View Montessori Charter Public School Charter School and District Collaboration Janet Begin, Executive Director, 978-521-2616 ext. 100, [email protected] Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School Assessments that Matter for At-Risk Students Marge McDevitt, Principal, 978-656-3400, [email protected] Ruth Feldman, Project for School Innovation, 617-825- 0703 ext. 3290, [email protected] Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter Public Becoming a Horace Mann Charter Public School School Ken Keenan, Principal, 508-420-1100, [email protected]

16 Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School Differentiation within the Classroom Bob Moore, Director, 508-693-9900, [email protected] MATCH Charter Public School MATCH Corps Program: Courage, Discipline, Alan Safran, Executive Director, 617-232-0300, and Perseverance [email protected] Cindy Snow, Massachusetts Charter School Association, 413-625-0135, [email protected] MATCH Charter Public School MATCH Corps Program: Intensive High Alia Smith, MATCH Corps Program Director, 617-232- School Math Tutoring 0300, [email protected] MATCH Charter Public School MATCH Corps Program: The “No Excuses” Alan Safran, Executive Director, 617-232-0300, High School Tutor - Tutoring Teenagers In [email protected] High-Poverty Schools Neighborhood House Charter School Project for School Innovation Kevin Andrews, Executive Director, 617-825-0703, [email protected] Ruth Feldman, Project for School Innovation, 617-825- 0703 ext. 4, [email protected] * North Central Charter Essential School Inquiry-based Science Instruction Carolyn Sellars, Director of Strategic Planning, 978- 345-2701 ext. 403, [email protected] Prospect Hill Academy Charter School Improving Student Achievement in Stephen Buck, Chief Academic Officer, 617-284-7805, Mathematics: A School-wide Approach [email protected] River Valley Charter School Montessori Made Public Dale Bishop, Director, 978-465-0065, [email protected] * Roxbury Preparatory Charter School Raising Student Achievement School-wide Will Austin, Co-Director, 617-566-2361, [email protected] Cindy Snow, Massachusetts Charter School Association, 413-625-0135, [email protected] Roxbury Preparatory Charter School Improving Student Achievement in Will Austin, Co-Director, 617-566-2361, Mathematics: A School-wide Approach [email protected] Ruth Feldman, Project for School Innovation, 617-825- 0703 ext. 3290, [email protected] Sturgis Charter Public School Best Practices in School Governance Eric Hieser, Executive Director, 508-778-1782, Ensuring College Readiness: IB for All [email protected] *