Venture Capital for Educators II. the Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools, 1993

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ED 366 690 UD 029 712

AUTHOR Cilley, Pamela, Ed.; Gibbons, Charles H., Jr., Ed. TITLE Venture Capital for Educators II. The Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools, 1993. PUB DATE 93 NOTE 40p. PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Cooperation; *Educational Development; *Educational Improvement; *Educational Quality; Elementary Secondary Education; *Grants; Program Descriptions; *Public Schools; School Business Relationship; *Student Financial Aid IDENTIFIERS *Boston Public Schools MA

ABSTRACT The Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools is a partnership among teachers, students, parents, administrators, and business leaders with the common purpose of restoring the Boston Public School System to its former position as a national leader in education. This publication examines the programs and activities, school by school, that were funded by The Boston Plan for Excellence during academic year 1992-1993. The programs provide students with academic, financial, and personal support. Several specific programs are highlighted. In kindergarten through third grade, the Support for Early Educational Development (SEED) Program, created in 1987, is designed to foster excitement about learning and the value of education. During the middle school years, the Hancock Endowment for Academics, Recreation, and Teaching (HEART) program provides grants for academics and innovative projects which enhance the academic curriculum, provide student leadership opportunities, and encourage staff development and parent involvement. Project Action enables high school students to become grantmakers in their own communities. Finally, the Access Program helps high school seniors find the money to pay for college as well as last minute scholarship financing that attempts to make up the difference between the actual cost of college and what a student has been able to raise from other sources of financial aid. (GLR)

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Venture Capital For Educators II

2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE TRUSTEES OF THE BOSTON PLAN FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1993-1994

Mr. William L Boyan Mr. Ronald Homer President & Chief Operations Officer President & CEO John Hancock Financial Services Boston Bank of Commerce

Dr. John A. Curry Mr. John Larkin Thompson President, Northeastern University Of Counsel, Nutter, McClennen & Fish

Ms. Jane C. Edmonds Dr. Sherry Penney President, Jane C. Edmonds & Associates Chancellor, UMASS Boston

*Mr. Robert B. Fraser Dr. Robert Peterkin Chairman, Goodwin, Procter & Hoar Director, Urban Superintendents Program, Harvard University Mr. Ernest T. Freeman Graduate School of Education President The Educational Resource Institute Ms. Loretta Roach Executive Director Mr. Charles K Gifford Citywide Education Coalition President, Bank of Boston Dr. C. Scully Stikes Mr. John P. Hamill President, Bunker Hill Community College President, Fleet Bank of Massachusetts Ms. Jean Sullivan McKeigue Dr. Lois Harrison-Jones (Exofficio) Director, Office of Community Affairs Superintendent, Boston Public Schools Boston College

Mr. Harold Hestnes * Current Chairman Senior Partner, Hale and Dorr

Researched and Edited by: Pamela Cilley, Program Officer Charles H. Gibbons, Jr., President & Chief Operations Officer Design: Claire E. Introini Table of Contents

Boston Plan for Excellence Trustees Inside front cover Foreword 1 SEED Grants (Support for Early Educational Development) 2 James Condon Elementary School 3 Joseph J. Hurley Elementary School 4 BANK OF BOSTON SCHOOL 1NMATIVES GRANTS PROGRAM 5 Samuel Adams Elementary School 6 Agassiz Elementary School 7 William Blackstone Elementary School 8 Brighton High School 9 Carter School 10 James Michael Curley Elementary School 11 Sarah Greenwood Elementary School 12 Joseph J. Hurley Elementary School 13 Hyde Park High School 14 Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School 15 Josiah Quincy Elementary School 16 Charles Sumner Elementary School 17 Maurice J. Tobin Elementary School 18 William H. Trotter Elementary School 19 Joseph P. Tynan Elementary School 20 West Roxbury High School 21 HEART GRANTS (Hancock Endowment for Academics, Recreation and Teaching) 22 Joseph FL Barnes Middle School 23 Grover Cleveland Middle School 24 Clarence R. Edwards Middle School 25 Patrick F. Gavin Middle School 26 Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School 27 Solomon Lewenberg Middle School 28 Lewis Middle School 29 Robert Gould Shaw Middle School 30 Phillis Wheatley Middle School 31 Woodrow Wilson Middle School 32 Project ACTION 33 ACCESS 34 Boston Plan for Excellence Trustees Emeriti 35 Staff 35

4 FOREWORD

The Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public The programs of The Boston Plan for Excel- Schools is a partnership among teachers, stu- lence provide students with academic, financial, dents, parents,administrators and business lead- and personal support. In the early childhood ers with the common purpose of restoring the years, kindergarten through third grade, the Boston Public School System to its former posi- SEEDProgram fosters anexcitement aboutlearn- tion as a nafional leader in education. ing and about the value of education. The Bank Created in 1984 with a $1.5 million endow- of Boston School Initiatives Grants Program ment from Bank of Boston, The Boston Plan was enables elementary and high school teachers to one of the first community-based endowments give students the self-confidence and the moti- for public education in the United States. Contri- vation to succeed in school, college and the work butions help to fund innovative educational force. During .the middle school years, the ideas, creating programs for students in kinder- HEART Program provides grants for academic garten through high school andbeyond through and innovative project opportunities which en- the undergraduate years. hance the academic curriculum, provide stu- The Mission of The Boston Plan is fairly dent leadership opportunities, and encourages straightforward: to support innovations and im- staff development and parent involvement. provements in public schools; to expand oppor- Project ACTION enables high school students to tunities for students through the disbursement become grantmakers in their own communities. of private funds; and to strengthen the base of Finally, the ACCESS Program helps high school community support for the public schools by seniors find the money to pay for college. It promoting greater awareness and understand- provides, within guidelhies, the all-important ing of their importance. Also, The Boston Plan "last dollar" scholarships that attempt to make for Excellence advocates for children in the pub- up the difference between the actual cost of lic policy arena. college, and what a student has been able to raise The Boston Plan for Excellence and its pro- from other sources of financial aid. ACCESS grams have received wide financial support provides ongoing financial and moral support from the corporate and foundation communi- for the four to six years it takes to complete ties. In addition to the founding gift, the Bank of college. Boston has become a national model for corpo- This publication is a look at the programs rate philanthropy through their involvement in and activities funded by The Boston Plan for public educationand in the lives of Boston school Excellence during academic year 1992 - 1993. It children. Bank of Boston has contributed over is our hope that by sharing these innovative $10 million to the Boston Plan, establishing a projects and ideas that the programs will be healthy operations endowment, and providing disseminated through the Boston Public School for additional programmafic initiatives. Other System and beyond. Every program described substantial grants have come from The New in this publication provides creative opportuni- England, John Hancock Financial Services, the ties to experiment within public schools and is law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, The Bos- replicable in other settings. ton Foundation, and American Student Assis- To get more information about The Boston tance Corporation (formerly Massachusetts Plan frr Excellence, please contact us at One Higher Education Assistance Corporation). Boston Place, Suite 2400, Boston, MA 02108 (617- These gifts plus contributions from some 75 723-7489). other private sources have helped to endow programs and provide for ongoing operations.

1 SEED GRANTS Support for Early Educational Development Supported by the law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar

SEED was created in 1987 by the partners of the law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar in recognifion of the firm's 75th anniversary. This $1 million permanent endowment fund rep- resents an important response from a member of the business sector to the challenges society has posed to public education and the Boston community.

SEED has been designed to address L. ical needs of early childhood education by creating supportive, nurturing, and challenging environments in which students from kindergarten through grade three can learn. SEED projects are awarded on two year implementation cycles to insure a serious time commitment on behalf the schools. The awards are substantial and are considered to be "research and development" grants. From 1988 to 1990, SEED awarded a total of $150,000 to the Agassiz and Trotter Elementary Schools to implement whole language programs. The SEED schools for 1990 through 1992 were the Quincy Elementary School and the Condon Elemen- tary School. The two schools were awarded over $114,000 to implement whole language and cooperative learning projects. The current SEED grant recipients are the Condon Elementary School and the Hurley Elementary School. The grants awarded to these schools will total $120,000 over two years.

1.4 -ii- 44, Robert B. Fraser, Chairman, Goodwin, Procter & Hoar stated about his firm creating the SEED program, "There was a clear and obvious gap. You have to get to the students early enough with some good programs if you want to make a difference. Pretty early on we made a judgment that we wanted to have a serious experimental program. You need to take risks and if something works better, fine. And if it does work better, there should be a program for disseminating it."

Since its inception, SEED has awarded over $350,000 to encourage innovation in the Boston Public Schools. Applica- tions for the next round of SEED grants will be available in November, 1993. The programs will begin in September, 1994.

2 SEED Early Childhood Integration Through the Arts James Condon In an effort to enhance the tunities are being provided through- Elementary School Condon School's mainstreaming ef- out the school year in two different forts between the Children's Center, ways. Special education students in a group of classes which serves substantiallyseparateclassroomsare young children with severe physical integrated into the arts, music and FY 93 - $30,000 and mental disabilities, and early physical ecir.cation classes. Artists childhood classrooms, the Early from VSAM collaborate with the Principal: Childhood Integration Through the Condon School personnel to pro- Daniel Walsh Arts program was developed. The videcooperativeartsexperiences for project was designed with the main the mainstream population and the Project Director: focus of integrating all early child- special needs children in these hood students, ages 3 - 8, with and classes. The second way integration Michael Sitar without special needs into the opportunities are being created is Target population: Condon Schoolcommunity. through reverse mainstreaming ac- Through weekly activities in visual tivities. These activities focus on dis- 600 Students arts, movement/dance and musk , abilty awareness and arts activities the program provides extensive and are lead by the special needs training for school specialists, teach- teachers, assisted by the paraprofes- ers and parents in the areas of arts sionals. and education and its support of integration. All early childhood stu- Artists from VSAM create most dents at the Condon School are pro- of the mainstreaming opportunities vided with avenues for creative ex- which provide a living resource and pression,multi-sensory learning and direct training the Condon School development of decision making personnel. They work closely with skills. By using the arts a variety of the three specialistsnormallyrespon- learning styles are being addressed, sible for art, music and physical edu- and children are experiencing learn- cation classes. VSAM also provides ing through all the senses. School teacher training in the Multi-Arts specialists and the classroom teach- Resource Guide, a permanent re- ers are working together in a col- source for teachers, specialists and laborative effort. parents in using arts as a vehicle for learning. VoySpecialArtsMassachusetts (VSAM) acts as the major partner in In assessing the first year of the the planning and implementation of program, Project Director Mike Sitar the project. They coordinate the art- wrote, "There has been astounding ist/consultantsand traintheCondon growth in the emotional and social School specialists Integrationoppor- development of the mainstream population. As a result of their expo- sure in the integrated groups and in the special needs classrooms, they are more responsive to the special needs students and have welcomed them into the school community. They have grown in the knowledge of disabled people and have developed a greater sense of empathy and understanding."

The project will continue in academic year 1993 -1994 with a $30,000 grant from the SEED program. 3 7

. 7.ST COPY IVIIIIRLE Hands-On Science! SEED Joseph J. Hurley Project Hands-On! is an groups, providing transiation assis- inclusionsary hands-on science pro- tance, and helping with science Elementaq School gram designed to excite students equipment about doing science together. The project features bi-weekly science ProjectDirectorVirginiaZanger FY 93 - $30,000 classes in grades K-3 in integrated created a Hands-On Science news- groups of bilingual, monolingual, letter to keep everyone updated on Principal: and special education program stu- the project's progress. It includes Miriam Hernandez-Spurlark dents. Students explore science top- project descriptions, parent inter- ics using the nationally acclaimed views, and updates on each grade's Project Director: Hands-On Elementary Science cur- activities in both English and Span- riculum. ish. She has also outlined an Virginia Zanger AGEs / MAIVy c, 0 Lt;.totos Iinvinm cv,truirt, extensive two-year re- 014,44.4, searchplan to evalu- Target population: Some of .444' tP6 the specific ate the project. 250 students objectives for the pro- The Hurley gram are: to School was able to have all stu- receivemanyother dents in grades K-3 spend at least 90 significant donations as a direct re- minutes per week learning in an in- sult of the success of Hands-On! For tegrated setting; to have a minimum example, Impact II Vecirtos grants of 3 parents per grade level assist in were awarded to 11 Hurley teachers classrooms during the program; to to complement team-based science train K-3 teachers in cooperative instruction. A grant from the Com- learning and hands-on science; to monwealth Inservice Institute of the have students and staff work to- Massachusetts Department of Edu- gether to create a school environ- cation allowed the school to extend ment which reflects the multicultural cooperative learning training and focus of the school community. order science-related books in En- glish and Spanish. The Christian Sci- Curricula have been linguisti- ence Monitor Publications donated cally adapted for two-way bilingual several thousand dollars worth of classes. Some science classes are children's trade books with science taught in Spanish and some in En- themes. glish to a mixed class of students. Kindergarten through third grade Hands-On! continues in aca- classes participate in multicultural demic year 1993 -1994 with a $30,000 units based on Children's Museum grant from the SEED program, kits and the Children's Museum Summer Institute in Multicultural Education training (5 teachers attended). All K-3 teachers receive training in cooperative learning and science, including hands-on lessons modeled in many Hurley School classrooms by sdence consultants. Also,after-schoolscienceworkshops with science instruction from Wheelock College are held. Parents assist in science classmoms thmugh- out the year by working in small

8 BEST COPY AVAILABLE BANK OF BOSTON SCHOOL INITIATIVES GRANTS PROGRAM

The Bank of Boston School Initiatives Grants Program (BKBSIGP) supports school-based programs designed to enhance and improve both teaching and learning in elementary and high school settings. Funded projects are suitable for replication, compliment the school's annual plan, and provide a permanent -CIS! impact on the schOol's curriculum. Achieving excellence is the cornerstone of all Bank of BostonSchool Initiatives Grants whether the focus in on curriculum development, teacher in-service training,building relationships withother schools or the localbusiness community, or strengthening parental involvement in education. Programs stress learning beyond the textbook by providing hands-on experimentation and activities outside the classroom. The Bank of BostonSchoollnitiatives Grants Program has awarded over $1.2 million to Boston public elementary and high schools.

Bank of Boston has been a fundamental player in the success of The Boston Plan for Excellence. Not only has the Bank of Boston made it possible to fund and replicate hundreds of successful programs in the Boston Public Schools, but they have also has ensured that the Boston Plan itself will remain in a healthy financial position. In 1992, through the successful sale of stock which was part of the Bank's original gift, the Bank of Boston made it possible to endow the operations of The Boston Plan as well as to provide for additional programmatic needs.

Jeff Graham, Director of Government and Community Af- fairs at Bank of Boston stated, "Over the past ten years the Bank of Boston School Initiatives Grants Program has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to some 200 elementary and high schools. Compared to any individual school's budget, these are tihr not large grants. But in terms of funds available for innovation, for change, these grants are very significant. They provide a critical resource for schools striving to improve themselves."

In addition, Bank of Boston has contributed significantly to the ACCESS Program, and has been a long-time advocate for The Boston Plan. The Bank's representation on The Flan's Board of Trustees has been an influential catalyst throughout our ten year history.

5 9 BVBSIGP "Water Wizards" Samuel Adams Designed to increase student The Water Wizards project will awarenessofwaterconservation,the begin its second year of implementa- Elementary School Water Wizards Project at the Adams tion in September, 1993 as the school Elementary School was a school- has been awarded a second Bank of wide initiative that used hands-on Boston School Initiatives Grant in FY 93 - $5,625 experiments across the curriculum the amount of $6,016. to introduce students to the impor- Principal: tance of protecting the environment. Phillip Marino Given that the school is only 400 Project Directors: yardsawayfmmBostonHarbor,si- dents had direct access to a most Sara Finnigan obvious experiment site. Science related software on Apple computers, Sharon Hullum environmental reading materials, Target population: films, and videotapes were some of the resources used to teach students School-wide: 300 students how to conserve water and reduce From the Samuel Adams Science pollution. In grades 1 and 2, students Nenisletter, February, 1993 wrote short stories about water conservation, and typed new vocabu- lary words using "Magic Slate" soft- Water Conservation ware; ir grades 3, 4 and 5 students learned to use graphing software, at Home wrote and typed stories, and pro- By the Students in Grade 3, Room 5 duced the student science newslet- ter. Students also videotaped and Don't leave the water on. Don't leave the water on when you edited science experiments, a sci- o ence fair and an awards day. At the brush your teeth. end of the year, the student produc- Take a shower for two minutes. tion of "Sounds a Little Fishy To Me" Don't use too much water. was put on for two large audiences. Don't use too much water when you do your dishes and clothes. The Massachusetts Water Re- Don't pollute the ocean. source Authority (MWRA) and an Don't take a mouthful! of sea intern from Tufts University Com- water. munity Health Program committed to help teach the Water Wizards cur- Don't waste any water. riculum. The school collaborated Don't flush the toilet ten times a with local neighborhood merchants daY. and community groups to exhibit Don't put any junk down the student water conservation art dis- drain. plays. Don't leave the water running because it wastes water. To disseminate the project, the Don't wash your car every day. Project Directors wrote articles for Don't drink bad water. local newspapers. They also partici- Don't let your dog drink water out pated in "Lasting link", a National Science Foundation Grant which of the toilet. paired elementary teachers with sci- Do not change the fish water tank entists working in local industries. each day. Don't let children play with the water. 6

1 0 BKBSIGP "Growthworks" Agassiz As one of the largest elementary both educates students about the Elementary School schools in the Boston Public School environment, and maintains and system, the Agassiz Elementary improves the environmental stan- School faces a common problem; dards and appearance of the school; FY 93 - $10,720 there has been a tangible lack of un- to enable students from different derstandingamonggroups, particu- educational programs in the school Principal: larly between special education and to workcooperativelyon tasks which regular education students, and be- increase harmonious relationships Alfredo Nunez tween children in bilingual and throughout the school; to build Project Director: monolingual programs. In many school esteem by encouraging every classrooms, therewas anarmw range child to develop pride in their own El ly Mae O'Toole of activities where children from actions recogniiing the contributions these groups had the opportunity to of their classmates to the project as a Target population: positively interact. In one attempt to whole; and to provide additional School-wide bring the school together as a true forums for parent participation in community, the Growthworks pro- their children's education. gramwas developed in keepingwith the school's priorities of thematic Many monthly themes were teaching and team-building. successfully carried out with enthusiasm such as harvesting, plant iden- Growthworks, a natural science tification and inventory, weeding, and environmental program, em- seasonal changes in the garden, powered children and teachers to be working with seeds, investigating knowledgeable about and respon- the soil and creatures living in it, soil sible for their environment. Caring analysis, and bulb planting. Journals for the school environment became were used in classes to enter an intrinsic part of the school's cur- children's work and to document riculum. Some of the objectives of the progress of the program. Parents the project were as follows: to im- participated in both indoor and out- prove academic skills widely used door activities from assisting in the in life and in environmental studies fall bulb planting to assisting in through a thematic approach; to cre- classes. Athome, parentshelped with ate and implement a programwhich homework and some individual parents gave classroom lessons.

The school collaborated with many other organizations to ensure the success of the program including UMASS/Boston,BostonGreenspace Alliance, Project Learning Tree, Bos- ton English High School, Massachu- setts Audubon Society, Boston Part- ners in Education and Arts in Progress. Also, the Agassiz School donated a large amount of in-kind services including many hours by the Project Director and program participants.

Growthworks will continue in September, 1993 with a $9,220 grant from Bank of Boston School Initia- tives Grants Program. 7 11 "Seeking a Peaceable Kingdom" BKBSIGP William Blackstone To address concerns over con- Throughotherfundingsources, flict resolution, low student achieve- the school obtained the use of a part- Elementary School mentinreading, and readingviewed time psychologist, and developed a as work, the Blackstone El- counseling internship program ementary School de- in association with area col- FY 93 - $6,750 signed the Seeking a leges and universities. Work- PeaceableKingdom shops were held for parents Principal: project for grades three in order to explain the new through five. The specific project, and to invite William Colom goals of the project were guest speakers from Project Director: ba help each child make the community to better choices in resolving share their views on Chandra Minor conflicts, to foster a love of reading, conflict resolution. Stu- and to improve reading instrucfion. dents were able to take home books Target Population: to further encourage parental in- Grades 3 - 5 Preandpostquestionnaires ask- volvement. At the Parent Center, ing questions such as, "What is topic discussions about the books 350 students involved peace" and "What are some of were offered. the ways you resolve a conflict between you and a Staffdevelopmentwasan im- classmate" were given to portantaspectof this students. to assess the im- program. Five third pact of the program. Also, grade teachers (2 bi- journalswerekept lingual and 3 mono- throughout the year to lingual) participated capture the change in stu- in the Educators for dents participating in the program. Social Responsibility: Conflict Reso- lution Program for Boston Public Students read selected stories Schools and held an in-servicework- aboutcharac.as facing problems and shop for all Blackstone School teach- conflicts and discussed with their ers. peers how these situations were re- solved and how they felt about the Chandra Minor, Project Direc- characters' response to these con- tor wrote "Conflict resolution and flicts. The stories were selected ac- peace have become part of the cording to the followingcriteria: high schoorsculture.The school has taken quality literature; age appropriate an active role in helping students interest level; a plot that relates to understand how to accomplish conflict resolution; and varied eth- peaceful resolutions to conflicts." nic representation. Teacher prepared guides for each book induded additional suggestions forclassroomand home activities such as writing ac- tivifies and dramatic arts. Students prepared a creative product for each book. The reading curriculum was restructured to expose students con- sistently to good children's literature books and role playing and writingactivitieswereimplemented. Materials purchased for the program were kept in an available,designated section of the school's library. 8 12 BKBSIGP The BIG DIG for FACTS! Brighton The BIG DIGfor FACTS! was include such vast resources as Aca- High School developed to expand efforts in the demic Index, publications of the development of interactive learn- United Press International, Associ- ing at Brighton High School. It es- ated Press, Time-Life, National tablished an integrated learning en- Geographic, Scientific American, FY 93 - $4,560 vironment which enriched and etc. supplemented existing library and Headmaster: classroom materials and allowed Some specific objectives of the Juliette Johnson students oppuitunities to interact BIG DIG for FACTS! program with the curriculum. were: to increase critical reading Project Directors: and Clinking skills; to increase li- The project created satellite brary and research skills; to pro- Joyce M. Campbell electronic research centers in all vide staff development and train- aaire E. Introini five computerized subject-area ing in the use of technological classrooms. Each center contains equipment; to provide opportuni- Target population: traditional reference materials: ties for teachers to coordinate cur- books, almanacs, periodicals, etc. riculum and develop interdiscipli- School-wide, 500 students In addition, centers contain the lat- nary units of instruction; to allow est in reference software: the Elec- for the exchange of information, tronic Encyclopedia and other ref- cultures, and creative ideas for all erence materials on CD-ROM; on- students; to achieve a synthesis of line electronic library services that the new and the traditional instruc- tional methods to create a more interesting and effective method of instruction; and to increase parental involvement by holding dem- onstrations and, if requested, training sessions for parents, in order to inform them of new techniques which are being implemented. Students working indepen- dently and in small groups completed a major research project. Their research efforts included a variety of creative student projects such as class presentations (both oral and video), panel discussions, debates, and term papers.

Staff development was a critical part of this project. Participat- ing teachers from different subject areas worked together to design specific curriculum units which incorporate a variety of relevant research assignments.

The BIG DIG for FACTS! will begin its second year of implementation in September, 1993 with a Bank of Boston School Initiatives grant in the amount of $8,500. 9

1 3 Exploring & Sharing Cultural BKBSIGP Opportunities in our NeighborhoodCarter School

The Carter School is a compre- blind and autistic) performed for FY 93 - $800 hensive educational program the group. At the end of each activ- which was established to meet the ity, discussions were held with stu- Principal: needs of students with severe dis- dents to get feed back on their ex- abilities. Three years ago, the Carter periences. The program was docu- Roger Mazur School students had very little op- mented by pre and post testing of Project Director: portunity to be integrated with attitudes and knowledge at the regular education students. beginning and end of the project as Abby Marsa Through a number of Boston Plan well as records of activities, video for Excellence grants, a partner- taping of sessions and discussions Target population: ship has been formed with the with participants. 35 students Hurley Elementary School, also in the South End, where students with Abby Marsa, Project Director (12 from Carter and 23 from disabilities and students without wrote "Our cultural and social Hurley Elementary) disabilities interact and become project has enlightened many friends through various outings adults in our community to the during the school year. The project needs of the Carter and Hurley has decreased fears and miscon- School integration project. For ex- ceptions aboutbeing close to people ample, The Museum of Fine Arts with disabilities and has promoted had no experience preparing a tour acceptable attitudes toward con- for our very diverse group of stu- cepts of normalization. dents. Through lengthy conversa- tions the MFA was able to set up a Students from both schools tour that best facilitated the needs participated in cultural and social of both groups coming as one. Since activities such a s attending the Bos- our visit, the MFA has expressed ton Children's Theatre at New En- an interest in continuing this pair- gland Life Hall for the production ing project with us next year." of "Cinderella", the Lyric Stage for the production of "Scrooge", trips The Carter School will receive to the Boston Public Library and another year of funding in the the Copley Movie Theatre. A num- amount of $1,100 for the project ber of holiday activities took place from the Bank of Boston School at the school, and many perform- Initiatives Grants Program which ers, such as Tony DeBlois (who is will begin in September, 1993. BKBSIGP "Discovery: Windows to the World" James Michael Curley In response to a concern over The project used literature as a class size, integration of special basis for an across the curriculum Elementary School needs students with regular edu- approach to learning. Students cation students, parental involve- were grouped heterogeneously ment, and daily reading time, the with regular and special needs stu- Curley Elementary School de- dents, and class size was reduced FY 93 - $8,600 signed the Discovery: Windows to for sixty minutes each day to no the World program. Some objec- more than 15:1 during the daily Principal: tives of the project were: to provide Discovery reading hour. Kathleen Armstrong literature experiences for students which include non-fiction sources, Each grade level used a year Project Director: especially in science and math ar- long overall theme such as fami- eas; to reduce class size; to enhance lies, environment, challenges, sur- Patricia Martin integration of special needs stu- vival or decisions. Booklists were Target population: dents with regular education stu- created and a fall kick off assembly dents; to continue to create an inte- began the school's effort to read Grades 1 - 5: 300 students grated curriculum; and to spend a one million minutes during the greater portion of each day reading year. Daily reading classes were good literature. held and students charted their progress weekly. A portfolio of writing and math activities was kept for each child.

(As a result of the program, the school's science fair now has a direct link to the Discovery program. Classes read fiction and non-fiction books and integrate poetry and plays around a science theme.

Pat Martin, Project Director wrote, "Discovery has generated a genuine interest in reading in all our classes. It has also forged some wonderful friendships between regular education students and special needs students. These friendships would never have had the chance to occur without our heterogeneous Discover classes."

Boston Plan staff site visits and evaluation materials found that the program has been truly successful and met all of the program objectives. The Discovery program has been institutionalized within the Curley Elementary School, and will continue in academic year 1993- 1994.

11 15 The Greenwood Galleon:Expeditionto the Americas BKBSIGP Sarah Greenwood In keepingwith theSarah Green- The project accomplished all of wood School's efforts to reform the the goals: students learned about the Elementary School curriculum and increase different Pre-Colombian cultures mainstreaming of students, the Ex- through legends and folktales; stu- pedition to the Americas program dents worked in cooperative learn- FY 93 - $7,800 was developed to further encourage ing teams to accomplish Art activi- integrafion among all students and ties linked to the project; teachers Principal: implement cooperative learning met monthly to plan cooperative strategies across the curriculum. leamingactivities and received train- Isabel Mendez ing in the use of different Art Project Director: Students learned about forms; parents became part of the cultures of the Americas the program as guests and oral Susan Thompson through storytelling and historians; students en- hands-on activities in gaged in research and de- Target population: weaving, pottery, veloped questioning skills; Grades 4 - 5: 164 students painting, music, and the project incorpo- drama, writing rated community agencies and other art forms. in the pl; king and implementa- The project consisted of two fion of the project. phases; students studied a Pre-Co- lombian culture and today's com- LETTER TO 'THE WORLD munity. Visiting artists came to the school to share in their expertise and Dear World knowledge of the art forms and the cultures studied. I wish that when get up out of my bed and I open my window, 1 could The Mayan culture was chosen see all the colors of the rainbow. I to be studied as the Pre-Colombian could see rainbows, sun, all the colors phase. Latin American artists visited of the sky. the school and taught children their art forms. Elena Ixcot, a Mayan One afternoon, 1 saw a sun weaver and spokeswoman for the setting and I took paper and paint, International Mayan Leagues gave a thinking about you, Workl. I drew a lectureanddemonstrafiononMayan volcano ewloding with it's lava Culture, weaving and corn grind- yellow, red, orange, and a piece of ing. blue sky and two clouds, one purple Phase two focused on "Our and the other one yellow. Then I drew a sun with Christmas colors and two America,OurCommunity. Students pieces of pink that mean happiness studied a Native American storyand then worked on maps of Native and a blue moon and brown stars that almost mean the ground. There is American populations in the US. orange rain. That means that when and North America. Arts in Progress the weather is hot the water feels hot performed a violence prevention piece, and local storytellers and on the people's bodies and they take a shower in the rain.I think that the songwriters performed as well. Po- water feels like that when it is in the etry, painting, and writing were all summer. I dedicate this Painting to results of the artistic exchanges. The you, World I was just thinking about focus was on "rediscovering" you, Wora America today, specifically the cultures and important issues of the Sincerely, school and the community. Clara Diaz, Room 210

12 6 BKBSIGP "Doing Science Together" Joseph J. Hurley Since 1989, the Hurley School ceived science training and sup- Elementary School has worked to "build an integrated port by science consultants and and unified community of students, used cooperative learning meth- parents, and staff through a multi- ods in the classroom. FY 93 - $8,820 cultural Two-Way(Spanish and En- glish) Bilingual program" (Hurley Students were engaged in a va- Principal: Mission Statement). The success of riety of hands-on activities includ- this model has brought the Hurley ing: working with seeds and leaves Miriam Hernandez- sta ff, students and parents together (grade 1); metric measuring (grades Spur lark and has generated a great deal of 2 and 3); construction of a balance excitement and motivation. To fur- to measure mass (grade 3); work Project Director: ther cultivate the Two-Way pro- with microscopes (grade 4); and Virginia Zanger gram, the school developed the Do- testing of rocks for mineral content ing Science Together program. (grade 5). The activities carried out Target population: were organized to introduce and The goals of the Doing Science reinforce the scientific skills of ob- Total Student Together project were to develop servation, classification, measure- Population - 394 an inclusionary model of hands-on ment, experimentation, and pre- science education which mofivates diction. G,JAGES / MANY Cto 1,05 I MMuscv ro students, builds collaboration 403 00 L 4 among staff and parents, and pro- The school collaborated with a vides an opportunity for students number of outside organizations from bilingual, monolingual, and as a result of the Bank of Boston special education programs to learn School Initiatives grant. The City with and from each other. Mission Society artists worked with students to integrate science topics All students participated in bi- into the arts, such as writing poetry weekly, integrated science classes about metamorphosis and flight. using the Hands-On Elementary Teachers participated in the Science curriculum developed by Multicultural Summer Institute at the Carroll County Public Schools. The Children's Museum. City Year Curricula were linguistically workers helped in the classrooms, adapted for two-way bilingual and 11 teachers wrote Vecinos classes. All classroom teachers re- grants based on the grant experience. The Hurley School was also working on the Hands-On Science program which focused on grades kindergarten through three. Project Director Virginia Zanger wrote, "The project has contributed to a sense of community at the Hurley school. The culmination of the year's science study was a schoolwide butterfly unit, and everywhere in the school, in every classroom, students were observ- ing, reading and writing about, even d ressing up as ca terpillars and butterflies. The entire school family paraded down Tremont Street in butterfly regalia and the school plans to make this an annual event. 13 17 Not Home! Not Alone! BKBSIGP Hyde Park A needs survey conducted at Many of the staff volunteered Hyde Park High School in 1991 their time to supervise the clubs High School indicated that there was an over- and after school activities. Accord- whelming need for after school ing to Project Director Patricia clubs and courses for all students. Tremblay, "Students' self esteem FY 93 - $7,625 Although Hyde Park High offered was raised in helping othersthere a sports program, there was a lack was a definite cooperative feeling Headmaster: of organized dubs and after school in the work done with bilingual enrichment programs. The school and monolingual students. School Curtis Wells staff developed the Not Home! Not became a more pleasant place." Project Director: Alone! program to address the needs of students and to expose Patricia M. Tremblay them to activities which would enrich their lives and provide cul- Target population: t, iral advancement. 200 Students Planned activities included the following: weight training; tutor- ing for mathematics and language arts; the chess club; and two projects which allowed high school students to tutor elementary students at the Greenwood Elementary School. The school purchased new computer software to increase the quality of technology education in the school and worked on establishing an after school computer lab.

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14 1 8 BKBSIGP Proj ect Make a Difference Patrick J. Kennedy The focus of Project Make A Throughout the year, students Elementaly School Difference was to make children produced coloring books which aware that they can make a dif- were donated to Boston City ference in the world; that they Hospital Children's Unit. FY 93 - $6,706 have the ability to provide a service to others and thus help Program activities included Principal: society. The project addressed poetry writing, story writing, the needs of building self confi- and illustration. Students in Eugene Ellis dence in students, and improv- grades third and fourth graders Project Director: ing writing and creative skills. served as tutors and aides to Kindergarten and first graders Donna Rosenberg while the fifth graders edited the stories. Stories and pictures Target population: created by the students were scanned into a Macintosh com- School-wide, 330 Students puter. The final product was original published and bound books which were sent to the hospital. The presentations of the books to the hospital were videotaped and shown to the students. By the end of the year, each child had worked collabora- tively with another child either within their own grade or across grade levels. Most fifth graders learned to use the various piece of technological equipment purchased for the project such as the scanner, printer, binder, xerox, computer, as well as various software. Six books were completed during the year: A World of Superheroes; A Bus Ride Through East Boston Massachu- setts; Find the Hidden Animal coloring book; My Magical Pets; 3 Poetry in Color; and the Just For

1 You coloring book. At least 30 aert: copies of each book were donated to hospitalized children. Project Make a Difference will continue in academic year 1993 - 1994 with a $3,532 grant from the Bank of Boston School Initiatives Grants Program. zte.

15 I 9 UST COPY AVAILABLE "Parents As Partners" BKBSIGP Josiah Quincy The Quincy Elementary School (English translation of a comment developed the Parents As Partners reported in the Sing Tao newspa- Elementary School program to increase parental in- Per) volvement through purposeful activities. Parents and their children Michael DiCaprio, Project Di- FY 93 - $7,574 were involved in literacy activities rector, wrote, "The project strength- using IBM P.C. Jr. computers, a fully ened bonds between parents and the Prindpal: networked IBM computer lab and school. It also provided an opportu- appropriate software along with a nity for staff, administration and Bak Fun Wong home component utilizing popular parents to function as a team work- Project Director: multicultural children's literature. ing toward specific goals." Michael DiCaprio Morning and afternoon classes Boston Plan staff site visits and were given in seven week sessions observations attest to the success of Target population: which provided computer-based, this important program. It has been 135 Students, grades 3 - 5 and hands-on individualized skill train- institutionalized within the school, ing. All classes were filled to capac- will continue in the coming years 120 Parents ity with a good mix of both bilingual and can be easily replicated in other and monolingual parent participa- settings. tion. Due to increasecipopularity of the program, a waiting list was started. Classes had an attendance rate of close to 90%.

Parents became more visible through their efforts to attend classes on a regular basis. Parents and teachers had an opportunity to communi- cate by virtue of this time. Students' performance in the areas of reading and language arts increased, and parents and children worked together to accomplish meaningful tasks using computer technoio during class and at home.

Oneahlesegrand- parent stated, "I had been a teacher in China for over thirty years. When I came (to the ptu- gram) Ihad sucha dose and warm feeling as if I were coming back to my teaching position. Now, I come here with my grand- daughter.I amvety pleased to tell you that the program proves again that learning can be a vety wonderful experience."

16 20 BKBSIGP "Patchwork of Dreams" Charles Sumner As at many inner city ^rhools, The program was a primary re- Elementary School the Sumner Elementary School has a search model program designed to large number of "at-risk" students. illuminate the mles of diversegroups These are students who do not pos- of people on their mad to freedom FY 93 - $6,050 sess the motivation to achieve in an and to offer an alternative learning academic setting. They behave in a environment to the 'at-risk' student. Principal: destructive manner; theydonotstay Quilts were the vehicle by which focused on a particular task; they do students experienced an interdisci- Joseph Shea not follow verbal directions. In short, plinary approach to "hands-on" Project Director: these are the 'problem' students. To learning, gained understanding of encourage these students toward an the truevalueof freedom, and sharp- Elaine Capobianco orientation of what they can do, the ened critical thinking skills. Patchwork of Dreams program was Target population: developed. The year-long interdisciplinary project encompassed quilting, oral 300 3 - 5 grade students, history, story telling, geometric 30 parents manipulatives, fine arts, and writing. The subject matter of the pmject, The Underground Railroad, was of great interest to the entire school.

Students signed a "Contract for Success" which helped to establish the basic rules of learning. Quilt patterns which hung outside the "safe houses" to identify them to slaves heading North were reproduced. Students were taught basic hand sewing skills and pattern design. They keptjournals of thequilt development. Classes were integrated during computer classes and students worked together designing quilt patterns. A school-wide quilt designing contest was designed to create a sense of school spirit.

The culmination of the project was the fifih grade dass of 28 students traveling to Okham, South Carolina to meet the studelts from the middleschoo they worked with. The Sumner School won a contest for the most quilti entered.

The project instilled a positive school climate based on successful learning and was a great success.

21 17 B.EA.R. Write! BKBSIGP Maurice J. Tobin The B.EA.R. Write! project was The project brought teachars to- a schoolwide effort to recognize the gether to share their writing exper- Elementary School good writing of students and to have tise and to overcome barriers be- fun while doing it. The objectives of tween primary and elementary the project were: to foster student teachers and between bilingual and FY 93 - $7,875 self-esteem; to enlarge dassroom li- monolingual teachers. The Tobin braries with books in Spanish and School successfully implemented Principal: English as models of good writing; this project with funding from the Janet Short to increase parental involvement; Bank of Boston School Initiatives and to increase staff development Grants Program for three years, and Project Director: opportunities. the school plans to continue with the program in the future. Jean Egen Teachers met monthly with literacy specialists from Wheelock Target population: College to discuss themes and strat- School-wide egies and to share information and materials. Students wrote in Span- ish or English. Monthly assemblies were held as a showcase for student writing. Student:9 were recognized as Teddy Tobin Writers and received a Teddy Tobin pin-on button and a special pencil. Some classes coop- eratively developed Big Books, presented them at the assemblies and were awarded a Teddy Tobin rib- bon for their effort. Writinp were displayed on the bulletin board in the school lobby along with a photo- graph of the reader. Parents in the Family Literacy Project's ESL and GED classes were also invited to 14, write on the same themes as their child.

Authors visited the school to speak with students about the importance of reading. Staff development opportunities were enhanced by establishing the Staff Resources Center which now contains multicultural literature, videos, Spanish and Englishchildren's books for read-alouds and models of good writing, professional literature and book-making materials. 4.

18 2 2 BKBSIGP "Violence and How It Affects Our Children" William H. Trotter Violence and How It Affects The Trotter School contracted Elementary School Our Children was developed by with the Art of Black Dance and the Trotter School to address the Music, Parent and Children's Ser- very real existence of a culture of vices, the Poobley Greegy Puppet FY 93 - $7,800 violence with which many children Theater, and the Violence Preven- live. Using a multi-disciplinary and tion Project at Boston City Hospital Principal: creative curriculum, teachers, ad- to provide students with a rich cul- ministrators and parents taught tural experience and self-esteem Muriel Leonaid students alternative coping strate- and encouragement vehicles to Project Director: gies that helped to enable them to enact change in children's behav- deal in social situations. The theme ior. Margaret Wirth of "harmony" was an integral part of the curriculum and the diversity The Art of Black Dance and Target population: of the student body made this Music provided instruction in role- 650 students theme a reality. playing to resolve situations that are potentially problematic. Fourth Critical objectives of the project and fifth graders served as role were to reduce the number of inci- models and peer advisors for the dents reported among Trotter younger children at the school. A School students by encouraging Drug Education Counselor from and expanding in the school-wide the Upham's Corner Health Cen- curriculum upon the school motto ter spoke to students about the dan- "We Are A Circle of Friends"; to gers of drugs and alcohol and a create a positive school environ- strong relationship with the Bos- ment that rewards and encourages ton Police Department was devel- positive social behaviors; to incor- oped. porate the theme "Harmony" into an interdisciplinary curriculum Monthly writing themes on that included literature, writing, topics such as "I respect my neigh- language arts, music, art, social sci- bor", "I am peaceful", "I have self- ence and physical education; and control", and "I am lovable" were to help parents recognize the many implemented throughout the year. ways that violence impacts on their Parents participated in monthly children's lives and to use alterna- workshops dealing with issues tive coping strategies. such as encouraging a child's self- esteem, sibling rivalry, coping over the Summer holidays, and violence on television. Project Director Margaret Wirth wrote, "The school climate this year has definitely been enhanced by the program. Every member of the school family has made a commitment to reducing the level of violence."

Violence and How It Affects Our Children will continue in academic year 1993 - 1994 with a Bank of Boston School Initiatives Grant in the amount of $5,000. 19 03 "Coming Together: A Thematic Approach" BKBSIGP Joseph P. Tynan Integrating students at the only one monthly theme was cho- Tynan Elementary School is a pri- sen for the entire school, such as Elementary School ority, and one approach used at the Ocean Life, each grade or class fo- school has been thematic teaching. cused on a different aspect of the The Coming Together: A Thematic theme such as whales, sharks or FY 93 - $9,500 Approach program helped the water fransportation. The chosen Tynan School to change from us- themes provided the basis for in- Principal: ing isolated blocks of skills, e.g. troducing and reinforcing skills and reading, math, social studies, etc. building a knowledge base. Maurice Downey to emphasizing developmentally Project Director: appropriate themes of interest to Project Director Kathleen children in regular and special edu- Vierbickas wrote, "Theme teach- Kathleen Vierbickas cation. ing allows children to learn concepts as a whole instead of seg- Target population: The Project Director set up the mented, unrelated skills. With each 420 students following measurable objectives for theme comes new and different the program: to develop a resource materials and resources. These center of readily available materi- bring changes to the learning cen- als and equipment for teacher les- ters. Children's interest in the learn- son planning in relation to themes ing centers is maintained as they selected; teacher training in devel- continue to explore new activities opment and creation of materials; and experiences and contribute to instruct children in songs and mu- their development. Even when a sic related ti vted themes; in- theme is repeated with other crease parent pinticipation; and to classes, it takes on a new scope." promote multicultural learning by increasing studentawareness of the Thematic teaching at the Tynan contributions of diverse cultures in also helped the school come to- relation to the themes selected. gether as a whole. Since the school is architecturally isolated and di- The students wrote in journals vided into pods (grade level areas) and read relevant theme related separated by floor levels, working materials daily. Activities coin- on schoolwide themes provided a cided with the various monthly common interest and dialogue themes: harvesting/seeds; Native which helped to overcome isola- Americans and Thanksgiving; De- tion between grades. cember Celebrations, etc. Although

2 f4):4 BKBSIGP "Role Models: The Right Route to Reading" West Roxbury When students consider them- became involved with community High School selves to be inadequate readers, service and were role models to they can often develop low self- elementary school.children in Bos- esteem. The reading deficit can spill ton. WHRS students met two days FY 1993: $7,910 over into all content areas and con- per week after school for "out in tribute to failing grades and the the field" reading experiences at Headmaster: eventual dropping out of school. seven different elementary schools At West Roxbury High School, a throughout the year. Reading ma- Donald Pellegrini program was developed to address terials focused on many different Project Director: this need and to encourage high cultures and backgrounds and pro- school students to learn to love to moted reading as an enjoyable and Mary Ellen Bower read. essential activity. For teachers, this program provided an opportunity Target population: Role Models: The Right Route to learn different strategies and 400 students, grades 9 - 12 to Reading was designed to de- techniques to teach reading. For velop student motivation and in- parents, it provided an opportu- terest in reading through children's nity to encourage reading at home. literature. High school students As a result of this program, a community service learning project, "Book Buddies" was initiated. Teachers presented reading aloud techniques using children's literature and assigned high school students to read to younger children. Students learned about writing children's books and discussed the various styles of writing at length. The television production class at WHRS taped sessions of students critiquing books that were read and the entire school viewed the tapes via the Whittle communi-

111110.- cation vehicle Channel 1. Project Director Mary Ellen Bower wrote, "Our project WORKS! It's concept is simple but extremely fruitful. Students are motivated to read and are learning that reading is a skill they can enjoy for the rest of their lives. Students . are also beginning to realize that by helping others they can also help themselves, their community, and future generations."

The Role Models program will continue in academic year 1993 - 1994 with a Bank of Boston School Initiatives Grant in the amount of , $9,540. 21 25

BEST COPY AVAILABLE HEART GRANTS (Hancock Endowment for Academics, Recreation & Teaching) Supported by John Hancock Financial Services

The HEART Program targets the middle school years when students are facing the critical transition from childhood to adolescence. Funded projects focus on reaching under- achieving and "at-risk" students by providing motivating academic and recreational programs designed to help students achieve success, boost self-esteem, and fuel the incentive to stay in school. Academic grants utilize mentoeng, individualized instruction, new technology, academic enrichment activities in non-school settings, and other innovative means to help students master basic skills.

HEART has funded over 165 projects in Boston public middle schools. William Boyan, President and Chief Opera- tions Officer of John Hancock Financial Services stated, "It's a necessary program because it provides thebridge for young people between middle school and high school to keep them in school and ,active and interested in their own education and development. Most business people think about high school students entering the workforce, but the truth of the matter is that the middle years are what build the foundation for future successes; they serve as the foundation forhigh school."

The HEART program has been working with middle schools since 1985. John Hancock Financial Services has become a major advocate for middle school education in Boston. Two years ago, Hancock convened and hosted thefirst ever Boston public middle school forum for principals, administrators and teachers. The forum created an important communication link between the business community and school personnel. Dis- cussion revolved around future goals, strategies, and needs within the Boston middle schools and how best HEART can take on the challenges of encouraging excellence during the critical middle school years. This has become an annual event which will continue to provide additional relationships between Hancock and the middle school level.

22 26 HEART "Math Tech" Joseph H. Barnes Upon receipt of the math test Teachers identified students in Middle School scores for 1991, staff at the Umana/ need of remediation and/or enrich- Barnes began to discuss ways in ment. Teachers and students were which to increasemathperformance. scheduled in such a way that prob- FY 93 - $4,702 Parents, students, staff and adminis- lem students were brought together tratorscollaborativelydeveloped the from all classes into a math labora- Principal: MathTech program to address the tory once each day. Each teacher George Moran need of offering students additional taught four regular math classes and assistance in the area of math during one math lab per day. Students were Project Director: school hours. Students at-risk of fail- scheduled to be removed from only ing mathematics were given reme- study periods. Vincent Caristo dial and enrichment instruction through a combinationof computer, Weekly evaluation of the stu- Target population: calculator,and television technology. dents' progress took place.The num- 150 students Teachers used an integrated, hori- ber of times a student was assigned zontal-across the curriculum ap- to the math lab depended on their proach to develop strategies that in- progress throughout the year. En- volved students in more real-life richment and exploratory work was applications of their studies. provided through Apple IIGS computers, appropriate software, manipulatives and calculators. Teachers used the computers not only for instruction, but also for projcct record keeping, evaluation, scheduling and report generafion. The monthly school newspaper kept parents apprised of the projects progress.

Project Director Vincent Caristo wrote, "Many times I had to gently urge students to stop their work as we had run out of time. They did not want to stop, but rather begged for more time in math! Students who had shown little interest or effort in math began arguing with their friends over math problems!"

Students became more enthusi- astic about their studies and asked for increased time to workon projects after school. As a direct result of MathTech, many students raised their class average in math above a "D" for the very first time. Teachers found that teaching in an interdisciplinary, thematic manner was effective and rewarding.

The Mattifech program will continuein 1993-1994 witha HEART grant in the amount of $5,475. 23 2 7 "Ambassadors to Success"HEART Grover Cleveland All sixth graders face difficult dents. Both mentors and mentees adjustments during their middle prepareti and participated in an Aca- Middle School school years as they evolve from demic Decathlon competition to cul- childhood to adolescence and from minate the yeaes successful project. elementary to secondary school. The FY 93 - $4,500 Cleveland MiddleSchool developed In the evaluation of the program, Ambassadors to Success to address the school used report card grades, Prindpal: this critical transition period . Funded parent surveys, meetings between for three consecutive years begin- lead and parent mentors, and meet- Mikel Sidberry ning in academic year 1991-1992, the ings between mentors and mentees. Project Director: program increased the percentage The outcome was successful. Pro- of students promoted to higher gram attendance averaged slightly Francis Ahearn grades and provided alternatives to higher than the average 6th grade counteract the negative effect that attendance. The school saw a reduc- Target population: neighborhood problems and peer tion of referrals to Special Education 15 Middle School mentors pressure may have on students. and in disciplinary referrals of stu- Mentoring was used to provide nec- dents involved in the program. The 72 proteges essary academic and emotional sup- retention rate of students involved port systems. in the program was high, and mentee tardiness compared favorably in The project began with the in- comparison with the school wide coming sixth graders (in academic population. Teachers noticed that year 1991 - 1992). Two teachers were rapport with students improved be- designated as the lead mentors who yond a traditional academic relation- worked with adult mentors, who ship. were either members of the Cleve- land staff and/or parents, to discuss The third year of the project will techniques, methods, and materials begin in September, 1993 with a needed to implement the program. $4,000 grant from HEART. The sixth Lead mentors met with eighth grade graders who began with the pro- teachers to solicit referrals of stu- gram will now participate as men- dents for the position of peer mentors during the year. tors. Peer mentors were selected based on the following criteria: rec- ommendation by two or more teachers who had the student during the previous year; a grade average of "C" or better in all subjects during the previousyear; the student's genuine interest in participating in the project; and parental permission.

Peer mentors attended two training sessions and were paired with mentees. The students worked together after school two times per week in the areas of English, reading, math, computer skills and other social activities. Special materials, group activities and field trips were designed to enhance the mentoring experience and to help build positive relationships between the stu- 24 HEART "The Rising Stars Club" Clarence It Edwards Designed to motivate 6th, 7th writing folders, reading compre- and 8th graders regardless of their hension, critical thinking skills, the Middle School academic and physical capabilities, school newspaper, and word pro- The Rising Stars Club was a combi- cessing. nation of athletics and academics that helped students to make posi- Many students participated in FY 93 - $5,250 tive decisions about relevant ado- these activities for the first time, lescent issues. Students partici- and all activities provided an op- Principal: pated in various activities after portunity for greater multicultural Charles McAfee school building life long skills in involvement and understanding of leadership, sportsmanship, team both racial and ethnic backgrounds. Project Director: building and a commitment to in- Students gained a sense of commit- dividual excellence. ment to their school and the atten- John Sousa dance rate for the school was one of Target population: The criteria for involvement the best in Boston. was arriving to school on time, 560 students working toward maintaining a "C" School staff and administration average or better in all subject ar- incorporated the concepts of holis- eas, and developing and maintain- tic education and cooperative learning a positive attitude toward ing within the school and the class- school, teachers, and classmates. room. Throughout the school a Students participated in basketball, sense of pride and school spirit was ping pong, aerobics, flag football instilled through the project. and floor hockey at all levels of the program including the advertise- Ms. Eleanor Tallent from the ment, recruitment, development, Edwards School Parent Council implementation, maintenance and wrote, "The program provided a management of the programs. much needed vehicle to assist in Compiled statistics and pertinent increasing and maintaining a high information were distributed to the rate of school attendance in school various disciplines for use in stu- spirit. Not only was I able to see dents' science students of diverse backgrounds projects, statisti- come together to participate and cal analysis, enjoy after school activities, but also writing top- to see teachers line these athletic ics for activities with classroom instruction." The project will continue in academic year 1993 - 1994 with a grantfromthe HEART program in the amountof $5,000. Activities willcontinueas scheduled, with the major change in the program being an appointed academic coohlinator.

25 n 9 "Student Incentive Program" HEART Patrick F. Gavin The Gavin Middle School dis- tering school late, getting a referral covered in the school's 1990 - 1991 or suspension. Students retaining Middle School needs assessment that many stu- all of their merit slips were re- dents did not meet the require- warded at the end of each quarter ments of the academic and athletic with field trips, movies, or vouch- FY 93 - $4,650 programs to receive schoolwide ers. Students were able to buy back recognition. This put students who lost merits through positive actions Principal: most needed alternative and extra- and through the after school tutor- Joseph Lee curricular programs in a non- ing process. Many students who participatory position had lost merits in the beginning of Project Director: which reflected on the school year began to signifi- classwork, behavior, cantly improve in both aca- Susan Homan and their feelings of *" demics and sociallythrough school involvement. the additional attention re- Target population: The staff of the Gavin ceived after school and 535 students Middle School, under through peer encourage- the direction of the ment. Project Director and Assistant Principal Joan Leonard, de- Elaine Spellman, signed the Student Incentive Gavin School teacher, Program to include the en- wrote about the stu- tire school population in dents having to stay af- the development of men- ter school, "Academic tal, social, physical, and help often led to time emotional well being of spent with the stu- all the Gavin's students. dentdiscussing The specific goals of the positive ways to project were: to improve change the behaviors student behavior; to im- which initiated the prove the atmosphere for time after school. teaching; to improve stu- She noticeda dent self-esteem; to im- change in attitude prove student/teacher of many students relationships; and to who had been an- improve students' ba- gry about staying sic skills. after school. Many students left being All teachers at- polite, courteous tended an orientation and with a notice- at the beginning of the able attitude academic year to learn change. Also, about the Student Incentive Pro- some students increased goals to gram. Letters were sent to parents attain quarterly rewards of honor and the project was kicked off with roll, perfect attendance, and school a school wide spirit project. Each citizenship awards. student received one merit slip per month of school, totaling ten. Stu- The project successfully in- dents could receive additional creased student attendance by fos- merit slips for good behavior, such tering positive self-esteem, in- as participation in class projects, creased parental and community teacher recognition, good atten- participation in school activities, dance, academic improvement, etc. and improved the overall instruc- Students received demerits for en- tional progress. 26 30 HEART "Bridge It" Solomon

Lewenberg The Bridge-It project was de- participated as peers along with signed in keeping with the faculty and parents. Students, Middle School Lewenberg's philosophy of "Learn teachers and parents developed a by Doing; Do by Learning. Stu- video documenting the Fall Bridge- dents, faculty, parents and admin- It days. FY 93 $4,997 istrators joined together in this program to learn the benefits of team- The project began breaking Principal: work, trust, diversity, enterprise, down the barriers set up by and achievement. The Lewenberg homeroom distinctions, class level Thomas O'Neill students had demonstrated enthu- distinctions and the many cultural siasm for adventure-based learn- Project Director: differences which exist in the ing prior to this program. Bridge-It school. The objectives of the project Karin Taylor enhanced that enthusiasm by us- were to successfully complete team ing Project Adventure games and activities and projects, increase Target population: activities to generate challenging, positive interaction between regu- humorous, unusual, and dynamic lar, special education, and bilin- 535 students learning experiences. gual students at the same grade level, and to increase recognition Three full-day sessions of team- and interaction between students oriented,adventure-based learning and faculty in different grades and were held in the Fall of 1992 (one clusters. day for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades). Activities requiring varying levels The project culminated in May of physical effort were scheduled with the construction of the such as moonball, the Lewenberg "Lewenberg Bridge" as teams eggdrop, the jello drop and Bridge- worked from opposite ends to build It. All of the activities required a a great bridge that met in the cooperative team effort. Each clus- middle. The half-day enterprise ter established World Records for includedacelebrationof all physical activities. All students Lewenberg's diversity, achievements, and new "community" spirit.

Project Director Karin Taylor wrote, "Bridge-It Day impacted the school by providing an opportunity for self-discovery. Students and staff learned how to work together, overcome language barriers, adapt to different learning styles, and directly reiate physical activity to the learning process. The project made school a place where students wanted to be, to enjoy learning, to discover new friends, and to feel safe, successful, and

, proud of personal and team achievements."

Bridge-It will continue in academic year 1993 - 1994 with a $5,724 HEART grant. ft_ttPRI 27 31 BEST COPY WHAM "Academic Renaissance Through Sports" HEART Marfin L King, Jr. Low academic achievement, classes, and developing interview- Middle School high dropout rates, chronic atten- ing skills with both the winners and dance problems, student body dis- the losing team members. cord in socialization and communication, and a general apathy for Dramatic improvements in at- FY 93 - $2,425 school and education in geneml were tendance, lower retention and fail- Principal: all problems faced by the King ure to promotion ration, dropout School. In 1990, the ARTS program ratio, improvements in reading and Stephen Leonard was developed as a way to improve math scores, and school spirit were student self-image, and to provide a the result of this program. Overall Project Director: link between the enthusiasm for improved student performance and Paul Connell achievement in sports to the aca- increased parental and community demic world. partidpationhelped theKing to meet Target population: its goals of becominga united school. Students were required to meet 550 students academic and attendance standards An awards ceremony was held to participate. Special consideration at theend of the year to maximize the and outreach activities were targeted importance of participation. Incen- toward ineligible students. A tuto- tive awards were given out to all rial program usingcomputers,coun- students. The goals of meeting aca- seling, and the use of teacher advi- demic and social needs of students sors to closely monitored these stu- through self-awareness and more dents throughout the year. Many positive self-esteem were met. Ath- students who were unable to partici- letics used as a catalyst to enhance a pate changed their behaviors to at- re-birih of interest in the school was tain eligibility for the progratnwhich a success at the King. was reflected in the school attendance figures.

The project activities consisted of a seasonal schedule providing a variety of team sports such as basketball, floor hockey, volley ball, gymnastics, dance, aerobics, and a President's Physical Fitness program. A Project Adventure componentwas added to further include the "at-risk" members of the school.

The academic component of the program consisted of photo- documentationof theactivities, lead- ershipdevelopmentprograms,writing and editing a sports page with the language arts teachers, statistical print-outs in the computer and math 28 32 HEART "TEAN Esteem" Lewis The TEAN Esteem project was assignments, projects, good con- Middle School developed in an attempt to give duct awards, etc. and were com- equal prestige to student participa- puted by students and maintained tion in athletics, extracurricular on a bar graph chart. Attaining spe- FY 93 - $5,524 activities, and academics. The cific point totals entitled classes to project fostered teamwork by hav- certain prizes such as lunch served Principal: ingall students work toward a com- by the principal, one free night of mon goal of success and allowed no homework, an English class in Brenda Jones Lewis youngsters to master numer- the park, etc. Project Director: ous skills. Promoting self confidence and self esteem in all stu- Teachers met throughout the Mimi Forbes dents was a major objective of this year to assess the progress of the program. program and to coordinate efforts. Target populafion: A significant improvement in at- 230 Students Throughout the school year, tendance was evident, as well as an students participated in learning increased ability of students to various skills after school such as work in groups and to help one craft projects, needlecrafts, dance, another. Cooperative learning and drama. An athletic component groups were more successful due which fit into an overall academic / to the fact that students had more recreational program for students time working together and helping provided swimming, aerobics, vol- each other. Students were able to leyball, softball and basketball, as integrate what they had learned in well as other sports. The total school the after school programs to their project involved a point system for academic subjects, and student/ all schoolwork. Points were re- teacher relationships improved ceived for completed homework through small group sessions. Project Director Mimi Forbes wrote, .4111k 4, "Staff morale increased because of the project. Often, the hub-bub of the school day and the rush to complete academic

....._,_AM._ tasks during the nor- mal time does not allow teachers to work with students in the manner that a relaxed after school pace allows. Teachers were able to see students in an entirely different light - as individuals - and children." Tean Esteem will continue in academic year 1993 -. 1994 with a HEART grant in the amount of $5,480.

29 33 "Bad Actors Workshop" HEART Robert Gould Shaw In October 1991, an informal ProjectDirectorStephenYoung assessment was conducted by the wrote, "The Bad Actors Workshop Middle School staff at the Shaw Middle School had a tremendous positive unify- which reflected the need to develop ing impact on the school. It helped an additional vehicle for student to integrate special needs, at-risk, FY 93 - $5,050 involvement in extracurricular/ar- and academically talented young- tistic activities. The Bad Actors sters into school-wide projects. It Principal: Workshop was designed to increase brought the school a great deal of positive outlets for the expression positive publicity and respect." Edward Marbardi of adolescent creativity and artistic Project Director: ability, to increase cooperative The Bad Actors Workshop will learning and peer leadership in the continue in 1993 - 1994 with a $4,625 Stephen Young school, to introduce theater arts in- grant from the HEART program. struction, oral presentation skills, Target population: and self expression opportunities. 265 students The program also focused on creating a more positive school climate, additional image building activities, and emphasized basic skill enhancement.

Both in school and after school theatre arts instruction and presentations took place throughout the school year. Special needs students, regular education students, and "at-risk" students worked together in a positive way to build one another's self images, learn basic skills, and be introduced to Theatre Arts. The adaptation and presentation of three Modern/ Classical plays took place. Activi- ties consisted of dramatic skills practice, rehearsal, script development, and costume design. Peers, teachers, parents and community ' representatives attended the plays. Videos of the three productions were completed and many were distributed to parents.

During the course of the year, students participating in the program improved their grades dra- matically and truancies declined. Also, suspensions and failures decreased. All special needs classes participated in the program in both the preparation and performances.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE 30 34 HEART "Wheatley Olympic Triathlon" Phi llis Wheatley TheWheatleyOlympic able to redeem points for rewards Middle School Triathlon was developed to add a such as class movies, pizza parties, cooperative learning component to dass trips, etc. Academic points were academic and athletics at the school gained for homework assignments and to improve the social interactive completed, class projects, long term FY 93 $4,958 sldlls and self esteem of students. projects, book reports, etc. Social Principal: The program created an environ- points were gained for perfect atten- ment where students were encour- dance, no student tardiness and co- Michael Anderson aged to work together to help each operation among peers. Athletic other succeed. By placing students points were gained for mastering Project Director: in small heterogeneous groups, skills in the intramural cooperative achievement increased, social skills program (five sports were offered). Robert Forbes improved and personal self-esteem Target population: was promoted. All Wheatley staff were irained in the use of cooperative learning School-wide Each class in the school was a and in the modification of teaching team. Teams gained points for aca- styles needed to implement this type demic, athletic and social progress. of program. Points were computed and graphed weekly so that each team knew how By offering an after school activ- they were progressing. Teams were ity that directed student interest into positive activities and promoted social skills, the Wheatley Middle School was brought together as a community. Project Director Robert Forbes wrote about the program, "Some students who never passed in homework or brought a pencil to school started trying to accomplish (the project) goals for the sake of their dassmaWs gaining points. Peer pressurebecame a positive reinforce- ment"

31 35 "Wilson Literacy Project" HEART Woodrow Wilson The Wilson MiddleSchool, with turing music, dance and visual arts. an increasing student population of This process allowed teachers to link Middle School Haitian immigrants, found they had connecting activities with the regu- languagebarriers and a separate aca- lar classroom curriculum through demic program that created racial monthly thematic units. FY 93 - $3,000 andcultural tensions. Americanbom students had little interaction with Parents were encouraged to uti- Principal: Haitian students and as a result, little lize learning-at-home activity kits understandingof who they were and that focused on cultural diversity, Rosalyn Browne little or no understanding of the radsm and discrimination to further Project Director: Haitian culture. The Wilson Literacy support fostering a positive school- Projectwas designed to provide tech- communityclimate. Limited English Christine Hill niques used to enhance cultural lit- speaking and Haitian and Asian eracy to enable students to become parents were provided with assis- Target population: proficient in reading, writing and tance from support staff who met 210 students communicating, and to bridge the monthly with parents. cultural gaps between ethnically diverse groups in the school. As a result of the program, a marked decrease in radal conflicts Through art projects, library re- among Haitianand monolingual stu- search, field trips, storytelling, cul- dents was seen. Students demon- tural celebrations and reading and strated a greater understanding of writing activities, students were ex- and respect for one another. The posed to various cultures. Planned learning process and overall school activities such as a celebration of climate was improved due to stu- Chinese New Year and Haitian Flag dents' positive sodalization and co- Day were successful and helped stu- operation within the classroom. dents put into perspective their own experiences with holiday traditions and customs. A program entitled "ALL IN ONE BOAT" provided cultural information to students which sensitized them to cultural diversity. A multi-cultural performance inwhich students shated their knowledgeand understanding with each other took place at the end of the year.

Teachers gained a greater understanding and appreciation of the cultural diversity of the school's population and were trained to promote multicultural learning through an interdisciplinary approach. Staff members had the opportunity to participate in workshops and in-service training on multiculturalism, cooperative learning, heterogeneous groupings, and inclusion in education. Cultural consultants worked with teachers to develop and implement a multicultural curriculum fea- 32 36 PROJECr ACIION

Project ACTION works with Boston public high school students to develop student-run foundations. The project is designed to provide students with a comprehensive educational experience that connects their school experience with the realities they encounter at home and in their school's neighborhoods. In addition, the project aims to recruit high-risk youth and to integrate them into a successful working group with me- dium-risk and low-risk students. By bringing together students of differ- MEININIENNINEMONent academic and social skill levels, an opportunity is created for students who are experiencing academic and/or social difficulties to interact and learn from students who are experiencing higher degrees of academic and social achievements. By bringing together students of different racial, ethnic, and neighborhood backgrounds, the program seeks to build bridges of communication and trust that will be capable of stopping racial, ethnic, and neighborhood conflicts before they begin. In Boston, high school assignments are citywide and often students are not familiar with the school's immediate neighborhood. This program gets the students out into the school's neighborhood and lets them learn about the community.

The Boston Plan for Excellence provides each selected school with a total of $3,500. $1,500 of the funding is used as a stipend for a faculty advisor. The other $2,000, along with a $500 match that must be raised by the students, is intended to provide grants to neighborhood agencies and/ or organizations which, in the students' opinion, best addresses the neighborhood needs that the students have identified through the implementation of their community needs-assessment process.

In addition, The Boston Plan for Excellence provides substantial technical assistance including: a detailed 24-session curriculum faculty advisor training monthly school visits

During academic year 1992 - 1993, the three Project ACTION schools were Brighton High School, Dorchester High School, and West Roxbury High School. Over 60 students were involved in the program. Project ACTION schools awarded grants to the following organizations and programs: St. Elizabeth's Hospital Children's Unit; Gang Peace; Codman Square Health Center; and the Path to Progress Program. Through these grants, teens were able to effectively address issues such as teen preg- nancy, infants born addicted to drugs or HD/ positive, gang violence, high school drop outs, and keeping teens off the streets.

Loretta Roach, current Chairperson of the Project ACTION committee stated, "Project ACTION serves as a wonderful model of how Boston high school students can be involved in community service and peer leadership. This translates to a positive school climate and growing awareness of the needs of their community."

Project ACTION is supported by the Plan for Social Excellence, Inc., and has received in-kind support from Northeastern University. BEINUMINI 33 3 7 ACCESS

Created with an initial $1 million grant from The New England in 1985, the ACCESS program eliminates barriers to higher education by providing financial aid advising in every Boston public high school, "last dollar" scholarships within our guidelines to eligible students within guidelines to make up the difference between the total cost of attendance and what a student has been able to raise from other sources. ACCESS provides confinuing support through college including a monthly news- letter, personal and financial advice, and an emergency loan fund.

The continuing financial and personal support available to "ACCESS Scholars" after they enter college is having a dramatic effect on retention and graduation rates. Of the 1,100 ACCESS Scholars entering college since 1985, nearly 80 percent either have graduated, or are expected to graduate. This retention rate is more than 50 percent higher than the rates for all college students nationally, and higher still than the separate national retention rates for inner city students. PX4 In academic year 1992 - 1993, ACCESS Advisors saw over 1,500 Num ZEE students individually, and another 2,000 in group workshops. ACCESS MEM will distribute over $500,000 in "last dollar" scholarships to both new ACCESS Scholars and continuing Scholars in Fiscal Year 1994. The Pro- gram has provided financial aid advising to over 16,000 Boston public high EOM= school seniors in their schools and awarded over $1.7 million in "last 111/11111111111NM dollar" scholarships. For every $1 that ACCESS contributes in scholarships, ACCESS Advisors help college-bound students leverage another $8 from other sources of aid.

The ACCESS endowment has grown to over $6 million with major Mgt contributions from The Boston Foundation, American Student Assistance HISIMEM Corporation (formerly Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Cor- poration), The New England, and more than seventy-five other corpora- Artrari tions, professional firms, foundations and business associations. TaSelftairairarer mailibMOV*.

34 38 TRUSTEES EMERITI

Mr. William L Brown * Ms. Mary Ann Hardenberg Dr. Daniel Perlman Chairman of the Board (Retired) Community Representative President, Webster University Bank of Boston Rev. Michael Haynes Mr. Edward E. Phillips Mr. Francis H. Chang Pastor, 12th Baptist Church Chairman (Retired) Program Officer The New England Kaiser Family Foundation Mr. Arnold Hiatt. Chairman, Stride Rite Foundation Mr. Rudolph Pierce Dr. Daniel Cheever Goulston & Storrs President Honorable Julian Houston American Student Assistance Associate Justice Dr. David Rockefeller, Jr. Suffolk Superior Court Chairman, Rockefeller Brothers Dr. Joseph Cronin Fund President, Bentley College Ms. Ellen Jackson Director Affirmative Action Mr. Miguel Satut Mr. Alex d'Arbeloff Northeastern University Vice President, Kresge Foundation Chairman, Teradyne, Inc. Mr. Peter McCormick Dr. Miren Uriarte-Gaston Mr. Lawrence S. Di Cara Past Chairman, Bank of New Professor, University of Peabody & Brown England Massachusetts Boston

Ms. Frieda Garcia Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J. Mr. Thomas Winship Executive Director President, Boston College President, Center for Foreign United South End Settlements Journalists Mr. E James Morton Mr. Avram Goldberg Chairman & CEO (Retired) Chairman, The Avcar Group, Ltd. John Hancock Financial Services * Former Chairman STAFF

Charles H. Gibbons, Jr. Fannie Young Terry Monroe-Elliott President & Ctdef Operations Administrative Assistant ACCESS Advisor Officer Shelley Adams Jose Rosa Pamela CH ley ACCESS Advisor ACCESS Advisor Program Officer Mark Harrison Celia Worrell Dawn Sinclair ACCESS Advisor ACCESS Advisor ACCESS Program Officer Thomas Ly Jeanette McCarthy ACCESS Advisor Controller

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