is a medium-sized K1 through 5th grade elementary school located in a quiet, residential neighborhood in Roslindale. There are two classes per grade for K2 through 5th grade, in addition to an inclusion K1 class, Special Education classrooms, and 4th and 5th grade Advanced Work Class (AWC).Math, literacy and science are the center of educational instruction with specialists in music, science, language arts, physical education and computers. All Bates teachers are designated by the State as "highly qualified." Foreign language instruction is an additional enrichment for AWC students.
An active and engaged Parent Council supports the school with educational and cultural enhancements to the curriculum and the School Site Council, which includes parents, provides governance.
The YMCA provides an affordable before and afterschool program on site at the Bates and Artisan Music group is available after school for instrument and voice lessons. With the emphasis of fostering an excitement and love of learning, and respect for all, it's no wonder that the school motto is "Everyone Rates at the Bates!"
The Gardner Pilot Academy, on Athol St. in Allston, was formerly known as The Thomas Gardner Extended Services School. In December 2007, the Boston School Committee granted approval for the school to officially become the Gardner Pilot Academy (GPA), a name change that recognizes the school's pilot status and their unique and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
GPA serves 320 students from K1 through grade 5 with a deep commitment to supporting the needs of the whole child and engaging the whole family as the key partner in education. Gardner Pilot Academy strives to keep a low school wide student-to-adult ratio and to maintain on average classes sizes of about 20 students per classroom. Through a unique staffing structure that creates grade level teams of teachers, aides, specialists and interns, GPA offers a school wide ratio of one adult for every ten students. GPA has one class for K1, three classes each for K2 through Grade 3, and 2 classes each for Grades 4 and 5.
Integrating the best aspects of the community school and pilot school models, GPA strives to ensure the individual needs, strengths and talents of each child are addressed. Boston College is just one of the many on-going partners with the GPA. Every student is taught science by a specialist in a dedicated classroom fully equipped as a science lab, as well as in an outdoor science classroom. Recently one of the GPA science teachers won the "Ultimate Science Classroom" at the 2008 National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference.
This fall, the Gardner Pilot Academy welcomed over 300 people to the school for a Friendship Feast. Mayor Menino and Dr. Carol Johnson, superintendent of Boston Public Schools, officiated a ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating GPA's name change and special status as Boston Public Schools' 20th pilot school. The evening was a true reflection of the great diversity that makes up the Gardner Pilot Academy, raising $10,000 toward the purchase of a new play structure.
The John F. Kennedy Elementary School is located on a residential street in the Hyde Square neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. Serving 380 students from K2 to grade 5, you'll find the Kennedy is proud to share the many accomplishments of their school community. It is a close-knit school community where one immediately senses a warm and nurturing school climate from Principal Eileen Morales and the staff, as well as a sense of deep commitment to ensuring every student reaches her/his full potential.
Families are encouraged to participate in school activities, including a weekly parent group, Math and MCAS workshops, and parent breakfasts. The school also provides opportunities for parents and children to work and learn together in programs such as Technology Goes Home, regular newsletters and Earth Day clean-up.
With teachers that are designated as "highly qualified," students are encouraged and challenged to achieve high academic standards. Students are encouraged to share their work in publishing parties and school assemblies. The school has partnerships with Jamaica Pond, Museum of Science and Museum of Fine Arts. The school also provides specialties (with full-time staff) in Science, Computer, Literacy, Theater and Physical Education.
Among the activities available for students to participate are an after school program with the Hyde Square Task Force, music with Artisan Music Studios, a school-wide theater club, a sewing club, and ice skating.
The emphasis on health and wellness is visible at the Kennedy. Collaborations with Martha Elliot Health Center, Dimock Community Health Center and Children's Hospital support the schools' commitment. School-wide events to promote health and wellness include the STEPS program, a wellness initiative with an emphasis on exercise, nutrition and creating a healthy lifestyle. Students and teachers meet before school three times per week to walk and discuss healthy choices. Every June the school sponsors Field Day, a three-day event filled with activities, fun and celebration for the entire school and community.
The Nathan Hale Elementary School continues to shine, implementing its vision that all students will participate fully in our society and will be so passionate about education that they will be lifelong learners.
This small school of just 160 students is situated on quiet Cedar Street in Roxbury's historic Fort Hill neighborhood. Tucked between homes atop a hill, visitors first notice the school's bright playground and courtyard mural. Upon entering, guests are welcomed enthusiastically into what current parents call their school family. Under the leadership of Principal Sandy Mitchell-Woods, parents say the school fosters a nurturing environment that students feel is their second home. Part of this can be attributed to the positive relationships teachers are able to build with students in a school that offers just one class per grade. Principal Mitchell-Woods is excited that next year the school is adding a K1, so it will serve students in K1-grade 5.
Parents at the Hale play a significant role in shaping the culture of the school. Parent leaders believed that more of their peers would get involved in the Parent Council if meetings were held at a time that did not interfere with work schedules and after-work family routines. They moved the monthly meetings to Saturdays and saw an increase in attendance.
Another effort to increase parent participation in the school has yielded great success. At the start of the school year, parent volunteers run the Two Hour Power campaign during which they urge every student's parent to sign a pledge form committing to volunteer two hours during the school year. The pledge forms list activities that parents can engage in, working directly in the school or completing projects at home that benefit the school and its students. Enlistees receive a follow up thank you call for getting on board, another call to thank them after their service, and an invitation to a year-end volunteer celebration.
What Mitchell-Woods and parents leaders have learned from the Power campaign is that when asked for such a small block of time, parents tend to enjoy what they're doing and do even more. This can be evidenced by some of the programs developed by parents. One father started a Men's Reading Club that invites fathers, uncles, grandfathers and other male relatives to come into their loved one's classroom to read once a month. This has evolved into a mentoring program for the boys in the school. The Hale community celebrated the program's kick off with a Men's Breakfast that brought together more than 100 adult male role models and Nathan Hale boys. The mentors left with plans to start a hockey club and ideas for trips to go hiking and camping. Local elected officials who attended and area businesses that sponsored the event pledged continued support.
The Hale staff and leadership is skilled at getting community and cultural organizations involved in the school, including ReadBoston, Peace Games, the Boston Jewish Literacy Coalition, the Boston Nature Center, and Generations Inc., which partners students with older adults who have a wealth of knowledge and life experiences. Bird Street Community Center, which runs the after-school program, and Fidelity Investments, with its Pen Pal program, also serve as invaluable resources.
While some of the partnership initiatives and the rich book displays located throughout the school are evidence of the focus on literacy, the Hale places a great emphasis on the arts as well. The Hale has an on-site art studio and a full-time art teacher who is a professional artist with a gallery of his own in Boston's North End. In addition, students across the grades take dance, and an accomplished Suzuki instructor teaches violin to students and their parents. To further expose students to the arts, the school takes advantage of the city's many cultural gems, recently attending performances by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Mitchell-Woods and her staff are on a mission to help families produce well-rounded students. Along with the Math Investigations and Readers and Writers Workshop curricula taught across the Boston Public Schools, students are afforded other meaningful learning experiences. On a weekly basis, they visit the librarian-staffed school library, interface with technology in the computer lab, have the option of learning to play chess, joining the team to produce a full-color yearbook, and taking part in environmental and other volunteer initiatives. This fall, students, their families and the Hale staff joined together for One Day of Giving. The message was to make a difference by giving what you can from what you have, and students answered that call. They eagerly participated, often reminding their parents of the importance of the project. In the end, nearly 2,000 items were collected for Rosie's Place - almost three times the initial goal.
On the Nathan Hale brochure, you'll find a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that represent the family, the community and the school fitted together to represent the school's belief that everyone must work together to help all children achieve academic excellence and become contributors to society. Spend time in this school, and you'll discover that they are well on their way to realizing that mission.
The Quincy E. Dickerman Elementary School Principal Jessica Bolt takes pride in her school, and it shows. It's not uncommon to see her, along with members of her staff, sporting polo shirts emblazoned with the school's name - Dickerman Elementary. Bolt can boast many things about the school and its culture. Among that list is her ability to name every one of the 220 children enrolled in K0 through fifth grades.
Bolt believes it is important to create an atmosphere where students, and parents alike, feel noticed. She wants everyone who walks through the bright blue doors of the Dickerman to feel welcomed, and she encourages parents to become full members of the school community. On Wonderful Wednesdays, held twice a month, parents have the opportunity to see teaching and learning in progress by visiting their child's classroom during Reading or Math. Additionally, families are given new games each month like Boggle and Dominoes or a deck of cards or dice for simple math activities and encouraged to make Fridays Family Game Night in their homes.
Visitors to the school will immediately notice the gleaming hardwood floors, recently sanded and refinished, and newly painted hallway and classroom walls that are adorned with artwork of both students and professional artists. There are inspirational quotes or affirmations posted in the stairwells and outside each classroom reminding students of their value and potential for greatness. In addition to in-class libraries, book nooks can be found throughout the building.
Step into classrooms and students are on task, engaged in vibrant and colorful classrooms. Teachers, including the specialists who teach art, computer or music, are quick to offer a handshake or a brief explanation of what students are learning. What's particularly exciting to see in an elementary school is the presence of adult males. The K1, 3rd grade and enrichment teachers are all men, and male mentors work in the Dickerman on a daily basis.
Principal Bolt has looked to community organizations to complement the curriculum and services that the school and staff provide. This West Zone school, situated on a quiet residential street where Roxbury and Dorchester border, welcomes numerous partners including Best Buy which recently donated a digital camera, television and DVD/VCR to capture all the great things happening in the school, Mass College of Art, ReadBoston, and Technology Goes Home.
Bolt and her staff are especially proud of their 17-year relationship with the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency. Through this unique partnership, the agency offers the S.T.A.R.R. (Striving Toward Academic Recognition and Respect) Mentor Program to support students beginning in grade three until they graduate from grade five. On a daily basis, volunteer mentors go into the two 4th grade classrooms and work one-on-one with students. In addition, S.T.A.R.R. takes students on field trips, provides an after-school tutorial program, and purchases classroom materials including additional computer hard- and software. A key feature of this partnership is rooted in MassHousing's mission to promote economic and social self-sufficiency. S.T.A.R.R. opens a savings account with $25 for each student in grade three and adds $25 each year in grades four and five. At a special year-end ceremony, students are recognized with savings bonds for attendance, academic achievement, and leadership.
The opening of The Curley K-8 School, a merger between the James M. Curley K-5 and the Mary E. Curley 6-8 middle school, has been highly anticipated. Located in Jamaica Plain, the Curley K-8 School was created with the input of parents, faculty, students, community members and school partners who shared a vision for a top-notch K-8 school in the community. The school is actually K1 through grade 8.
Curley principals, faculty and staff work extraordinarily closely with parents to ensure that every student is working to their full potential.
The Curley K-8 School offers Advanced Work Classes (AWC) in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Teachers and parents have worked together to provide curriculum enrichment in science. A partnership with the Boston Nature Center provides support in developing ways to teach science using the outdoors, the community, the schoolyard and local parks. Students also have the opportunity to participate in theatre classes, dance, visual arts, and sports, including basketball, track and soccer.
The home/school connection is highly regarded at the school. The active Parent Council has worked with school faculty to expand arts, music and science opportunities for every student. Through the Arts Team, parents and teachers have been able to ensure that students receive both music instruction during school hours and after-school instrument lessons with the Artisan Music Studios.
The Curley has strong relationships with community partners and community organizations, including the Hyde Square Task Force (HSTF). Paths to College and Careers Program, a subdivision of HSTF, this year worked with students to develop entrepreneurial ideas into business ventures. Students participated in weekly training, designed logos and developed marketing strategies. They created a handmade arts and crafts business; a baking business; and a creative services and event planning business.
F. Lyman Winship Elementary School, nestled on a hidden hill right behind Brighton Center, is a true gem in the Boston Public School system. Led by Antonio Barbosa, this small, innovative learning community is a K0-5 (age 3 through grade 5) school with just over 200 students and 1-2 classrooms per grade. The Winship, like many other Boston schools, boasts a strong focus on the core academics like literacy, and math, but also is proud to be designated as one of the "Science schools” in the Boston Public School system. The school approaches these subjects with creativity and innovation, incorporating programs like the Morning Literacy Block, a Math Leadership Team, and a specialized Science teacher. The Winship school takes learning much further by incorporating music, computers and health education into the curriculum.
The Winship has several community partnerships with local organizations that provide extra enrichment for students, parents and staff alike. The Siblings Program pairs students with Boston University students for recreational activities and weekend getaways. The Winship Boston Connects team helps parents find local resources in the Allston/Brighton Community. The Allston Brighton Family Network holds weekly playgroups for children as young as 1 and their parents, so that they may learn more about the school and use its amazing facilities. Boston College, Very Special Arts of Massachusetts, READBoston and Franciscan Children’s Hospital all contribute other special programs and learning activities.
The Oak Square Branch of the YMCA runs a before-school and after-school program right at the Winship that provides homework time and homework assistance, structured physical education and free play, and rotating special programs to exposure children to a variety of activities and sports.
Parent involvement at the Winship is valued, and a technology-equipped Parent Center facilitates more involvement directly on school grounds.
The Winship staff encourage you to visit their website at www.winshipschool.org
The Beethoven School on Washington Street in West Roxbury is a busy place! On any given day at this medium-size school (two classes per grade), you can see children laughing in the large school playground, taking part in team sports, getting a Civics lesson on voting, or participating in P.E. classes in the gym. This is in addition to their academic classes, library, computer and music program. (All students take music classes and every 4th and 5th grader learns an instrument.)
The school participates in the "Technology Goes Home" program, where parents and their children learn computer skills together and receive a computer to take home.
Principal Eileen Nash and her staff have made the Beethoven School a welcoming and engaging place for students and families, with strong academics and a commitment to enrichment programs. Interest in the Beethoven is growing and the school is a "must- see".
