200 more students earn diplomas at summer graduation ceremony

BOSTON – With friends and family cheering them from the stands, two hundred Boston Public Schools (BPS) high school students recently marched across a special stage at White Stadium in Franklin Park to celebrate an academic victory: earning a high school diploma and graduating as part of the Class of 2009.

Mayor Thomas. M. Menino, Chairperson Rev. Gregory G. Groover, Sr., and members of the Boston School Committee, and Superintendent Carol R. Johnson were among those honoring the graduates at the district-wide summer graduation ceremony. The students, who were only a few credits shy of graduating last spring, took advantage of Boston’s Summer Credit Recovery program and other summer programs, to fulfill their high school graduation requirements.

“We have many events recognizing exceptional students, but nothing could be more inspirational than what we have here tonight,” said Mayor Menino. “These graduates have refused to quit and have proven to their families, friends, and teachers – and most of all, to themselves – that they have the determination and will to advance and succeed. We congratulate them and wish them all the best in the future.”

“We know from our comprehensive study on the district’s graduation rate that many students who drop out are often very close to graduating,” said Reverend Groover. “By taking advantage of this accelerated opportunity to make up the final one or two courses they need, students can graduate in the same year as their classmates, whereas in the past they would have been forced to repeat an entire year of high school just to earn those few credits, something which many students opted not to do.”

In addition to creating the Summer Credit Recovery program, BPS has greatly expanded opportunities for students to make up credits during the academic year as well. Working closely with community-based organizations and other partners, BPS offered credit recovery at ten sites across the city during out-of-school time last year. A skills tutor available to all schools complemented these sites, ensuring that all high school students had access to credit recovery opportunities. Two-hundred students took advantage of these services during the school year to make up courses they needed to graduate on time last spring.

The students, representing 24 different high schools throughout the city, wore graduation gowns reflecting their school colors. 

“Credit recovery, which enabled nearly 400 additional students to graduate as part of the Class of 2009, is an example of how successful targeted interventions can be in preventing students from dropping out,” said Dr. Johnson. “In Boston, we continue to refine and improve our dropout prevention and recovery strategies to target those students most at-risk with the particular supports they need in order to graduate high school prepared for success in college and beyond.”

In 2007, Boston Public Schools commissioned an extensive study of Boston’s dropout rate, which identified early indicators that students would later drop out. The results of this study, produced by the Parthenon Group, formed the basis of Superintendent Johnson’s “Graduation for All” initiative, which lays out targeted strategies for dropout prevention and recovery. 

In addition to expanding credit recovery programs, the district last March opened the Newcomers Academy, a preparatory program for late-entering English Language Learners (ELLs), another group of students identified as particularly at-risk for dropping out. This month, Boston will open a new Re-engagement Center to help students who have dropped out return to school to complete their education. 

Watch the video on BPS-TV: