Boston School Committee approves proposal for new academic program for ninth grade students

BOSTON - The Boston School Committee recently approved a plan to create a program for overage students entering ninth grade in need of academic support in a setting outside of a traditional high school. The program will provide these students with targeted assistance and resources in a small school environment.

The proposal adds the program for ninth grade students to the successful Boston Evening Academy as a day component to the already existing night program. The addition of the day program to the evening school will lead to the creation of the Boston Academy at the Phillis Wheatley Complex in the Dudley Square neighborhood of Roxbury.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant proposed creating a ninth grade academy to the School Committee in November to serve overage 8th grade students who had not met the district's benchmarks necessary to be promoted to high school. Discussion with the School Committee and with the community led to the proposal to link the ninth grade academy with the existing Boston Evening Academy. A design team comprised of faculty and staff from the school and the school department worked on the proposal that the Superintendent presented to the School Committee.

Superintendent Payzant said that he was pleased with the proposal and hopeful for the success of the program.

"We saw a need for a ninth grade academy and wanted to work with the schools and the community on a way to better serve these students and increase their academic performance," he said. "I thank the staff of the Boston Evening Academy and of the school department for putting together a very thoughtful proposal that will allow the BPS to provide a top-notch education for these students."

"The School Committee recognizes the need to be creative in creating programs which meet the needs of our students," added School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger. "We are proud to launch a program designed to addresses the academic needs of students who are struggling to meet the requirements necessary to enter high school."

Because Boston Evening Academy is a Horace Mann Charter School (an in-district charter school similar to Boston's pilot schools), the proposal now needs to be approved by the Boston Teachers Union and the state Board of Education. Pending their approval, Boston Academy will open in September 2004.

For more information on Boston Academy, please visit http://www.bacademy.org.