City's business, higher ed, non-profit leaders back Boston schools on MCAS, ed reform

In contrast to burgeoning opposition to the MCAS this week, Boston's business, higher education and cultural leadership this morning pledged its commitment to high stakes education reform in the Boston schools. In signing the collaborative commitment, called the Boston Compact, each signatory outlined specific investments to help Boston students pass the MCAS and pursue higher education and career opportunities.

Following the signing ceremony, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Boston Teachers Union president Edward Doherty, Boston School Committee chair Elizabeth Reilinger, and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant awarded over 40 Boston schools with School Improvement Awards totaling $500,000 for improved test scores and successfully implementing reform efforts.

Boston Compact Signing

Mayor Menino said, "The only way we are going to meet the goals we share for our students -- to meet high academic standards, increase opportunities for college and careers, and recruit and train teachers and principals -- is if we all work together. Everyone here today recognizes that he or she is a stakeholder in education reform because our students are the future of this city."

Signatories of the Boston Compact included:

• for the city of Boston, Mayor Thomas M. Menino;
• for the business community, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston president and Compact Steering Committee chair Cathy E. Minehan;
• also for the business community, FleetBoston Financial president and COO and Boston Plan for Excellence in Public Schools chair Chad Gifford;
• for higher education, Wheelock College president and Boston Higher Education Partnership chair Marjorie Bakken;
• for the Boston Teachers Union, BTU president Edward Doherty;
• for the Boston School Committee, BSC chair Elizabeth Reilinger;
• for the Boston Public Schools, BPS Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant;
• for the human services community, Boston Human Services Coalition chair Freida Garcia;
  and
  
• for the cultural community, Boston Cultural Partnership chair Esther Kaplan.

The Compact establishes three collective goals:

1. meet the challenge of MCAS and other high standards;
2. increase students' opportunities for college and career success; and
3. recruit, prepare and retain new teachers and principals.

The Compact incorporates accountability for results. Each party not only commits to specific investments but also agrees to assess the impact of its efforts on student test scores, graduation rates, college matriculation rates, and other measures of student achievement.

This is the 4th Boston Compact. The Compact was initiated in 1982 -- the first such collaborative in the country -- and was redrafted in 1989 and 1994.

School Improvement Awards
As a result of the last Boston teachers contract, Boston schools receive annual School Improvement Awards for improved performance. Over 40 Boston schools this year received cash awards totaling $500,000.

Schools were awarded in two areas:

• first, for improved student achievement, including test scores, attendance rates, etc. Thirty-six schools won these awards, which ranged from $2,000 - $20,000 (depending on student enrollment, with $25 awarded per student); and
• second, for successfully implementing education reform efforts. Sixteen schools won these $6,000 awards.

Brighton High School was the only high school to win both awards.