Superintendent's statement on Boston schools in NCLB improvement categories

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education today released a list of 882 schools throughout Massachusetts that are identified for improvement in various categories.

As in years past, the results present a range of outcomes in the Boston Public Schools. Once again, we have success stories to celebrate – including the Taylor Elementary School in Mattapan, one of only 25 schools in the state that moved from an improvement category to being in good standing. We are particularly excited about the outcomes at the Taylor, which serves a significant population of students whose first language is not English, many of whom are new to the country. Other schools in the district have demonstrated enough improvement to make “Adequate Yearly Progress,” which puts them on track to achieve good standing next year. (Schools must make AYP for two consecutive years in order to return to good standing.)

Still, it is clear we must increase our focus on schools have not reached all of their targets – including some that fell short by a very narrow margin, or those cited for improvement among only one or two student subgroups.

These results provide schools and the district with vital information about our many challenges and opportunities. However, while the NCLB rating provides some useful information about a school’s performance, we know that no single rating can adequately represent the significant efforts of teachers and students in classrooms every day. We believe that there are impressive success stories among schools in corrective action and restructuring, just as there are impressive success stories among schools in good standing. We cannot be satisfied until every school in Boston is in good standing, and until every student achieves proficiency.

Boston has a variety of strategies in place to help lower performing schools accelerate student achievement, and we will continue to identify new and innovative ways to transform the schools in greatest need of improvement. Our “Acceleration Agenda” is designed to provide additional support to schools that are struggling, and to identify and replicate effective practices from schools that are demonstrating significant progress. We remain firmly and urgently committed to ensuring that all students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in college, career and life.