Young Achievers School dedicates new arts annex building

Mayor Thomas C. Menino, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson, Reverend Ray Hammond, Principal Virginia Chalmers, and four board members of the Friends of Young Achievers, inaugurated the School’s new Arts Annex today. They cut the ribbon to formally open new classrooms for the school’s music and visual arts programs. About 75 people attended, including parents, students, teachers, and staff, as well as City Councilor John Tobin, who represents Jamaica Plain.  The school will lease the space from a neighboring church for one year.

Young Achievers Science and Mathematics Pilot School is dedicated to creating an exceptional teaching and learning environment to promote academic excellence for all students in a just and caring community of learners.

The school was founded in 1995 by a passionate group of community leaders, parents and teachers from the Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods of Boston. They believed that their children and all urban children of color needed to achieve a level of literacy in math and science that public schools typically did not provide. Grounded in the knowledge that literacy in science and mathematics was essential for their children’s full participation in the economic and social opportunities of the 21st century, they viewed a good education as a fundamental civil right. In addition, the founders advocated for a longer school day and a full service program to address children’s mental, social, emotional and physical health.

The school is fully enrolled this academic year, with 365 students, 95% children of color, with 70% at or below the poverty level. Students are enrolled using the controlled choice student assignment process and come from throughout the city.

Principal Chalmers recounted the history of Young Achievers as one of the first pilot schools in the city, and the only K-8 grade school with a focus on mathematics and science education. Mayor Menino and Dr. Johnson both spoke about the importance of the arts in providing a fully-rounded educational experience to all of Boston’s children. Dr. Johnson and Principal Chalmers advocate strongly for educating the whole child, as Young Achievers tries to be a model for other Boston Public Schools. As part of our mission, the school is committed to sharing its best practices. The school exemplifies an understanding born from the modern Civil Rights Movement - that good schools for urban children of color can’t be built without the involvement of their family and community.