BCLA wins 4th annual "School on the Move" Prize

BOSTON – EdVestors, a nonprofit organization that seeks to drive change in urban schools through strategic private investment, announced Boston Community Leadership Academy as the recipient of the 2009 Thomas W. Payzant "School on the Move" Prize at the organization’s 4th annual School on the Move event. The annual $100,000 citywide competition highlights the challenging and less publicized achievements of schools that are making progress toward closing the achievement gaps for all students.

Boston Community Leadership Academy was one of three school finalists -- along with the Warren-Prescott K-8 School in Charlestown and Young Achievers Science & Math Pilot K-8 School in Mattapan --that were recognized at the School on the Move event for their improvements and successes in student achievement.  The schools were congratulated this morning by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Education Secretary Paul S. Reville, Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, and former Superintendent Tom Payzant, after whom the prize is named.

As part of the Prize, EdVestors will collaborate with the Rennie Center for Education Research to produce a best practices case study that documents shared strategies used by winning schools since the Prize was inaugurated in 2006. The case study will be shared with other Boston Public Schools and schools across the state.

“Boston Community Leadership Academy represents a true turnaround success for a school that was on the verge of closure in 2001. Today it is a vibrant school community producing tremendous results for a diverse student population – all kids, not just some kids. BCLA demonstrates what is possible when teachers, administrators and school partners agree to work in new ways – experimenting with different models of governance, school organization, and instructional practice,” said Laura Perille, Executive Director, EdVestors. “With inspired leadership and faculty, BCLA has achieved an impressive level of success for their students. We salute them with this Prize.”

"We are so very proud of all three of these outstanding schools," said Dr. Johnson. "BCLA, the Warren-Prescott and Young Achievers are three great examples of schools that set high expectations for every student and work tirelessly to give kids the support and encouragement they need to perform at the highest levels.  We extend special congratulations to Boston Community Leadership Academy for winning the prize this year -- a remarkable tribute to the commitment and creativity of its faculty, students, partners and families."

Boston Community Leadership Academy (BCLA) is a 400-student high school with a commitment to preparing students to be both college ready and community leaders. In 2002, BCLA was the first school to convert from a traditional high school to a pilot school. A strong sense of teacher ownership, a rigorous curriculum, low student to teacher ratios, and extensive supports for students are key components in a strategy designed to increase the college-preparedness and success of the school's graduates.

EdVestors invited ten schools to apply for the School on the Move Prize based on their demonstrated improvement in MCAS scores over a five-year period. A prize selection panel comprised of business and community leaders selected this year’s recipient based on a rigorous quantitative and qualitative review. Past recipients include Excel High School in South Boston, the Sarah Greenwood K-8 School in Dorchester, and the Samuel W. Mason Elementary School in Roxbury.

EdVestors drives change in urban schools through smart, strategic private investment by identifying and shaping the most effective initiatives, partnering with donors to invest in these efforts, and supporting project leaders with hands-on expertise. Since its launch in 2002 by a group of philanthropists and business leaders, EdVestors has directed more than $7 million to strategic school improvement efforts in Boston.

TOP PHOTO: (left to right) Mayor Thomas M. Menino, EdVestors Executive Director Laura Perille, BCLA Headmaster Nicole Bahnam, Superintendent Carol R. Johnson and Former Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant.

BOTTOM PHOTO: Dr. Johnson, Dr. Payzant and Ms. Bahnam with BCLA students, parents and staff.

2009 Finalists: Thomas W. Payzant "School on the Move" Prize

Boston Community Leadership Academy
Brighton, Serving Grades 9-12

Boston Community Leadership Academy (BCLA) is a 400-student high school with a commitment to preparing students to be both college ready and community leaders. In 2002, BCLA was the first school to convert from a traditional high school to a pilot school. A strong sense of teacher ownership, a rigorous curriculum, low student to teacher ratios, and extensive supports for students are key components in a strategy designed to increase the college-preparedness and success of the school's graduates. From 2004 to 2008 (the Prize review period), BCLA’s improvement was 24.5% better in ELA and twice as fast in Math as compared to the average improvement of district high schools.

Warren-Prescott K-8 School
Charlestown, Serving Grades K-8

Formerly an elementary school, the Warren-Prescott decided five years ago to expand into a K-8 school to provide educational continuity to its students and draw more families from the neighborhood. The strategy worked, with 85% of students coming from the school’s “walk-zone”, and a highly engaged community of parents who identify resources, play key roles in school decisions, and are vocal champions of the school, in partnership with school faculty and staff. The school's commitment to drive resources into the classroom allows for smaller, mixed-level groupings of students, with increased individualized support and peer-learning opportunities for students. From 2004 to 2008, the Warren-Prescott’s improvement was 8 times greater in ELA and 3 times greater in Math as compared to the average improvement of district K-8 schools.

Young Achievers Science & Mathematics Pilot School
Mattapan, Serving Grades K-8

Young Achievers, one of Boston’s first pilot schools, uses an integrated experiential education curriculum, with an emphasis on environmental education and social justice to engage students with diverse learning styles. Over the past five years, faculty and school leaders have placed increasing focus on data analysis and introduced new tools and strategies to better target and meet the learning needs of all students and to align both classroom and experiential education with state standards. Young Achievers was previously located in Jamaica Plain and moved this fall to Mattapan where it is expanding to serve the 7th and 8th grade students and families of the former Lewenberg Middle School. From 2004 to 2008, Young Achievers’ improvement was 7 times greater in ELA and 2 times greater in Math as compared to the average improvement of district K-8 schools.

ABOUT THE PRIZE: The School on the Move Prize, a $100,000 citywide award to one of the most-improving Boston Public Schools, is awarded annually by EdVestors, a nonprofit organization that drives change in urban schools through smart, strategic private investment. The Prize highlights the challenging and less publicized achievements of schools that are making progress toward closing the achievement gaps for all students. Following a rigorous quantitative and qualitative review process, the 2009 Prize will be awarded at EdVestors 4th Annual School on the Move Prize Presentation on October 22, 2009. Previous School on the Move Prize winners include the Sarah Greenwood K-8 School in Dorchester (2006), Excel High School in South Boston (2007), and the Samuel W. Mason Elementary School in Roxbury (2008).