BOSTON - The Boston Public Schools has launched the school selection process for the 2006-2007 school year, including improved efforts to communicate with Boston families, as well as new program offerings beginning in September 2006.
The citywide campaign to engage families in choosing schools marks additional improvements to the student assignment process, as recommended by the community-based Student Assignment Task Force and approved by the Boston School Committee. The recommendations emerged from a year-long series of community meetings and focus groups with parents.
The district will continue its expansion of several programs, including:
- "Kindergarten 1" classrooms for 4-year-olds: Fifteen new K1 classrooms will open in September 2006 (see list attached), in addition to the 22 new classrooms that opened this year. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has pledged full-day kindergarten for all 4-year-olds by the year 2010.
- Kindergarten-to-Grade 8 (K-8) Schools: Three additional elementary schools - the Perry in South Boston, the Eliot in the North End and the Jackson-Mann in Allston - will begin expanding to a K-8 structure in September 2006. Boston has increased the number of K-8 programs from only three in 1995 to 17 next year.
Several modifications to the assignment policy itself also take effect this year, including a new formula for assigning students to schools. The new mathematical formula improves the system for matching families to their schools of choice. It allows families to select their true choices of schools, in order of preference, without having to "strategize" about their rank order. The formula also ensures greater access to schools where families have "priorities," such as schools near home and schools where siblings already are enrolled.
"We've heard from people around the city about how we can strengthen the process and offer more of the programs that parents want for their children," said School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger. "These improvements are designed to help meet the educational needs of Boston's families."
The district also has launched a comprehensive communications strategy for engaging families in school choice by providing new and expanded opportunities to learn more about the registration process and about the schools themselves.
"We want the student assignment process to work better for all of our families," Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant said. "That includes helping to inform them about their options and encouraging them to visit schools to find the right fit for their children."
- School Preview Time - offered at the elementary level since 2000 - now takes place in all 145 Boston Public Schools. Between November 7 and January 20, schools will host open houses, school tours and other activities to welcome prospective families. This year, more than 30 employers - including the City of Boston - are offering their employees paid time off to visit schools. (See attached list of participating employers.)
- To publicize these opportunities, the district will coordinate the first School Preview Time Visibility Day. On Monday, November 14, from 7:30 - 9:00 a.m., teams of volunteers led by Superintendent Payzant and members of the Boston School Committee will distribute information at MBTA stations and other key commuter rush hour locations, (See schedule attached.)
- Families can learn more about the school selection process at four Family Information Sessions conducted around the city during the month of November. The interactive workshops will include information about the new assignment formula and other improvements. (See schedule attached.)
- The annual citywide Showcase of Schools will take place Thursday, January 5, from 5:00 - 8:30 p.m. at the University of Massachusetts Boston in Dorchester. The Showcase offers families an opportunity to meet representatives from all 145 Boston Public Schools under one roof.
- Families will receive a variety of publications to help them navigate the school choice process, including Ready, Set, Go! - a step-by-step checklist to register for school.
- The redesigned registration section of the BPS web site includes BPSExpress, a pre-registration tool that generates customized applications for families based on their home address. www.bostonpublicschools.org/register/
- Using the district's new Connect-Ed automated telephone calling system, families of all BPS students registering for school next year will receive a telephone message at home describing the school choice process.
School choice materials and information are available in schools, Family Resource Centers, Boston public libraries and community centers, MBTA trains, and on cable television stations, among other locations.
For more information about school choice, visit the Boston Public Schools website at www.bostonpublicschools.org/register/.
Employers offering paid time off for school visits during "School Preview Time" include:
Asian American Bank, Bank of America, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, Citizens Financial Group, City of Boston, Comcast, Curry College, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Emmanuel College, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Harvard School of Public Health, John Hancock Financial Services, Liberty Mutual, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Mellon New England, Neighborhood Health Plan, New England Conservatory of Music New England School of Optometry, Paradigm Properties, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation Simmons College, Sovereign Bank, State Street Corporation, Suffolk University, The Urban College of Boston, UMass/Boston, Wheelock College, Xerox Corporation and YMCA of Greater Boston.
- Monday, November 14, 7:30 - 9:00 a.m., at the following locations:
- Ashmont MBTA station: 1900 Dorchester Avenue at 200 Ashmont St., Dorchester
- Ruggles MBTA station: intersection of Ruggles St. and Tremont St., Roxbury
- Maverick MBTA station: 220 Sumner at Chelsea St. and Meridian St., East Boston
- Forest Hills MBTA station: Washington St. at Hyde Park Ave., Jamaica Plain
- Broadway MBTA station: intersection of Dorchester Ave. and Broadway, South Boston
- Jackson-Mann School: 40 Armington St. at Cambridge and Brighton St., Allston
- Cleary Square: Hyde Park Ave. and River St., Hyde Park
Family Information Sessions (translation services available):
Tuesday, November 15 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
English High School, 144 McBride Street, Jamaica Plain
Thursday, November 17 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Orchard Gardens K-8 School, 906 Albany Street, Roxbury
Saturday, November 19 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon (sessions in English and Spanish)
Umana/Barnes Middle School, 312 Border Street, East Boston
Tuesday, November 29 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Mildred Avenue Middle School, 5 Mildred Avenue, Mattapan
Citywide Showcase of Schools
Thursday, January 5, 2006
5:00 - 8:30 p.m.
University of Massachusetts Boston, Harbor Campus
Registration for the 2006-2007 school year begins:
Kindergarten and Grades 1, 6 and 9: January 6 - February 3, 2006
All other grades: February 6 - March 24, 2006