Aspen Challenge Comes to Boston for Students to Tackle Community Concerns

The Aspen Challenge will kick off in Boston in February. students from 20 BPS high schools will participate over ten-weeks to build sustainable solutions to issues they identify in their communities.

Pictured Above: Students from the San Diego Unified School District gathered for the “Challenge” to learn about local issues their teams tackled over ten weeks during the 2024 Aspen Challenge: San Diego. (Photo credit: Daniel Bayer)

Boston, MA, January 13, 2024 – The Aspen Challenge, a program of the Aspen Institute, founded in partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation, will kick off in Boston next month. Presented in partnership with Boston Public Schools, teams of students from 20 local high schools will participate over ten-weeks to build sustainable solutions to issues they identify in their communities. The Aspen Challenge provides young Bostonians the opportunity and resources to create tangible change around their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

The Aspen Challenge: Boston will take place on Thursday, February 13, at Artists for Humanity, located at 100 W 2nd Street. At the “Challenge,” teams of eight students and two teachers will hear from local leaders who will present a series of issue-specific goals to the students on topics including the role of social media in glamorizing substance abuse, affordable housing, community violence, access to green spaces, and post secondary education pathways. Challenge issue areas are chosen ahead of time by participating students.

Expert challengers include: David Bickham, Research Director, Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital; Brandy Brooks, Executive Director, Higher Ground Boston; Manuel Oliver, Co-Founder, Change the Ref; Gretchen Rabinkin, Executive Director, Boston Society of Landscape Architects; and James Antwine, Annyah Cush, and Carlotta Pope, winners of the 2023 Aspen Challenge: Brooklyn.

“We are incredibly honored to be selected to host, for the first time, the Aspen Challenge here in the Boston Public Schools,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “We are proud to partner with the Aspen Institute to empower our students with the tools and resources to help create sustainable solutions that will benefit our schools, their communities, and the city-at-large. This initiative is a testament to the incredible potential of Boston’s young people to drive positive change.”

Following the Challenge, student teams will select one challenge area and begin their ten-week project developing, implementing, and reporting on their issue area. At the end of that ten weeks, teams will reconvene on Thursday, April 29 for the “Solution Showcase” at which point they will present their work and impact to a panel of judges made up of community leaders, educators, experts, and activists. Three teams will be chosen as the Grand Prize winners of Aspen Challenge: Boston and fly to Aspen, Colorado to present their community solution at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June.

“The lesson I learned over and over, as a teacher, a district leader, and an advocate for youth, is that the very best ideas always come from young people. That’s why I welcomed Aspen Challenge to come to DCPS while I was leading the district and why I am thrilled that Boston now gets to learn from their high school students,” said Kaya Hendrson, Executive Vice President and Executive Director at the Aspen Institute’s Center for Rising Generations and former Chancellor of DC Public Schools.

Participating Schools:

Another Course to College
Boston Adult Technical Academy
Boston Arts Academy
Boston Green Academy
Boston International Newcomers Academy
Boston Latin Academy
Boston Latin School
Brighton High School
Charlestown High School
Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology
Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion School
Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers
Excel High School
Fenway High School
Madison Park Technical Vocational High School
Margarita Muñiz Academy
Mary Lyon Pilot High School
Snowden International School at Copley
TechBoston Academy
The English High School

The inaugural Aspen Challenge launched in collaboration with Los Angeles Unified School District in 2013. Since its inception, the Challenge has expanded to include partnerships with school districts in Denver, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, San Diego, and Brooklyn.

For more information on Aspen Challenge: Boston or to attend as a covering member of the media, please contact Eric Baker: eric.baker@aspeninstitute.org.

The Aspen Challenge provides inspiration, tools, and a platform for young people to design solutions to some of the most critical problems humanity faces. For more information on Aspen Challenge, please visit www.aspenchallenge.org.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

Boston Public Schools, the birthplace of American public education, is dedicated to providing a world-class learning experience for every student. BPS educates 54,000 students in 125 schools, 74 percent of the school-age children who live in Boston. BPS is proud to be one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. Nearly one in every two students speaks a language other than English at home, and BPS students come from 139 different countries. One in five BPS students has a disability, and half are economically disadvantaged. Under the leadership of Superintendent Mary Skipper, the district collaborates with families, community members, and students to foster a supportive and innovative environment with a strong commitment to educational equity and excellence. For more information, visit www.bostonpublicschools.org.

The Bezos Family Foundation envisions a world in which all young people reach their full potential and meaningfully contribute to society. The Foundation pursues that vision by making grants and by operating their own programs, with the aim of fueling the science of learning and enabling its application in a variety of settings. The Foundation’s mission is to invest in the science of learning and the experiences that youth need from birth to high school to pursue their own path for success. For more information, visit www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org.

Office of Grants and External Funding

The Office of Grants and External Funding provides fiscal and strategic support to schools and central offices to manage 75+ Federal, State, local and Private grants received by and housed in the Boston Public Schools while ensuring all grant dollars comply with regulations.

What is a Grant?

A grant is a sum of money given by a governmental or private organization to another organization or person for a specific purpose. In order to receive a grant, one must complete a grant application detailing plans on how the grant dollars will be used to achieve the specified purpose during the grant time period.

Once received, grant programming and funding must adhere to the approved plans, the grant time period, all applicable local regulations (including the City of Boston and BPS policies), and all fund regulations.

The Role of Grants at the Boston Public Schools

Grants at the Boston Public Schools fund specific targeted initiatives, provide support to specific populations of students, and assure all students are receiving a high-quality and excellent education.

Grant funds can be found at every school across the district, as well as in every central office department. The Office of Grants and External Funding with all schools and departments across the district to build high-quality programs to support all students.

The Office of Grants and External Funding is a part of the Finance Department, along with the Budget Team. Together, the Finance department works to strategically and compliantly build and manage a budget each year that best serves all students. For more information about the Budget Team or FY20 Budget Development, please see the Budget Team Website.

Quick Links

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Contact

Yvonne Macrae

Director of Grants and External Funds

617-635-9577

ymacrae@bostonpublicschools.org

Charnae Garrett- Coles

Sr. Grants Manager

617-635-9468

cgarrettcoles@bostonpublicschools.org

Imani Penn

Title 1 Coordinator

617-635-9466

ipenn@bostonpublicschools.org

Carlos Martinez

Grants Coordinator

617-635-9084

lcmartinez@bostonpublicschools.org

Nicole Mendoza

Grants & External Accounts Coordinator

617-635-8582

nmendoza@bostonpublicschools.org

Genita Johnson

Grants Coordinator

617-635-8930

gjohnson6@bostonpublicschools.org

Funding Landscape

The Office of Grants and External Funding manages grants from various funders, including Federal, State, local, Private, and *Other sources. In FY18, over $145 million dollars in grant awards were received by BPS. The Office of Grants and External Funding worked to manage these dollars, strategically allocate funding, comply with regulations, and assist Program Managers in spending down these dollars.

* The category of Other Sources is defined by the commitment to funding part or all of a salary by a source external to BPS.

In FY18, over $113 million in Federal Grants was received by the Boston Public Schools. Many Federal awards - including Title I, Title II, Title III, IDEA, and Perkins - flow from the Federal Government to the State, then to the Boston Public Schools. The majority of Federal grant dollars come from the major entitlement grants, or formula grants, determined by the demographics of Boston children.

State grants often fund state strategic initiatives or are received as targeted supports from the state.

Private grants come from a wide variety of funders and often support specific programs, research, or initiatives. While some private grant dollars are housed in the Office of Grants and External Funding, some private grant dollars are held in the Boston Educational Development Fund (BEDF), BPS' 501(c)3 fiscal partner.

Grants at the Boston Public Schools fall into two categories: Entitlement Grants and Competitive Grants.

Click to view the BPS Entitlement Grants Page

Click to view more information about Competitive Grants at BPS

Entitlement Grants: Entitlement grants, or "formula grants," are awarded based on student population. Applicants must apply to show the requisite need to receive funding and must submit plans demonstrating that the funds will adhere the specified grant requirements. There are 6 major entitlement grants that the Boston Public Schools receives - Title I, Title II, Title III, IDEA, Perkins and School Lunch.

Competitive Grants: Competitive grants require applicants to submit applications or proposals to obtain funding. Grant funds are awarded based on the quality of the grant proposal submitted and the compliance of the proposal with the specified grant requirements.

The Office of Grants and External Funding encourages schools and departments to actively prospect and apply for grant opportunities. As a result, the Boston Public Schools has been awarded over $24 million in Competitive Grant awards in FY18.

Focus Areas: Strategic Use of Grant Funds

As the birthplace of public education in this nation, the Boston Public Schools is committed to transforming the lives of all children through exemplary teaching in a world-class system of innovative, welcoming schools. We partner with the community, families and students to develop within every learner the knowledge, skill, and character to excel in college, career, and life.

Through grants, the Boston Public Schools strategically targets student, teacher, and school needs to provide supplemental supports and programming. All grants at the Boston Public Schools can be categorized by focus area, which allows the Office of Grants and External Funding to monitor grant goals and outcomes, assuring all strategic initiatives are being realized.

Breakdown of FY16 Grants at the Boston Public Schools by focus area.

For more information on the breakdown of grants at the Boston Public Schools, please use the below resources.

The FY16 and FY17 Grant Mappings provides detail about which schools/departments received or house each grant, the focus area of the grant, and the grant amount.

The FY16-FY18 Grant Outcomes reports provide a high-level view of the accomplishments of each grant, while including a description and details of the grant.

Compliant Use of Grant Funds

The Boston Public Schools has internal controls in place to assure that all grant funds are compliantly being used to best serve students, teachers, schools, and departments.

All grants managed by the Office of Grants and External Funding comply with the Uniform Grant Guidance.

The Uniform Guidance (2 C.F.R. § 200) streamlines and consolidates government requirements for receiving and using federal awards so as to reduce administrative burden and improve outcomes. It was published in the Federal Register (79 Fed. Reg. 75871) on December 19, 2014, and became effective for new and continuation awards issued on or after December 26, 2014. The Office of Federal and State Grants, in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, has created a Fiscal Policies and Procedures Manual detailing the policies and procedures to ensure compliance.

For more information, please see the following resources:

Click for more information on the Uniform Grant Guidance

Click for more information on the Education Department General Administration Regulations (EDGAR)