Special Olympics Awards Four Boston Public Schools with National Banner

Special Olympics Massachusetts recently honored four Boston Public Schools with National Banner recognition for their efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without disabilities.

Special Olympics Honors Four Boston Public Schools with National Banner Recognition

BPS has four of only 17 schools in Massachusetts and 217 schools nationwide to achieve the status of National Banner School for the 2024-2025 school year.

BOSTON - DECEMBER 19, 2025- Special Olympics Massachusetts recently named Brighton High School, Mario Umana Academy, Trotter Elementary, and the Warren Prescott K-8 School as National Banner schools for their efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without disabilities. The four schools earned this distinguished status as a result of meeting 10 national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy, and respect. These standards were developed by a national panel of leaders from the Special Olympics and the education community.

"We are incredibly proud that four Boston Public Schools have been recognized as National Banner Unified Champion Schools," said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. "This honor reflects our district's and schools’ commitment to creating inclusive environments where every student of all abilities can participate, lead, and thrive. Through programs like Unified Sports, inclusive youth leadership, and whole-school engagement, we move closer to building a more inclusive future across all of our schools."

The Unified Champion Schools® model is a strategy for schools Pre-K through university that intentionally promotes meaningful social inclusion by bringing together students with and without disabilities to create accepting school environments, utilizing three interconnected components: Unified Sports; inclusive youth leadership; and whole-school engagement. As many as 16 million young people are taking part in inclusive experiences through Special Olympics. National Banner Unified Champion Schools also demonstrate they are self-sustainable or have a plan in place to sustain these activities into the future.

"At Warren Prescott, our students are at the center of everything we do and our school community works diligently every day to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to connect, lead, and learn alongside their peers of all abilities," said Principal Michele Davis, Warren-Prescott K-8 School. "Our collaborative efforts are grounded in this vision, allowing students to engage meaningfully with each other and helping build a school culture rooted in equity, respect, and inclusion."

Since October 2023, Boston Public Schools (BPS) has been implementing its landmark Inclusive Education Plan for the Boston Public Schools. The plan outlines systemic changes across all BPS divisions to close opportunity gaps and give every student access to rigorous and culturally affirming instruction. This Inclusive Education Plan will transform learning outcomes for all students, upholding the right of every student to be educated in the least-restrictive environment.

"Trotter Elementary celebrates the power of inclusion every day. Our students participate in Unified Sports and school-wide activities that foster understanding, leadership, and friendship across all abilities," said Principal Sarita Thomas, Trotter Elementary School. "Being named a National Banner School emphasizes our commitment to creating a learning environment where all students can thrive socially and academically."

Brighton High School has made history by becoming the first secondary school in Boston Public Schools to earn Special Olympics National Banner recognition. This achievement showcases the school’s commitment to creating an inclusive community where students of all abilities can fully participate in sports, leadership activities, and school life. With its unified sports programs and strong culture of belonging, Brighton sets a great example of what it means to achieve inclusive excellence at the high school level.

"At Brighton High School, our students are at the forefront of creating a community where everyone feels seen, supported, and included," said Principal Andrew Bott, Brighton High School. "This recognition highlights their dedication to uplifting one another, fostering strong friendships, and making our school a welcoming environment for all. We are incredibly proud of the leadership and compassion our students demonstrate every day, which has earned us the Special Olympics National Banner."

Photo: Piano Lab Ribbon Cutting at Umana Academy, 2025.

“This achievement reflects the power of inclusion, teamwork, and community. At the Umana, every student deserves to feel seen, valued, and celebrated, and earning the National Banner recognition affirms that belief,” said Principal Akua-Nia Francillon, Mario Umana Academy. “I am proud of our school, grateful for our dedicated educators, and inspired by our amazing young people who make the Umana a place where belonging and brilliance are lived every day.”

The Unified Champion Schools® model is supported by the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education. This model has been proven, through research, to be an effective and replicable means to providing students with and without disabilities the opportunity to form positive social relationships and promote a socially inclusive school climate.

← Back to the Newsroom

Apps & Devices

The Boston Public Schools has pledged to use interoperable standards as much as possible when designing our technical specifications. These standards are designed for safety & security with a goal of maximizing learning time for our students & teachers. Each standard is designed to minimize the onboarding and adoption time for new applications so that our teachers and students can utilize every minute of the day for safe & secure learning.

Any apps that will be considered for student or staff use must meet our technology standards. Please review this document for more information.

We recommend partnering with BPSTechnology early on to ensure the app that you want to use meets our technology requirements or that there is a pathway to meeting them in the near future.

Approved Apps

Aspen (Student Information System)

Clever

Google Classroom

Other Apps

Requesting Apps & Extensions

Vendor Submission

All vendors must submit requests for their apps to be approved using the App Approval Form.

In addition, if the application is: (1) a districtwide application or in use by multiple schools AND (2) involves the sharing of student data, the vendor will need to fill out the NDA Request Form to request to sign the MA Data Privacy Agreement (DPA). The request will be reviewed by BPSTechnology (OIIT) and the Office of Data and Accountability (ODA). Once reviewed, a representative at the company will receive an email to sign the MA DPA via DocuSign.

Requesting Apps

The vendor fills out the App Approval Form. Apps are reviewed by a member of BPSTechnology within 48 hours to see if they meet our technology requirements, then added to our apps list at the bottom of this page with the status of "Approved," "Under Review," or "Not Approved."
If the application is: (1) a districtwide application or in use by multiple schools AND (2) involves the sharing of student data, the vendor will need to fill out the NDA Request Form to request to sign the MA Data Privacy Agreement (DPA). The request will be reviewed by BPSTechnology (OIIT) and the Office of Data and Accountability (ODA). Once reviewed, a representative at the company will receive an email to sign the MA DPA via DocuSign.
If this is a paid app, the vendor works with a representative at the school or district level to get a quote and submits it to the BPS Business Office. This office hands all purchases done at the school and district level. See the list of procurement partners.

Please note: Schools/Departments should not be signing any document(s) from vendors/partners. Any questions and all such documents should be routed through your procurement partner.
If the application supports a Clever integration, a BPS representative (at the school or district level) fills out the Clever Request Form to request for the app to be added to a school's Clever portal. The app will then be added by the BPS Clever Admin once the purchase is confirmed.

Requesting Chrome Extensions

Extensions in the Chrome Web Store can be installed by single users (staff and/or students) once approved.

If you come across an application that you would like to use with your BPS Gmail, please follow the steps below.

Go to bostonpublicschools.org/techhelp and sign in. Open a ticket.
Subject Line: Chrome Extension Request: [Name of Extension].
In the body of your ticket:

Paste the link to the Chrome extension
Specify the audience: staff only, or staff and students
Specify the purpose of why you want to access the Chrome extension

Please note that all Chrome extensions will be reviewed for safety and security prior to being granted access.

Requesting iOS Apps

All BPS ipads come with a set of Apple's native apps like Safari, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and more. These apps are pre-installed and cannot be removed. For anything that is not native, start by exploring Self Service on your iPad.

If an app isn’t in Self Service, find it in the App Store and share the link through the iOS App Request Form. Once approved, it’ll show up in Self Service and you’ll get an email when it’s ready to download.

AI Apps

IT Purchasing, Donations, and Returns

All technology—especially anything that connects to the BPS network—must go through the official request process—no matter how it’s funded. The items on our menu are carefully vetted to ensure they meet our security, compatibility, and supportability standards. Plus, you’ll benefit from pre-negotiated pricing, existing contracts, and full support from our team.

Click here for more information about technology purchasing, donations, and returns.