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.

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Exam Schools Tier Map

Admission Year 2026-2027

Boston Public Schools groups census tracts into tiers aligned with the exam school admission policy based on socioeconomic score. The socioeconomic score is based on the following socioeconomic factors, as provided by 5-year averages from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey: percentage of persons below poverty, percent of households not occupied by the owner, percent of families headed by a single parent, percent of households where English is not the primary language spoken, and educational attainment.

Tiers will be of relatively equal size based on the number of school-aged children in grades 5-8, according to the 5-year average from the American Community Survey.

City-wide census tracts are redrawn every ten (10) years, allowing for potential splitting, combining, or boundary corrections. The updated exam school tier computation for the 2026-2027 school year relies on the 5-year 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2020 Boston census data, which is the most recent census tract data and includes 207 tracts with 5th to 8th grade children.

Please note that this information applies only to admission year 2026-2027. Tiers for the 2027-2028 admission year will become available in late winter, 2025.

What is a tier?

A tier is a grouping of geographic areas in the city with similar socioeconomic characteristics, based on US Census Tracts. The socioeconomic characteristics include five characteristics: (1) Percent of persons below poverty; (2) Percent of households occupied by the owner; (3) Percent of families headed by a single parent; (4) Percent of households where a language other than English is spoken; and (5) Educational attainment.

What is a census tract?

How are tiers calculated?

The tiers use data sourced from the American Community Survey, an annual survey conducted by the US Census Bureau. The data used are the most recent 5-year averages of the 5 characteristics outlined above published by data.census.gov. Each data point is downloaded from the US Census website and is converted to a percentile for each census tract in the city of Boston. The percentiles for each data point are then added together to create an overall score for the census tract.

Census tracts are ranked from the lowest score to highest score, and are grouped together to create tiers. The tiers are intended to be of relative equal size, based on the number of children in grades 5-8 living in each census tract.

How does the admissions process work?

Students are assigned to one of four tiers based on their home address and will only compete for exam school admissions with other students in their tier. If your family relocates, please make sure to visit a BPS Welcome Center as soon as possible to update your home address.

Each tier will be allocated approximately the same number of seats. Invitations will be awarded through multiple cycles to ensure all students across the city have equitable access to an exam school. The tier with the lowest socioeconomic score will go first in each round.

How do I know what tier I live in?

TIER MAP