High School Reform and Systemic Districtwide Reform in Boston, Massachusetts
An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — April 3-4, 1997
Overview
The site visit to Boston, Massachusetts was part of a learning activity specifically designed for education foundation officers to further understanding of secondary school reform and its role in creating postsecondary options for young people. It was co-sponsored by the American Youth Policy Forum, American Association for Higher Education, and Jobs for the Future.
According to Forum co-director Samuel Halperin, the impetus for the trip grew out of the fact that within the larger policy discussion of interventions and reforms that work, there has been little direct discussion of reforms taking place at the secondary school level. "At the federal or state level, there is nothing comparable to Head Start or day care for the high school." Through the Forum's visits around the country and dialogues with practitioners, we have learned about or seen first-hand very inspirational high schools--places where change has resulted in greater learning and expanded opportunities for all students. Through the focus of the Boston field visit, the Forum wanted to share some of this vision with foundation officers who were in a position to magnify and replicate these promising efforts.
Hilary Pennington of Jobs for the Future expanded on the impetus for the trip by speaking of the many wonderful high schools that exist individually nationwide, but of the reality that few districts have been able to create these schools wall to wall. Carol Stoel of the American Association for Higher Education spoke of the role of higher education in supporting school reform and communicating expectations for student performance to secondary institutions: "This is necessary if we are to build a productive transition for youth."
The resulting field trip included visits to exemplary high schools that are successfully improving academic outcomes and career exploration for youth within a school district that is taking a systemic approach to K-16 education reform.
- Fenway Middle College High School--housed on the campus of Bunker Hill Community College, is one of ten schools recently recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a New American High School;
- East Boston and Brighton High Schools, which are reorganizing into small learning communities based on career themes; and
- City on a Hill, a charter school opened in 1995 with a focus on civic education and public service.
In addition to visiting schools, field trip participants had opportunities to visit student work sites, as well as participate in candid conversations about the challenges involved in implementing systemic reform with School Superintendent Tom Payzant; Kathleen Mullin, Director, School-to-Career Office; Robert Schwartz of the Harvard School of Education (formerly of the Pew Charitable Trusts); Cathy Minehan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank; Ann Coles of the Higher Education Resource Center; Neil Sullivan of the Boston Private Industry Council (which houses the Boston Compact) and several high school principals.
Opening Session
The field trip began with a discussion with community leaders about the district's education reform agenda and how school-level school-to-career efforts fit within the larger school reform context.
Thomas Payzant spoke of his school district's commitment to educate youth for careers and for responsible citizenship--a commitment that applies to all youth. He then described the school system and discussed the particular challenges it faces.
The 63,000-student system has 125 schools and programs and 7,300 employees. Student enrollment is projected to grow by 1,200 to 1,300 students per year for the next four to five years. The system has an operating budget of $491.5 million. There are more than 10,000 students in ten different bilingual programs offered by the district and 20 percent of students are in special education programs. A large number of students come from families that are poor: all elementary schools qualify for Title I funding and between 75 and 80 percent of elementary students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
A system-wide reform plan is in place with learning standards and multiple measures. The new Stanford-9 multiple choice test, open-ended response tests and portfolios have been instituted. Schools must develop a site-based management and comprehensive plan focused on teaching and learning goals and the engagement of community partners and parents. The focus of these reforms is on doing a few things well--not lots of little projects with no sustained focus.
Payzant acknowledged that high schools have been "the toughest nut to crack" in instituting reform because of problems of pedagogy, organization and structure of these schools. The notion of engaging students through different learning strategies, embraced in the early grades, has not penetrated the secondary level. As a result, the high school experience has not served many students well.
He views school-to-careers (STC) as a promising catalyst to build on in implementing system-wide school reform. This commitment is evidenced in the elevation of the School-to-Careers office to the director level within top central administration and its incorporation into the district's comprehensive reform plan. "School-to-Career is an essential educational design for the curriculum and organization for all schools. It is not a separate program. It will be incorporated into the educational strategy of all elementary, middle and high schools for whole-school change" (p. 25, Focus On Children, the Comprehensive Reform Plan for the Boston Public Schools, 1996).
School-to-Career Director Kathleen Mullin discussed the challenges to full implementation and the areas where Boston has a head start over other cities. According to Mullin, STC builds on the long-term working relations of the Boston Public Schools with the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC), closely examining potential ways for the public schools to restructure and improve the quality of education for all students. Having the business community involved in the schools at this level has helped to give a visible presence to the effects and benefits of STC. The Superintendent's decision to elevate the office on par with other critical departments has also helped to break the barriers among central office colleagues and ensure that STC is indeed for all students. The challenge has been working with headmasters of high schools who, even though they are tired of criticisms that high schools don't work, continue to use content issues as a vehicle of change rather than tackling issues of pedagogy and the structure of learning. The challenge also continues at the grass roots level to help parents, teachers and students develop a comfort level with STC. Staff development for teachers is a critical area where inroads are needed. Mullin indicated that efforts are underway to evaluate and assess the impact of STC on students and staff.
According to Neil Sullivan of the Private Industry Council, "In Boston, STC is a way to forge school reform." However, STC is more than school reform. The "Career" part is the business community's way of giving back and contributing directly to the education of young people. The Boston Foundation has been behind the work of the Boston Compact in helping to develop and implement the work-based component of STC. The Hayden Foundation has also helped fund career specialists in the schools. The PIC is the convener of the STC system. As a result, Boston put the work-based piece in place early on rather than later, something that has not happened with STC in other cities.
The local PIC has 40 people working exclusively on making connections and convening partners to put in place the components necessary for the success of STC. Among these components are:
- Restructuring the schools into smaller learning communities to get control over time for teachers to plan and organize the connections between school and the work place and to structure relationships among themselves and community partners. One of the biggest challenges is getting past the notion that "We can't change the schedule. The schedule won't allow it."
- Creating learning plans for small groups of students.
- Changing teaching methodologies and creating more opportunities for project-based learning.
- Extending the classroom to encompass a longer learning day and week.
Among strategies to ensure the successful continuation of STC, the PIC is working with the superintendent and school board to institutionalize STC positions by substituting local district funds for federally-supported staff positions. On its own, the state has been moving toward the implementation of a workforce development system that is not federally driven, but rather, is an employer-driven structure. The state legislature has been the first nationally to provide a method for sustaining STC after the federal STW law sunsets by codifying the 1982 Boston Compact to pay career specialists in the schools based on the amount of private sector wages students earn through employer involvement and buy in (includes mentoring, hiring and supervising students, etc.).
In the general discussion that followed, presenters and participants discussed the need to:
- move away from the current sequence of learning and then work to a simultaneous strategy involving learning and work in models and designs for preparing young people for life.
- find ways to certify work-based learning.
- program to serve over-age and out-of-school youth.
- get foundations to focus on system change and issues of teaching and learning and get away from "programitis." Boston's grant from the Annenberg Program for Excellence makes it possible to focus on whole school change in 27 schools, provide coaching time and support, and to create school-based professional development.
- create more adult learning time. School staffs are being pushed to provide more student learning time (i.e., to lengthen the school day) by the State Board of Education.
- use student portfolio work as the hook to help people understand the standards and the quality of expectations for students.
- get reforms incorporated in teacher contracts.
- staff the logistics of employer involvement in STC if it is to work.
Fenway Middle College High School
Due to a snow emergency that closed the Boston schools, the group was unable to visit Fenway Middle College High School. However, it was possible to meet with the school's leadership and faculty.
Fenway was founded in 1983 as an alternative high school program within Boston English High School focused on creating a personalized learning community and exploring the limits of school restructuring. In 1990, it moved to the campus of Bunker Hill Community College and became the first middle college high school in Boston. [1]
To attend, prospective students must apply, submit an essay and attend an orientation. Effort is made to establish a "fit" between the student and the characteristics of the school. If there are more applicants than places, students are selected by lottery, but the final group must reflect the racial and ethnic composition of the city.
The current enrollment is 250 students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is 60 percent female, 40 percent male. Slightly over half of the students are African American (54 percent), and the remainder are Caucasian (20 percent), Latino (20 percent) and Asian (6 percent). Sixty percent of students are eligible for free lunch, 19 percent have a primary language other than English; and 80 percent of the graduates of the class of ‘95 enrolled in college.
We were told that more students are going to prestigious colleges and universities and average test scores have gone up by 40 points on the SAT math test from four years ago. The integrated, authentic assessment based-curriculum often poses a challenge of interpretation for admissions officers of postsecondary institutions. According to the school's staff, it is harder for public colleges and universities to understand the integrated curriculum (and partly for this reason, "humanities" is being broken down into five separate courses) and use of portfolios as evidence of student achievement (versus the standard transcript) than private colleges. Because Fenway is considered an "innovative" school, their non-traditional approaches are expected and more acceptable than those of ‘traditional' schools."
In the lexicon of Boston schools, Fenway is a "pilot" school. These are schools that have been freed from many district requirements and have been given flexibility in hiring staff; however, salaries must conform to Boston's union-established schedules. If the school fails, the district has made the commitment to try to absorb the staff. Pilots are different from charter schools which can only be chartered by the state and have liberty to establish salary scales and qualifications for teachers. Pilots are different from traditional schools in having the ability to set the parameters of time so that teachers can meet as a team, share curriculum and continuously assess their direction and attainment of goals.
Fenway was a charter school for two months, but the district was able to lure it back under the umbrella of the school district. According to Fenway staff, their level of institutional autonomy has allowed them to eliminate Carnegie units, focus on developing "habits of mind" in students through a combination of school and field-based learning, establish new relationships with community partners, dedicate personnel and commit the resources needed to be a good partner in the collaborative arrangements they have established with Bunker Hill Community College and other businesses and institutions.
"It doesn't cost more to have a pilot school. The cost comes in the sea change within the minds of staff required to restructure learning and instruction around the mission and needs of the young people," said one staff member. According to another, "The school is like a family. Teachers meet weekly, the schedule constantly changes, and flexibility is valued in order to meet the needs of the students. It's organic, its dynamic, it changes." All were in accord that "The job description of urban educators changed years ago and the work can't be done between 7:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m." This openness to flexibility is important in order to provide lots of mentoring and support to students, create and maintain the partnerships and focus on combining schooling and learning from the workplace, continuously evolve an integrated curriculum and refine the assessments (portfolio, exhibition, and standardized testing) needed to reach high expectations and standards for teaching and learning.
Fenway is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a nation-wide effort of 900 schools engaged in rethinking educational practices. The Nine Principles of the Coalition have been incorporated into the program.
Even before the vision of partnerships was articulated in the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, Fenway had been successful in integrating business partnerships into their curriculum and the school structure. With their first partner, the John Hancock Insurance Company, they were able to set up off-site classes. Childrens' Hospital, their neighbor, soon became a partner.
At present, Fenway is divided into three houses steered by partnerships (Childrens' Hospital, CVS Pharmacies and the Museum of Science) and faculty teams (that advise students and work with partners to place students in work settings). Integrated curriculum and in-class experiences are paired with on-site work, culminating in a six-week senior internship designed to offer students a tangible connection between work and school. In addition, juniors have work-site placements during one term and many students take advantage of summer work opportunities that partners make available through the four years. Students go to work places prepared--with resumes, having experienced a mock interview and critiqued a video of it, and participated in role play concerning diversity and other on-the-job issues. Also, all of the employer partners serve on the school's board of directors and help with budget, long-range plans and other operations concerns.
Although schools were closed, it was possible to visit student work sites. Half of the group visited the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, while the other half visited the New England Medical Center.
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center is the largest community center in the country, serving 35,000 members in 200,000 visits per year. The Neighborhood Center has 1,050 employees and its workforce is growing. It offers 24-hour urgent, primary and specialty care at multiple sites and also manages school-based health centers. Its community-based board of trustees sets policy, determines budgets, and has been instrumental in the development of the HoPE Alliance Program.
HoPE Alliance is a curriculum for which students receive academic credit created by the Neighborhood Center's health workers and is available to 10th and 11th graders at East Boston High School. Approximately half of the staff from the health care Center attended neighboring East Boston High, so there is a culture of giving back to the school.
HoPE Alliance is a youth development program with a focus on personal growth, job readiness, life skills, career exploration, academic preparation and hands-on job skills. Students learn about career opportunities in health care and health-related business fields through the in-school curriculum and supervised work experience. They receive extra academic support through the study partners component in which they work with health center employees on academic areas they find particularly challenging and are pared with mentors for support and guidance. Through the School Based Health Center, they have access to youth-focused care, including nutrition, ob-gyn, health lifestyles programs and counseling services.
Approximately 65 of East Boston High School's 1,100 students participate in the health careers major at the school. Sophomores participate in unpaid shadowships. The focus is on getting students job ready. During a nine-week summer program, students work on public speaking skills through the Toast Master's program two hours per day. Students must maintain a 2.0 grade point average to remain in the program. They receive quarterly grades and, if they are not performing up to a given standard based on their academic performance plan, which includes tutoring, use of computers and projects, they may be barred from working. After successfully meeting work readiness criteria, students enter a paid apprenticeship, usually 10 hours per week during the school year and 20 hours per week during the summer, in radiology, elder service plan, laboratory, management information systems, human resources, adult medicine, smoking cessation program, administration and patient registration.
HoPE Alliance students may participate in the Neighborhood Health Center's full human resource training, is also available to regular employees, in areas such as patient confidentiality, customer relations and the status of the health care industry.
On the final day of the field visit, participants toured East Boston and Brighton High School, two of Boston's original STC high schools. [2]
STC at Brighton High School
At Brighton High School, participants met with Headmistress Juliette Johnson and other staff detailed to the STC program. Brighton has a School of Health Professions magnet program, a four-year elective that follows a sequential curriculum, introduces students to the world of health care, gives them health career skills and prepares them to pursue a career in the health professions. They learn all aspects of the health care industry through an integrated program that includes academic subjects and work experiences. The school district gave Brighton $50,000 to begin the magnet program in the health professions. ProTech, the PIC and the intermediary Jobs for the Future helped them realize their vision. Currently, there are 250 students in the health pathway. The finance pathway was begun more recently. A new career pathway in teaching will begin next school year.
Three full-time employees of the PIC work with 14 schools to line up employers and broker work-based learning opportunities. Teachers, PIC representatives and employers participate on the team to interview students for the work-based learning placements.
Health profession students are clustered so that teachers can integrate subject matter. Along with English, math, science (for Health Profession students) and other required courses, students take classes in the health career field, such as Health Careers, Fundamentals of Health Occupations and Allied Health I and II. The program includes four hours per week of clinical experience at St. Elizabeth's Hospital and other health career facilities. The areas of participation include human resources, medical laboratory, medicine nursing, medical records, physical therapy, radiology, respiratory and occupational therapy, and pharmacy. Throughout the program, student progress is monitored and academic remediation offered when necessary. In the senior year, students are encouraged to enter health profession programs at institutions of higher learning to pursue further training in specific areas of choice.
Other components of the School of Health Profession Program include the opportunity to participate in:
- college courses at Aquinas College
- Project ProTech, a four-year program spanning the junior and senior years of high school plus two years of postsecondary training, and including a clinical rotation in a participating hospital, and part-time employment of 12-15 hours per week during the school year and full time during the summer
- St. Elizabeth's Hospital Nursing Assistance Program, for students entering their senior year
- PIC summer jobs and internships
- Job Development in Health Careers at BAHEC-Boston City Hospital
According to one teacher, "Learning does not begin and end in the classroom. I have not changed my methods of teaching but have expanded them." She now conducts project-based lessons, follows the students on the job and tailors her biology and chemistry classes to their hospital work experiences and expectations.
Both special education and language minority students (Spanish and Vietnamese-speakers) are integrated into the STC programs. According to Brighton staff, project-based learning is particularly helpful to these students. They also receive special tutoring services to ensure their success. The school offers strong support for its 300 9th graders. They receive counseling, have opportunities for Saturday explorations with college partners to learn about campus life and participate in project-based learning. Trained 12th grade student leaders are also paired with 9th graders. There is also a parent center to engage parents in the activities of the school and their children.
The STC program gives students purpose and meaning and keys them into school. Approximately 98 percent of students attend some form of postsecondary education in one- to four-year programs. According to Johnson, "Some students need to do things in steps and STC offers options that allow them to continue the progression of their learning and career development." The school began with a job collaborative for students with grade point averages of "C" or better. They have now created a culture where improved grades are a prerequisite for employment in one of the career areas.
According to the staff, many of the extra costs associated with the program are for equipment and technology (usually for the start-up phase). Other extra costs are to support the connections with the work placements. To implement successfully, the program needs its own dedicated counselor (which it does not have at present), a program director (the principal has sacrificed an assistant principal slot to support this position), and staff for the workplace connections (currently supported by the PIC). The latter position will and should be a fundamental part of the state's workforce development piece. In addition, the program runs on many small grants that the staff has been able to access and in-kind resources (as well as student wages) that the business partners supply.
City on a Hill Charter School
At present, there are four charter schools in Boston with one more scheduled to open next year. City on a Hill is in its second year of operation. It has a five-year performance contract with the state at which time the charter can be extended or revoked, based on the school's success. The school is funded on a per pupil basis through average daily attendance from the Boston Public Schools and with additional grants from public and private sources. For the purposes of federal grants, the school is considered a local education agency. This has required that staff become knowledgeable about these programs, although college interns from local universities have been helpful in grant writing.
The school is housed in the YMCA and will grow to accommodate its space needs and those of the "Y" (e.g., as part of their partnership, the school is helping to renovate a theater space for the "Y"). The school also has a partnership with Northeastern University and uses their science labs.
The enrollment is currently 100 students in 9th and 10th grades and a small 11th grade class. No class is larger than 18 students. The plan is to eventually grow to 225 students in grades 7 through 12th. According to Sara Kass, the school head, "Our goal is to grow no larger than a space where all students can meet together or where all staff can sit at the same table."
Students are not selected to attend the school through an examination process (as is the case with several Boston high schools), but apply and are accepted through a lottery process. They are representative of all parts of the city, except East Boston. About 70 percent are students of color. At least 75 percent enter with below grade-level test scores.
According to Kass, all teachers are there because they want to work at the school and challenge the students in class and before and after school. (The staff was assembled from a large and competitive applicant pool, including experienced public and private school teachers. Salaries are competitive with those of other Boston public school teachers.) All staff have keys to the building and can use the building any time for activities. Teachers typically work from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and take work home.
The curriculum is teacher-driven, therefore staff development is critical. The school is raising funds to support curriculum development, including management, research and other roles for teachers.
To graduate, students must perform at mastery in a number of discipline areas. This may take more than four years to accomplish. Students are required to take four years of English and math, three of science and two of a foreign language. Electives include golf, judo, swimming, basketball, art and cycling. In addition, each student must participate in a two-week internship in one of 50 organizations with which the school has established partnerships. The purpose of the internship is to establish interaction with adults in the community and to develop habits of civility. Tutoring sessions are held until six p.m. four days a week. Students are required to attend these sessions based on their academic needs.
There is a great deal of focus on student support. Many students are unexposed to the rich cultural and employment possibilities that exist all around them and much effort is put into expanding their experiences. The school year has been extended by two months. Last summer, students participated in internships, Outward Bound and other programs. The school's focus combines civic education (including civility and accountability for behaviors), academics and internships.
Each Friday, the school holds a town meeting conducted through a parliamentary process in which each student is recognized by hand and addressed as Mr. or Ms. This is an opportunity for dialogue with civic and business leaders, and debate and discussion of current events. The field trip participants observed the town meeting which coincided with the 29th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and began with a moment of silence in recognition of the event. The town meeting speaker was Robert Prince, Chief Operating Officer of the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority, who engaged the students in a lively question-and-answer period about transportation services, the demands of his job and his preparation and salary, among other topics. The meeting concluded with announcements, such as opportunities to attend a summer program in science, computer science, drama and biomedical research at Boston University; internships with the Boston Foundation, and work on community food projects.
Conclusions
The site visit:
- showcased a range of types of schools that are helping young people make positive plans for employment, civic participation and lifelong learning;
- allowed participants to observe improvements in secondary education and changing relationships with other community resources,
- provided opportunities to meet with educators and business and community leaders to learn of the policy and implementation challenges they face as they work to improve educational and career opportunities, civic involvement/community service, curricula, staff development, and employer and postsecondary linkages; and
- created an opportunity for education funders to reflect among peers about the needs in the field and areas where foundations, policymakers and practitioners can make the greatest impact in expanding exemplary secondary schools.
STC in Boston has become an important element of school reform in helping to break large schools into small learning communities and engaging the rich resources of the business community in developing young people. STC has also become an important factor in changing pedagogy and the structure of learning as teachers rely more on project- and work-based learning and use the worksite and expectations of the business and postsecondary community as mirrors by which they affirm the effectiveness and content of their curriculum and instruction. In the process, however, there is more need for adult learning time for teachers to renew themselves and take on the additional responsibilities necessary to ensure student success. It is also important that the requirements and assumptions of education reform are incorporated into teacher contracts.
The broader lesson taken from the site visit was the importance of "partnerships." Each key player--from students to teachers to employers--and their roles were identified early in the education reform and STC development processes. Within this framework, partners have been empowered to act on issues relevant to them while affecting broader change through their regular contact and interaction with other partners. All of the examples cited above demonstrate the effectiveness of this spirit of collaboration.
Contact Information
Ms. Linda Dailey
Director of Human Resources
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center
10 Gove Street
East Boston, MA 02128
Ms. Juliette Johnson, Headmaster
Brighton High School
25 Warren Street
Brighton, MA 02135
Ms. Sarah Kass
Director
City on a Hill Charter School
320 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Ms. Kathleen A. Mullin
Director
School-to-Career Office
The Boston Public Schools
26 Court Street
Boston, MA 02108
Ms. Linda Nathan, Co-director
Fenway Middle College High School
250 Rutherford Avenue
Boston, MA 02129
Mr. Larry Myatt, Co-director
Fenway Middle College High School
250 Rutherford Avenue
Boston, MA 02129
Mr. John Poto, Headmaster
East Boston High School
86 White Street
East Boston, MA 02128
Mr. Thomas W. Payzant
Superintendent
The Boston Public Schools
26 Court Street
Boston, MA 02108
Mr. Neil Sullivan
The Boston Private Industry Council
2 Oliver Street, 7th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
[1] A middle college school is a high school located on a community college campus and joined in partnership with that college. The school's location on the Bunker Hill Community College campus allows many students to enroll in college courses during their time at Fenway. Middle college high schools are able to offer the content knowledge of the college professor and the pedagogical expertise of the high school teacher. Massachusetts allows for dual enrollment so that high school students can get up to four college courses reimbursed by the state at a number of colleges in the area in addition to Bunker Hill Community College.
[2] Boston received a Local Partnership grant in 1994-95 from the National School-to-Work Office. Four high schools, Boston, East Boston, Brighton and Dorchester, were considered the "pioneer" high schools in STC in Boston and received a STC Coordinator through the local Partnership grant award. The schools received ongoing support, supplies and training in order to develop career pathways, revise curriculum and provide school and work-based experiences for students. PIC career specialists were placed in the schools to assure that students received work experiences, internships, apprenticeship training and other employment experiences in emerging and critical industries that are linked to school-based curriculum.