In its first ranking of the Best High Schools in America, U.S. News & World Report magazine has recognized TechBoston Academy as one of the best in the country. The study was released today which examines a variety of factors about a school’s ability to prepare students for college.
Read the Press Release here.
Learn more about study at US News & World Report.
| TechBoston Academy held its first ever talent show, "TBA Idol," on Thursday, December 22. The school community gathered before the holiday break to celebrate each other's talents outside of the classroom. Students from all grade levels competed in comedy, poetry, dance and other performances while a panel of "judges" from each grade ranked their favorites. There was a tie for the top spot! Maryam, a junior, held the audience's gaze with her dance performance to an instrumental of "In the End" by Linkin Park. And the dance group The Rising Dragons got the crowd on its feet for their high energy routine! Congratulations to both winners and to ALL performers in the first bur certainly not the last "TBA idol." | |
| The following article can be viewed here: http://www.selfservice.org/article.php?id=1235 | |
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TechBoston Academy student achievement skyrockets | |
| • 26 Oct 2005
with use of SMART Board interactive whiteboards Significant jump in standardized test scores supports cross-curricular benefits of SMART product CALGARY, Alberta --- October 26, 2005 --- SMART Technologies Inc. announces that TechBoston Academy, a Boston Public Schools pilot high school in Dorchester, Massachusetts, has dramatically improved student performance with a combination of approaches and efforts, including the use of SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards in every classroom. After 18 months of technology-based instruction, half of the TechBoston students scored in the top two achievement categories on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams administered in 2004. MCAS exams are administered in grades 3–8 and 10, to measure student performance based on state curriculum standards. Headmaster Mary Skipper credits the significant increase in student test scores, in part, to the school’s effective use of SMART Board interactive whiteboards, which integrate with various technology tools and support TechBoston’s interdisciplinary learning approach. Aligned with National Educational Technology Standards set by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), TechBoston Academy integrates technology into its college preparatory curriculum. Students learn to use technology as a tool to assist them in all academic courses as well as advanced information technology courses, including Web development, digital art and networking essentials. Using SMART Board interactive whiteboards for lesson planning and delivery, TechBoston teachers take an interdisciplinary team approach to learning, where teachers in each grade level collaborate on cross-curricular lesson activities. For example, one cross-curricular project, centered around the novel A Raisin in the Sun, involved lesson activities using Microsoft® Publisher to design a newspaper from the novel’s era (history). Students used Excel® and virtual graphing calculators to compare price inflation between then and now (math) and Draw to outline story settings (language arts). Teachers display relevant websites, interactive multimedia clips and other reference materials on the SMART Board interactive whiteboard to reinforce key concepts and engage students in group discussions. “The students are as much a part of the fabric of our school as the faculty – both groups have taken strong ownership in the learning process at TechBoston,” says Mary Skipper, headmaster at TechBoston Academy. “Students and teachers alike have embraced the SMART Board interactive whiteboard as a 21st-century learning tool. I definitely consider it to be one of the key factors in boosting our level of student achievement on the MCAS standardized tests.” “As schools roll out initiatives in technology integration, professional development and standards-based curricula, they are putting SMART products in place to help students learn better. It’s all about putting the students first,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s president and co-CEO. “Whenever you make learning exciting, it makes a difference in the classroom, and this definitely shows at TechBoston Academy.” About SMART Board interactive whiteboards About TechBoston Academy For more information, contact: | |
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 GLOBE EDITORIAL Passing the testEDUCATORS AND state officials tautly await word from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which is pondering whether and how much the state should increase aid for education. Governor Romney has likened the case to a "gargoyle" looming over the state. Teachers unions look to the court hoping to find their guardian angel. Much academic progress has been made since the passage of the Education Reform Act of 1993. But in May, a superior court judge ruled in the case of Hancock v. Driscoll that school funding is inadequate in Brockton, Lowell, Springfield, Winchendon, and, by extension, other low-income communities. Now the governor and Legislature are awaiting instructions from the full court. The greatest challenge in the next round of education reform is the achievement gap between minority and white students. Statewide, 63 percent of white students scored in the advanced and proficient range on the 10th grade math portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests. Just 26 percent of Hispanic and 31 percent of black students achieved that score. Romney may not be convinced that increased spending will close the gap, but he recognizes it as "the civil rights issue of this century." Failing schools and failing students likely will need greater resources to close the gap. But the full court would do a disservice to the public by ordering expensive financial remedies without first being assured that struggling school systems know how and where to target the money. Several studies, including one by a gubernatorial task force, have identified the broad factors needed to raise student achievement, including effective school leadership, clarity of mission, and data-driven decision-making. A study proposed in a bill sponsored by state Senator Jarrett Barrios of Cambridge may clarify the issue further. But only by seeing effective schools in action can justices feel confident of their findings. As a rule, high court justices don't make site visits. School reform should be an exception.
Extra creditOne good place to look for answers is among the 19 so-called pilot schools in Boston, where staffers voluntarily sacrifice some protections of the central office or union to gain more autonomy over their budgets and time. One of the best is Tech Boston Academy in Dorchester, a 250-student high school now in its third year of operation. Only 25 percent of the original class of incoming ninth-graders passed the math portion of the MCAS exam in eighth grade, according to the headmaster, Mary Skipper. By the end of 10th grade, however, the MCAS pass rate for the same class had shot up to 95 percent. All of the school's special-needs students passed. And half of the overwhelmingly minority student body scored in the advanced and proficient category, obliterating much of the achievement gap in just two academic years.The success at Tech Boston, where classes for incoming freshmen run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., suggests that new funds should go toward lengthening the school day. Students also report that their teachers often arrive an hour or more before the official school day begins for individual tutoring. Such accessibility, they say, not only expands time for lessons but creates a family-like environment where people watch out for each other rather than watch the clock. "We couldn't do it if we didn't have a longer school day," says Skipper. As headmaster of a new pilot school, Skipper also got to choose most of her 23-person faculty and to arrange classes in one-hour blocks rather than the traditional 45-minute periods. She provides her teachers with roughly 100 hours of professional development each year rather than the 18 hours called for in Boston's union contract. Skipper also limits classroom size to 22, calling 30 or more students per classroom "a recipe for disaster." If she had more money, says Skipper, she would use it to pay for more individual tutoring sessions. Tech Boston Academy raises funds from private sources to provide laptop computers to each student. Otherwise the school operates with the same per-pupil expenditure as other district high schools in the city. The obvious difference is the willingness of teaching professionals to go beyond normal expectations. Students notice and follow suit. Commitment to serviceThere is no reason to limit the search for success to public school systems. Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, operated by the Marist Brothers, is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the second-poorest city in Massachusetts. The highly regarded school still draws about half its students from middle-class suburbs, but the core mission remains "service to the least favored," according to Central Catholic's principal, David DeFillippo.Some freshmen from poor communities arrive at the 1,200-student school as many as three academic years behind their suburban counterparts, says DeFillippo. But the gap dissolves over time in terms of grades, SAT scores, and self-reported confidence levels. Similar to Tech Boston Academy, staffers often arrive well before starting time or stay late into the afternoon to tutor students. Many teachers carry keys to the building. It's that level of staff commitment, says DeFillippo, "that unlocks the kids' beliefs in themselves." Struggling freshmen at Central Catholic are bombarded with extra help, including double periods of language arts. Classes generally consist of 26 students but can be reduced temporarily to just 18 for those needing extra attention. It is understood that upperclassmen will mentor and encourage younger students. About one-third of the faculty, says DeFillippo, are themselves former students at Central Catholic. It's not possible for judges to mandate the levels of commitment and flexibility seen in schools that close the achievement gap. But the court should be thinking carefully about mandating more spending in schools where such commitment doesn't already exist. |
An article from the Boston Herald on the State MCAS exams shows how TBA is succeeding where few other schools do :
Boston Herald
Passing the Test
January 3, 2005
EDUCATORS AND state officials tautly await word from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which is pondering whether and how much the state should increase aid for education. Governor Romney has likened the case to a "gargoyle" looming over the state. Teachers unions look to the court hoping to find their guardian angel.
Much academic progress has been made since the passage of the Education Reform Act of 1993. But in May, a superior court judge ruled in the case of Hancock v. Driscoll that school funding is inadequate in Brockton, Lowell, Springfield, Winchendon, and, by extension, other low-income communities. Now the governor and Legislature are awaiting instructions from the full court.
The greatest challenge in the next round of education reform is the achievement gap between minority and white students. Statewide, 63 percent of white students scored in the advanced and proficient range on the 10th grade math portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests. Just 26 percent of Hispanic and 31 percent of black students achieved that score. Romney may not be convinced that increased spending will close the gap, but he recognizes it as "the civil rights issue of this century."
Failing schools and failing students likely will need greater resources to close the gap. But the full court would do a disservice to the public by ordering expensive financial remedies without first being assured that struggling school systems know how and where to target the money.
Several studies, including one by a gubernatorial task force, have identified the broad factors needed to raise student achievement, including effective school leadership, clarity of mission, and data-driven decision-making. A study proposed in a bill sponsored by state Senator Jarrett Barrios of Cambridge may clarify the issue further. But only by seeing effective schools in action can justices feel confident of their findings. As a rule, high court justices don't make site visits. School reform should be an exception.
Extra credit
One good place to look for answers is among the 19 so-called pilot schools in Boston, where staffers voluntarily sacrifice some protections of the central office or union to gain more autonomy over their budgets and time. One of the best is TechBoston Academy in Dorchester, a 250-student high school now in its third year of operation. Only 25 percent of the original class of incoming ninth-graders passed the math portion of the MCAS exam in eighth grade, according to the headmaster, Mary Skipper. By the end of 10th grade, however, the MCAS pass rate for the same class had shot up to 95 percent. All of the school's special-needs students passed. And half of the overwhelmingly minority student body scored in the advanced and proficient category, obliterating much of the achievement gap in just two academic years.
The success at TechBoston, where classes for incoming freshmen run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., suggests that new funds should go toward lengthening the school day. Students also report that their teachers often arrive an hour or more before the official school day begins for individual tutoring. Such accessibility, they say, not only expands time for lessons but creates a family-like environment where people watch out for each other rather than watch the clock. "We couldn't do it if we didn't have a longer school day," says Skipper.
As headmaster of a new pilot school, Skipper also got to choose most of her 23-person faculty and to arrange classes in one-hour blocks rather than the traditional 45-minute periods. She provides her teachers with roughly 100 hours of professional development each year rather than the 18 hours called for in Boston's union contract. Skipper also limits classroom size to 22, calling 30 or more students per classroom "a recipe for disaster." If she had more money, says Skipper, she would use it to pay for more individual tutoring sessions.
TechBoston Academy raises funds from private sources to provide laptop computers to each student. Otherwise the school operates with the same per-pupil expenditure as other district high schools in the city. The obvious difference is the willingness of teaching professionals to go beyond normal expectations. Students notice and follow suit.
Commitment to service
There is no reason to limit the search for success to public school systems. Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, operated by the Marist Brothers, is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the second-poorest city in Massachusetts. The highly regarded school still draws about half its students from middle-class suburbs, but the core mission remains "service to the least favored," according to Central Catholic's principal, David DeFillippo.
Some freshmen from poor communities arrive at the 1,200-student school as many as three academic years behind their suburban counterparts, says DeFillippo. But the gap dissolves over time in terms of grades, SAT scores, and self-reported confidence levels. Similar to TechBoston Academy, staffers often arrive well before starting time or stay late into the afternoon to tutor students. Many teachers carry keys to the building. It's that level of staff commitment, says DeFillippo, "that unlocks the kids' beliefs in themselves."
Struggling freshmen at Central Catholic are bombarded with extra help, including double periods of language arts. Classes generally consist of 26 students but can be reduced temporarily to just 18 for those needing extra attention. It is understood that upperclassmen will mentor and encourage younger students. About one-third of the faculty, says DeFillippo, are themselves former students at Central Catholic.
It's not possible for judges to mandate the levels of commitment and flexibility seen in schools that close the achievement gap. But the court should be thinking carefully about mandating more spending in schools where such commitment doesn't already exist.
