DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 366 690 UD 029 712

AUTHOR Cilley, Pamela, Ed.; Gibbons, Charles H., Jr., Ed.TITLE Venture Capital for Educators II. The Boston Plan for

Excellence in the Public Schools, 1993.PUB DATE 93NOTE 40p.

PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Cooperation; *Educational Development; *Educational

Improvement; *Educational Quality; ElementarySecondary Education; *Grants; Program Descriptions;*Public Schools; School Business Relationship;*Student Financial Aid

IDENTIFIERS *Boston Public Schools MA

ABSTRACTThe Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools

is a partnership among teachers, students, parents, administrators,and business leaders with the common purpose of restoring the BostonPublic School System to its former position as a national leader ineducation. This publication examines the programs and activities,school by school, that were funded by The Boston Plan for Excellenceduring academic year 1992-1993. The programs provide students withacademic, financial, and personal support. Several specific programsare highlighted. In kindergarten through third grade, the Support forEarly Educational Development (SEED) Program, created in 1987, isdesigned to foster excitement about learning and the value ofeducation. During the middle school years, the Hancock Endowment forAcademics, Recreation, and Teaching (HEART) program provides grantsfor academics and innovative projects which enhance the academiccurriculum, provide student leadership opportunities, and encouragestaff development and parent involvement. Project Action enables highschool students to become grantmakers in their own communities.Finally, the Access Program helps high school seniors find the moneyto pay for college as well as last minute scholarship financing thatattempts to make up the difference between the actual cost of collegeand what a student has been able to raise from other sources offinancial aid. (GLR)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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IQSIQN litLANFOR EXCELLENCE

IN THE PUBLIC. SCHOOls

u.s.D(PmmmunaFgoucAT.,,Mors ot Educator* Research end ImproverneM

EDUCAPONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

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-PERMISSION TOREPRODUCE THIS

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TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATIONCENTER (EMU"

Venture Capital For Educators II

2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

TRUSTEES OF

THE BOSTON PLAN FOR EXCELLENCE

IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

1993 - 1994

Mr. William L BoyanPresident & Chief Operations OfficerJohn Hancock Financial Services

Dr. John A. CurryPresident, Northeastern University

Ms. Jane C. EdmondsPresident, Jane C. Edmonds & Associates

*Mr. Robert B. FraserChairman, Goodwin, Procter & Hoar

Mr. Ernest T. FreemanPresidentThe Educational Resource Institute

Mr. Charles K GiffordPresident, Bank of Boston

Mr. John P. HamillPresident, Fleet Bank of Massachusetts

Dr. Lois Harrison-Jones (Exofficio)Superintendent, Boston Public Schools

Mr. Harold HestnesSenior Partner, Hale and Dorr

Mr. Ronald HomerPresident & CEOBoston Bank of Commerce

Mr. John Larkin ThompsonOf Counsel, Nutter, McClennen & Fish

Dr. Sherry PenneyChancellor, UMASS Boston

Dr. Robert PeterkinDirector, Urban Superintendents Program,Harvard UniversityGraduate School of Education

Ms. Loretta RoachExecutive DirectorCitywide Education Coalition

Dr. C. Scully StikesPresident, Bunker Hill Community College

Ms. Jean Sullivan McKeigueDirector, Office of Community AffairsBoston College

* Current Chairman

Researched and Edited by:Pamela Cilley, Program Officer

Charles H. Gibbons, Jr., President & Chief Operations OfficerDesign:

Claire E. Introini

Table of Contents

Boston Plan for Excellence Trustees Inside front cover

Foreword 1

SEED Grants (Support for Early Educational Development) 2

James Condon Elementary School 3

Joseph J. Hurley Elementary School 4

BANK OF BOSTON SCHOOL 1NMATIVES GRANTS PROGRAM 5

Samuel Adams Elementary School 6

Agassiz Elementary School 7

William Blackstone Elementary School 8

Brighton High School 9

Carter School 10

James Michael Curley Elementary School 11

Sarah Greenwood Elementary School 12

Joseph J. Hurley Elementary School 13

Hyde Park High School 14

Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School 15

Josiah Quincy Elementary School 16

Charles Sumner Elementary School 17

Maurice J. Tobin Elementary School 18

William H. Trotter Elementary School 19

Joseph P. Tynan Elementary School 20

West Roxbury High School 21

HEART GRANTS (Hancock Endowment for Academics, Recreation and Teaching) 22

Joseph FL Barnes Middle School 23

Grover Cleveland Middle School 24

Clarence R. Edwards Middle School 25

Patrick F. Gavin Middle School 26

Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School 27

Solomon Lewenberg Middle School 28

Lewis Middle School 29

Robert Gould Shaw Middle School 30

Phillis Wheatley Middle School 31

Woodrow Wilson Middle School 32

Project ACTION 33

ACCESS 34

Boston Plan for Excellence Trustees Emeriti 35

Staff 35

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FOREWORD

The Boston Plan for Excellence in the PublicSchools is a partnership among teachers, stu-dents, parents,administrators and business lead-ers with the common purpose of restoring theBoston Public School System to its former posi-tion as a nafional leader in education.

Created in 1984 with a $1.5 million endow-ment from Bank of Boston, The Boston Plan wasone of the first community-based endowmentsfor public education in the United States. Contri-butions help to fund innovative educationalideas, creating programs for students in kinder-garten through high school andbeyond throughthe undergraduate years.

The Mission of The Boston Plan is fairlystraightforward: to support innovations and im-provements in public schools; to expand oppor-tunities for students through the disbursementof private funds; and to strengthen the base ofcommunity support for the public schools bypromoting greater awareness and understand-ing of their importance. Also, The Boston Planfor Excellence advocates for children in the pub-lic policy arena.

The Boston Plan for Excellence and its pro-grams have received wide financial supportfrom the corporate and foundation communi-ties. In addition to the founding gift, the Bank ofBoston has become a national model for corpo-rate philanthropy through their involvement inpublic educationand in the lives of Boston schoolchildren. Bank of Boston has contributed over$10 million to the Boston Plan, establishing ahealthy operations endowment, and providingfor additional programmafic initiatives. Othersubstantial grants have come from The NewEngland, John Hancock Financial Services, thelaw firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, The Bos-ton Foundation, and American Student Assis-tance Corporation (formerly MassachusettsHigher Education Assistance Corporation).These gifts plus contributions from some 75other private sources have helped to endowprograms and provide for ongoing operations.

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The programs of The Boston Plan for Excel-lence provide students with academic, financial,and personal support. In the early childhoodyears, kindergarten through third grade, theSEEDProgram fosters anexcitement aboutlearn-ing and about the value of education. The Bankof Boston School Initiatives Grants Programenables elementary and high school teachers togive students the self-confidence and the moti-vation to succeed in school, college and the workforce. During .the middle school years, theHEART Program provides grants for academicand innovative project opportunities which en-hance the academic curriculum, provide stu-dent leadership opportunities, and encouragesstaff development and parent involvement.Project ACTION enables high school students tobecome grantmakers in their own communities.Finally, the ACCESS Program helps high schoolseniors find the money to pay for college. Itprovides, within guidelhies, the all-important"last dollar" scholarships that attempt to makeup the difference between the actual cost ofcollege, and what a student has been able to raisefrom other sources of financial aid. ACCESSprovides ongoing financial and moral supportfor the four to six years it takes to completecollege.

This publication is a look at the programsand activities funded by The Boston Plan forExcellence during academic year 1992 - 1993. Itis our hope that by sharing these innovativeprojects and ideas that the programs will bedisseminated through the Boston Public SchoolSystem and beyond. Every program describedin this publication provides creative opportuni-ties to experiment within public schools and isreplicable in other settings.

To get more information about The BostonPlan frr Excellence, please contact us at OneBoston Place, Suite 2400, Boston, MA 02108 (617-723-7489).

1.4 -ii-4 4,

SEED GRANTSSupport for Early Educational DevelopmentSupported by the law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar

SEED was created in 1987 by the partners of the law firm ofGoodwin, Procter & Hoar in recognifion of the firm's 75thanniversary. This $1 million permanent endowment fund rep-resents an important response from a member of the businesssector to the challenges society has posed to public educationand the Boston community.

SEED has been designed to address L . ical needs ofearly childhood education by creating supportive, nurturing,and challenging environments in which students from kinder-garten through grade three can learn. SEED projects are awardedon two year implementation cycles to insure a serious timecommitment on behalf the schools. The awards are substantialand are considered to be "research and development" grants.From 1988 to 1990, SEED awarded a total of $150,000 to theAgassiz and Trotter Elementary Schools to implement wholelanguage programs. The SEED schools for 1990 through 1992were the Quincy Elementary School and the Condon Elemen-tary School. The two schools were awarded over $114,000 toimplement whole language and cooperative learning projects.The current SEED grant recipients are the Condon ElementarySchool and the Hurley Elementary School. The grants awardedto these schools will total $120,000 over two years.

Robert B. Fraser, Chairman, Goodwin, Procter & Hoarstated about his firm creating the SEED program, "There wasa clear and obvious gap. You have to get to the students earlyenough with some good programs if you want to make adifference. Pretty early on we made a judgment that we wantedto have a serious experimental program. You need to take risksand if something works better, fine. And if it does work better,there should be a program for disseminating it."

Since its inception, SEED has awarded over $350,000 toencourage innovation in the Boston Public Schools. Applica-tions for the next round of SEED grants will be available inNovember, 1993. The programs will begin in September, 1994.

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SEED Early Childhood Integration Through the ArtsJames Condon

Elementary School

FY 93 - $30,000

Principal:

Daniel Walsh

Project Director:

Michael Sitar

Target population:

600 Students

In an effort to enhance theCondon School's mainstreaming ef-forts between the Children's Center,a group of classes which servesyoung children with severe physicaland mental disabilities, and earlychildhood classrooms, the EarlyChildhood Integration Through theArts program was developed. Theproject was designed with the mainfocus of integrating all early child-hood students, ages 3 - 8, with andwithout special needs into theCondon School community.Through weekly activities in visualarts, movement/dance and musk ,the program provides extensivetraining for school specialists, teach-ers and parents in the areas of artsand education and its support ofintegration. All early childhood stu-dents at the Condon School are pro-vided with avenues for creative ex-pression,multi-sensory learning anddevelopment of decision makingskills. By using the arts a variety oflearning styles are being addressed,and children are experiencing learn-ing through all the senses. Schoolspecialists and the classroom teach-ers are working together in a col-laborative effort.

VoySpecialArtsMassachusetts(VSAM) acts as the major partner inthe planning and implementation ofthe project. They coordinate the art-ist/consultantsand traintheCondonSchool specialists Integrationoppor-

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tunities are being provided through-out the school year in two differentways. Special education students insubstantiallyseparateclassroomsareintegrated into the arts, music andphysical ecir.cation classes. Artistsfrom VSAM collaborate with theCondon School personnel to pro-videcooperativeartsexperiences forthe mainstream population and thespecial needs children in theseclasses. The second way integrationopportunities are being created isthrough reverse mainstreaming ac-tivities. These activities focus on dis-abilty awareness and arts activitiesand are lead by the special needsteachers, assisted by the paraprofes-sionals.

Artists from VSAM create mostof the mainstreaming opportunitieswhich provide a living resource anddirect training the Condon Schoolpersonnel. They work closely withthe three specialistsnormallyrespon-sible for art, music and physical edu-cation classes. VSAM also providesteacher training in the Multi-ArtsResource Guide, a permanent re-source for teachers, specialists andparents in using arts as a vehicle forlearning.

In assessing the first year of theprogram, Project Director Mike Sitarwrote, "There has been astoundinggrowth in the emotional and socialdevelopment of the mainstreampopulation. As a result of their expo-sure in the integrated groups and inthe special needs classrooms, theyare more responsive to the specialneeds students and have welcomedthem into the school community.They have grown in the knowledgeof disabled people and have devel-oped a greater sense of empathy andunderstanding."

The project will continue in aca-demic year 1993 -1994 with a $30,000grant from the SEED program.

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Hands-On Science!

Project Hands-On! is aninclusionsary hands-on science pro-gram designed to excite studentsabout doing science together. Theproject features bi-weekly scienceclasses in grades K-3 in integratedgroups of bilingual, monolingual,and special education program stu-dents. Students explore science top-ics using the nationally acclaimedHands-On Elementary Science cur-riculum.

Some ofthe specificobjectivesfor the pro-gram are: tohave all stu-dents in grades K-3 spend at least 90minutes per week learning in an in-tegrated setting; to have a minimumof 3 parents per grade level assist inclassrooms during the program; totrain K-3 teachers in cooperativelearning and hands-on science; tohave students and staff work to-gether to create a school environ-ment which reflects the multiculturalfocus of the school community.

groups, providing transiation assis-tance, and helping with scienceequipment

ProjectDirectorVirginiaZangercreated a Hands-On Science news-letter to keep everyone updated onthe project's progress. It includesproject descriptions, parent inter-views, and updates on each grade'sactivities in both English and Span-

ish. She has also outlined anAGEs / MAIVy c,

0 Lt;.totos I invinm cv,truirt, extensive two-year re-

.444' tP6 014,44.4, searchplan to evalu-ate the project.

Curricula have been linguisti-cally adapted for two-way bilingualclasses. Some science classes aretaught in Spanish and some in En-glish to a mixed class of students.Kindergarten through third gradeclasses participate in multiculturalunits based on Children's Museumkits and the Children's MuseumSummer Institute in MulticulturalEducation training (5 teachers at-tended). All K-3 teachers receivetraining in cooperative learning andscience, including hands-on lessonsmodeled in many Hurley Schoolclassrooms by sdence consultants.Also,after-schoolscienceworkshopswith science instruction fromWheelock College are held. Parentsassist in science classmoms thmugh-out the year by working in small

The HurleySchool was able toreceivemanyother

significant donations as a direct re-sult of the success of Hands-On! Forexample, Impact II Vecirtos grantswere awarded to 11 Hurley teachersto complement team-based scienceinstruction. A grant from the Com-monwealth Inservice Institute of theMassachusetts Department of Edu-cation allowed the school to extendcooperative learning training andorder science-related books in En-glish and Spanish. The Christian Sci-ence Monitor Publications donatedseveral thousand dollars worth ofchildren's trade books with sciencethemes.

Hands-On! continues in aca-demic year 1993 -1994 with a $30,000grant from the SEED program,

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SEED

Joseph J. Hurley

Elementaq School

FY 93 - $30,000

Principal:

Miriam Hernandez-Spurlark

Project Director:

Virginia Zanger

Target population:

250 students

8 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

-CIS!

tihr

BANK OF BOSTON

SCHOOL INITIATIVES

GRANTS PROGRAM

The Bank of Boston School Initiatives Grants Program(BKBSIGP) supports school-based programs designed to en-hance and improve both teaching and learning in elementary andhigh school settings. Funded projects are suitable for replication,compliment the school's annual plan, and provide a permanentimpact on the schOol's curriculum. Achieving excellence is thecornerstone of all Bank of BostonSchool Initiatives Grants whetherthe focus in on curriculum development, teacher in-service train-ing,building relationships withother schools or the localbusinesscommunity, or strengthening parental involvement in education.Programs stress learning beyond the textbook by providinghands-on experimentation and activities outside the classroom.The Bank of BostonSchoollnitiatives Grants Program has awardedover $1.2 million to Boston public elementary and high schools.

Bank of Boston has been a fundamental player in the successof The Boston Plan for Excellence. Not only has the Bank of Bostonmade it possible to fund and replicate hundreds of successfulprograms in the Boston Public Schools, but they have also hasensured that the Boston Plan itself will remain in a healthyfinancial position. In 1992, through the successful sale of stockwhich was part of the Bank's original gift, the Bank of Bostonmade it possible to endow the operations of The Boston Plan aswell as to provide for additional programmatic needs.

Jeff Graham, Director of Government and Community Af-fairs at Bank of Boston stated, "Over the past ten years the Bankof Boston School Initiatives Grants Program has awarded morethan $1.2 million in grants to some 200 elementary and highschools. Compared to any individual school's budget, these arenot large grants. But in terms of funds available for innovation, forchange, these grants are very significant. They provide a criticalresource for schools striving to improve themselves."

In addition, Bank of Boston has contributed significantly to theACCESS Program, and has been a long-time advocate for TheBoston Plan. The Bank's representation on The Flan's Board ofTrustees has been an influential catalyst throughout our ten yearhistory.

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Designed to increase studentawarenessofwaterconservation,theWater Wizards Project at the AdamsElementary School was a school-wide initiative that used hands-onexperiments across the curriculumto introduce students to the impor-tance of protecting the environment.

Given that the school is only 400yardsawayfmmBostonHarbor,si-dents had direct access to a mostobvious experiment site. Science re-lated software on Apple computers,environmental reading materials,films, and videotapes were some ofthe resources used to teach studentshow to conserve water and reducepollution. In grades 1 and 2, studentswrote short stories about water con-servation, and typed new vocabu-lary words using "Magic Slate" soft-ware; ir grades 3, 4 and 5 studentslearned to use graphing software,wrote and typed stories, and pro-duced the student science newslet-ter. Students also videotaped andedited science experiments, a sci-ence fair and an awards day. At theend of the year, the student produc-tion of "Sounds a Little Fishy To Me"was put on for two large audiences.

The Massachusetts Water Re-source Authority (MWRA) and anintern from Tufts University Com-munity Health Program committedto help teach the Water Wizards cur-riculum. The school collaboratedwith local neighborhood merchantsand community groups to exhibitstudent water conservation art dis-plays.

To disseminate the project, theProject Directors wrote articles forlocal newspapers. They also partici-pated in "Lasting link", a NationalScience Foundation Grant whichpaired elementary teachers with sci-entists working in local industries.

BVBSIGP"Water Wizards"

Samuel AdamsThe Water Wizards project will

begin its second year of implementa-tion in September, 1993 as the schoolhas been awarded a second Bank ofBoston School Initiatives Grant inthe amount of $6,016.

From the Samuel Adams Science

Nenisletter, February, 1993

Water Conservationat Home

By the Students in Grade 3, Room 5

Don't leave the water on.Don't leave the water on when you

obrush your teeth.Take a shower for two minutes.Don't use too much water.Don't use too much water when

you do your dishes and clothes.Don't pollute the ocean.Don't take a mouthful! of sea

water.Don't waste any water.Don't flush the toilet ten times a

daY.Don't put any junk down the

drain.Don't leave the water running

because it wastes water.Don't wash your car every day.Don't drink bad water.Don't let your dog drink water out

of the toilet.Do not change the fish water tank

each day.Don't let children play with the

water.

Elementary School

FY 93 - $5,625

Principal:

Phillip Marino

Project Directors:

Sara Finnigan

Sharon Hullum

Target population:

School-wide: 300 students

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BKBSIGP

Agassiz

Elementary School

FY 93 - $10,720

Principal:

Alfredo Nunez

Project Director:

El ly Mae O'Toole

Target population:

School-wide

"Growthworks"

As one of the largest elementaryschools in the Boston Public Schoolsystem, the Agassiz ElementarySchool faces a common problem;there has been a tangible lack of un-derstandingamonggroups, particu-larly between special education andregular education students, and be-tween children in bilingual andmonolingual programs. In manyclassrooms, therewas anarmw rangeof activities where children fromthese groups had the opportunity topositively interact. In one attempt tobring the school together as a truecommunity, the Growthworks pro-gramwas developed in keepingwiththe school's priorities of thematicteaching and team-building.

Growthworks, a natural scienceand environmental program, em-powered children and teachers to beknowledgeable about and respon-sible for their environment. Caringfor the school environment becamean intrinsic part of the school's cur-riculum. Some of the objectives ofthe project were as follows: to im-prove academic skills widely usedin life and in environmental studiesthrough a thematic approach; to cre-ate and implement a programwhich

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both educates students about theenvironment, and maintains andimproves the environmental stan-dards and appearance of the school;to enable students from differenteducational programs in the schoolto workcooperativelyon tasks whichincrease harmonious relationshipsthroughout the school; to buildschool esteem by encouraging everychild to develop pride in their ownactions recogniiing the contributionsof their classmates to the project as awhole; and to provide additionalforums for parent participation intheir children's education.

Many monthly themes weresuccessfully carried out with enthu-siasm such as harvesting, plant iden-tification and inventory, weeding,seasonal changes in the garden,working with seeds, investigatingthe soil and creatures living in it, soilanalysis, and bulb planting. Journalswere used in classes to enterchildren's work and to documentthe progress of the program. Parentsparticipated in both indoor and out-door activities from assisting in thefall bulb planting to assisting inclasses. Athome, parentshelped withhomework and some individualparents gave classroom lessons.

The school collaborated withmany other organizations to ensurethe success of the program includingUMASS/Boston,BostonGreenspaceAlliance, Project Learning Tree, Bos-ton English High School, Massachu-setts Audubon Society, Boston Part-ners in Education and Arts inProgress. Also, the Agassiz Schooldonated a large amount of in-kindservices including many hours bythe Project Director and programparticipants.

Growthworks will continue inSeptember, 1993 with a $9,220 grantfrom Bank of Boston School Initia-tives Grants Program.

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"Seeking a Peaceable Kingdom"

To address concerns over con-flict resolution, low student achieve-mentinreading, and readingviewedas work, the Blackstone El-ementary School de-signed the Seeking aPeaceable Kingdomproject for grades threethrough five. The specificgoals of the project wereba help each child makebetter choices in resolvingconflicts, to foster a love of reading,and to improve reading instrucfion.

Throughotherfundingsources,the school obtained the use of a part-time psychologist, and developed a

counseling internship programin association with area col-leges and universities. Work-shops were held for parentsin order to explain the new

project, and to inviteguest speakers fromthe community toshare their views onconflict resolution. Stu-

dents were able to take home booksto further encourage parental in-volvement. At the Parent Center,topic discussions about the bookswere offered.

Preandpostquestionnaires ask-ing questions such as, "What ispeace" and "What are some ofthe ways you resolve a con-flict between you and aclassmate" were given tostudents. to assess the im-pact of the program. Also,journals were keptthroughout the year tocapture the change in stu-dents participating in the program.

Staffdevelopmentwasan im-portantaspectof thisprogram. Five thirdgrade teachers (2 bi-lingual and 3 mono-lingual) participatedin the Educators for

Social Responsibility: Conflict Reso-lution Program for Boston PublicSchools and held an in-servicework-shop for all Blackstone School teach-ers.

Students read selected storiesaboutcharac.as facing problems andconflicts and discussed with theirpeers how these situations were re-solved and how they felt about thecharacters' response to these con-flicts. The stories were selected ac-cording to the followingcriteria: highquality literature; age appropriateinterest level; a plot that relates toconflict resolution; and varied eth-nic representation. Teacher preparedguides for each book induded addi-tional suggestions forclassroomandhome activities such as writing ac-tivifies and dramatic arts. Studentsprepared a creative product for eachbook. The reading curriculum wasrestructured to expose students con-sistently to good children's litera-ture books and role playing andwritingactivitieswereimplemented.Materials purchased for the programwere kept in an available,designatedsection of the school's library.

Chandra Minor, Project Direc-tor wrote "Conflict resolution andpeace have become part of theschoorsculture.The school has takenan active role in helping studentsunderstand how to accomplishpeaceful resolutions to conflicts."

BKBSIGP

William Blackstone

Elementary School

FY 93 - $6,750

Principal:

William Colom

Project Director:

Chandra Minor

Target Population:

Grades 3 - 5

350 students involved

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BKBSIGP

Brighton

High School

FY 93 - $4,560

Headmaster:

Juliette Johnson

Project Directors:

Joyce M. Campbell

aaire E. Introini

Target population:

School-wide, 500 students

The BIG DIG for FACTS!

The BIG DIGfor FACTS! wasdeveloped to expand efforts in thedevelopment of interactive learn-ing at Brighton High School. It es-tablished an integrated learning en-vironment which enriched andsupplemented existing library andclassroom materials and allowedstudents oppuitunities to interactwith the curriculum.

The project created satelliteelectronic research centers in allfive computerized subject-areaclassrooms. Each center containstraditional reference materials:books, almanacs, periodicals, etc.In addition, centers contain the lat-est in reference software: the Elec-tronic Encyclopedia and other ref-erence materials on CD-ROM; on-line electronic library services that

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include such vast resources as Aca-demic Index, publications of theUnited Press International, Associ-ated Press, Time-Life, NationalGeographic, Scientific American,etc.

Some specific objectives of theBIG DIG for FACTS! programwere: to increase critical readingand Clinking skills; to increase li-brary and research skills; to pro-vide staff development and train-ing in the use of technologicalequipment; to provide opportuni-ties for teachers to coordinate cur-riculum and develop interdiscipli-nary units of instruction; to allowfor the exchange of information,cultures, and creative ideas for allstudents; to achieve a synthesis ofthe new and the traditional instruc-tional methods to create a moreinteresting and effective method ofinstruction; and to increase paren-tal involvement by holding dem-onstrations and, if requested, train-ing sessions for parents, in order toinform them of new techniqueswhich are being implemented.

Students working indepen-dently and in small groups com-pleted a major research project.Their research efforts included avariety of creative student projectssuch as class presentations (bothoral and video), panel discussions,debates, and term papers.

Staff development was a criti-cal part of this project. Participat-ing teachers from different subjectareas worked together to designspecific curriculum units whichincorporate a variety of relevantresearch assignments.

The BIG DIG for FACTS! willbegin its second year of implemen-tation in September, 1993 with aBank of Boston School Initiativesgrant in the amount of $8,500.

1 3

Exploring & Sharing Cultural BKBSIGP

Opportunities in our Neighborhood Carter School

The Carter School is a compre-hensive educational programwhich was established to meet theneeds of students with severe dis-abilities. Three years ago, the CarterSchool students had very little op-portunity to be integrated withregular education students.Through a number of Boston Planfor Excellence grants, a partner-ship has been formed with theHurley Elementary School, also inthe South End, where students withdisabilities and students withoutdisabilities interact and becomefriends through various outingsduring the school year. The projecthas decreased fears and miscon-ceptions aboutbeing close to peoplewith disabilities and has promotedacceptable attitudes toward con-cepts of normalization.

Students from both schoolsparticipated in cultural and socialactivities such a s attending the Bos-ton Children's Theatre at New En-gland Life Hall for the productionof "Cinderella", the Lyric Stage forthe production of "Scrooge", tripsto the Boston Public Library andthe Copley Movie Theatre. A num-ber of holiday activities took placeat the school, and many perform-ers, such as Tony DeBlois (who is

blind and autistic) performed forthe group. At the end of each activ-ity, discussions were held with stu-dents to get feed back on their ex-periences. The program was docu-mented by pre and post testing ofattitudes and knowledge at thebeginning and end of the project aswell as records of activities, videotaping of sessions and discussionswith participants.

Abby Marsa, Project Directorwrote "Our cultural and socialproject has enlightened manyadults in our community to theneeds of the Carter and HurleySchool integration project. For ex-ample, The Museum of Fine Artshad no experience preparing a tourfor our very diverse group of stu-dents. Through lengthy conversa-tions the MFA was able to set up atour that best facilitated the needsof both groups coming as one. Sinceour visit, the MFA has expressedan interest in continuing this pair-ing project with us next year."

The Carter School will receiveanother year of funding in theamount of $1,100 for the projectfrom the Bank of Boston SchoolInitiatives Grants Program whichwill begin in September, 1993.

FY 93 - $800

Principal:

Roger Mazur

Project Director:

Abby Marsa

Target population:

35 students

(12 from Carter and 23 fromHurley Elementary)

BKBSIGP

James MichaelCurley

Elementary School

FY 93 - $8,600

Principal:

Kathleen Armstrong

Project Director:

Patricia Martin

Target population:

Grades 1 - 5: 300 students

"Discovery: Windows to the World"

In response to a concern overclass size, integration of specialneeds students with regular edu-cation students, parental involve-ment, and daily reading time, theCurley Elementary School de-signed the Discovery: Windows tothe World program. Some objec-tives of the project were: to provideliterature experiences for studentswhich include non-fiction sources,especially in science and math ar-eas; to reduce class size; to enhanceintegration of special needs stu-dents with regular education stu-dents; to continue to create an inte-grated curriculum; and to spend agreater portion of each day readinggood literature.

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The project used literature as abasis for an across the curriculumapproach to learning. Studentswere grouped heterogeneouslywith regular and special needs stu-dents, and class size was reducedfor sixty minutes each day to nomore than 15:1 during the dailyDiscovery reading hour.

Each grade level used a yearlong overall theme such as fami-lies, environment, challenges, sur-vival or decisions. Booklists werecreated and a fall kick off assemblybegan the school's effort to readone million minutes during theyear. Daily reading classes wereheld and students charted theirprogress weekly. A portfolio ofwriting and math activities waskept for each child.

(As a result of the program, theschool's science fair now has a di-rect link to the Discovery program.Classes read fiction and non-fic-tion books and integrate poetry andplays around a science theme.

Pat Martin, Project Directorwrote, "Discovery has generated agenuine interest in reading in allour classes. It has also forged somewonderful friendships betweenregular education students andspecial needs students. Thesefriendships would never have hadthe chance to occur without ourheterogeneous Discover classes."

Boston Plan staff site visits andevaluation materials found that theprogram has been truly successfuland met all of the program objec-tives. The Discovery program hasbeen institutionalized within theCurley Elementary School, and willcontinue in academic year 1993-1994.

15

The Greenwood Galleon:Expedition to the Americas

In keepingwith theSarah Green-wood School's efforts to reform thecurriculum and increasemainstreaming of students, the Ex-pedition to the Americas programwas developed to further encourageintegrafion among all students andimplement cooperative learningstrategies across the curriculum.

Students learned aboutthe cultures of the Americasthrough storytelling andhands-on activities inweaving, pottery,painting, music,drama, writingand other art forms.The project consisted of twophases; students studied a Pre-Co-lombian culture and today's com-munity. Visiting artists came to theschool to share in their expertise andknowledge of the art forms and thecultures studied.

The project accomplished all ofthe goals: students learned about thedifferent Pre-Colombian culturesthrough legends and folktales; stu-dents worked in cooperative learn-ing teams to accomplish Art activi-ties linked to the project; teachersmet monthly to plan cooperativeleamingactivities and received train-

ing in the use of different Artforms; parents became part ofthe program as guests and oral

historians; students en-gaged in research and de-veloped questioning skills;and the project incorpo-

rated community agenciesin the pl; king and implementa-fion of the project.

The Mayan culture was chosento be studied as the Pre-Colombianphase. Latin American artists visitedthe school and taught children theirart forms. Elena Ixcot, a Mayanweaver and spokeswoman for theInternational Mayan Leagues gave alectureanddemonstrafiononMayanCulture, weaving and corn grind-ing.

Phase two focused on "OurAmerica,OurCommunity. Studentsstudied a Native American storyandthen worked on maps of NativeAmerican populations in the US.and North America. Arts in Progressperformed a violence preventionpiece, and local storytellers andsongwriters performed as well. Po-etry, painting, and writing were allresults of the artistic exchanges. Thefocus was on "rediscovering"America today, specifically the cul-tures and important issues of theschool and the community.

LETTER TO 'THE WORLD

Dear World

I wish that when get up out of mybed and I open my window, 1 couldsee all the colors of the rainbow. Icould see rainbows, sun, all the colorsof the sky.

One afternoon, 1 saw a sunsetting and I took paper and paint,thinking about you, Workl. I drew avolcano ewloding with it's lavayellow, red, orange, and a piece ofblue sky and two clouds, one purpleand the other one yellow. Then I drewa sun with Christmas colors and twopieces of pink that mean happinessand a blue moon and brown stars thatalmost mean the ground. There isorange rain. That means that whenthe weather is hot the water feels hoton the people's bodies and they take ashower in the rain.I think that thewater feels like that when it is in thesummer. I dedicate this Painting toyou, World I was just thinking aboutyou, Wora

Sincerely,Clara Diaz, Room 210

12

6

BKBSIGP

Sarah Greenwood

Elementary School

FY 93 - $7,800

Principal:

Isabel Mendez

Project Director:

Susan Thompson

Target population:

Grades 4 - 5: 164 students

BKBSIGP

Joseph J. Hurley

Elementary School

FY 93 - $8,820

Principal:

Miriam Hernandez-Spur lark

Project Director:

Virginia Zanger

Target population:

Total Student

Population - 394G,JAGES / MANY Cto

1,05 I MMus cv ro403 00 L 4

"Doing Science Together"

Since 1989, the Hurley Schoolhas worked to "build an integratedand unified community of students,parents, and staff through a multi-cultural Two-Way(Spanish and En-glish) Bilingual program" (HurleyMission Statement). The success ofthis model has brought the Hurleysta ff, students and parents togetherand has generated a great deal ofexcitement and motivation. To fur-ther cultivate the Two-Way pro-gram, the school developed the Do-ing Science Together program.

The goals of the Doing ScienceTogether project were to developan inclusionary model of hands-onscience education which mofivatesstudents, builds collaborationamong staff and parents, and pro-vides an opportunity for studentsfrom bilingual, monolingual, andspecial education programs to learnwith and from each other.

All students participated in bi-weekly, integrated science classesusing the Hands-On ElementaryScience curriculum developed bythe Carroll County Public Schools.Curricula were linguisticallyadapted for two-way bilingualclasses. All classroom teachers re-

13

ceived science training and sup-port by science consultants andused cooperative learning meth-ods in the classroom.

Students were engaged in a va-riety of hands-on activities includ-ing: working with seeds and leaves(grade 1); metric measuring (grades2 and 3); construction of a balanceto measure mass (grade 3); workwith microscopes (grade 4); andtesting of rocks for mineral content(grade 5). The activities carried outwere organized to introduce andreinforce the scientific skills of ob-servation, classification, measure-ment, experimentation, and pre-diction.

The school collaborated with anumber of outside organizationsas a result of the Bank of BostonSchool Initiatives grant. The CityMission Society artists worked withstudents to integrate science topicsinto the arts, such as writing poetryabout metamorphosis and flight.Teachers participated in theMulticultural Summer Institute atThe Children's Museum. City Yearworkers helped in the classrooms,and 11 teachers wrote Vecinosgrants based on the grant experi-ence. The Hurley School was alsoworking on the Hands-On Scienceprogram which focused on gradeskindergarten through three.

Project Director VirginiaZanger wrote, "The project has con-tributed to a sense of community atthe Hurley school. The culmina-tion of the year's science study wasa schoolwide butterfly unit, andeverywhere in the school, in everyclassroom, students were observ-ing, reading and writing about,even d ressing up as ca terpillars andbutterflies. The entire school fam-ily paraded down Tremont Streetin butterfly regalia and the schoolplans to make this an annual event.

17

Not Home! Not Alone! BKBSIGP

Hyde ParkA needs survey conducted at

Hyde Park High School in 1991indicated that there was an over-whelming need for after schoolclubs and courses for all students.Although Hyde Park High offereda sports program, there was a lackof organized dubs and after schoolenrichment programs. The schoolstaff developed the Not Home! NotAlone! program to address theneeds of students and to exposethem to activities which wouldenrich their lives and provide cul-t, iral advancement.

Planned activities included thefollowing: weight training; tutor-ing for mathematics and languagearts; the chess club; and two projectswhich allowed high school studentsto tutor elementary students at theGreenwood Elementary School.The school purchased new com-puter software to increase the qual-ity of technology education in theschool and worked on establishingan after school computer lab.

Many of the staff volunteeredtheir time to supervise the clubsand after school activities. Accord-ing to Project Director PatriciaTremblay, "Students' self esteemwas raised in helping otherstherewas a definite cooperative feelingin the work done with bilingualand monolingual students. Schoolbecame a more pleasant place."

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14

1 8

High School

FY 93 - $7,625

Headmaster:

Curtis Wells

Project Director:

Patricia M. Tremblay

Target population:

200 Students

BKBSIGP

Patrick J. Kennedy

Elementaly School

FY 93 - $6,706

Principal:

Eugene Ellis

Project Director:

Donna Rosenberg

Target population:

School-wide, 330 Students

aert:

zte.

3

Proj ect Make a Difference

The focus of Project Make ADifference was to make childrenaware that they can make a dif-ference in the world; that theyhave the ability to provide aservice to others and thus helpsociety. The project addressedthe needs of building self confi-dence in students, and improv-ing writing and creative skills.

Throughout the year, studentsproduced coloring books whichwere donated to Boston CityHospital Children's Unit.

Program activities includedpoetry writing, story writing,and illustration. Students ingrades third and fourth gradersserved as tutors and aides toKindergarten and first graderswhile the fifth graders editedthe stories. Stories and picturescreated by the students werescanned into a Macintosh com-puter. The final product wasoriginal published and boundbooks which were sent to thehospital. The presentations ofthe books to the hospital werevideotaped and shown to thestudents.

By the end of the year, eachchild had worked collabora-tively with another child eitherwithin their own grade or acrossgrade levels. Most fifth graderslearned to use the various pieceof technological equipment pur-chased for the project such asthe scanner, printer, binder,xerox, computer, as well as vari-ous software.

Six books were completedduring the year: A World ofSuperheroes; A Bus RideThrough East Boston Massachu-setts; Find the Hidden Animalcoloring book; My Magical Pets;Poetry in Color; and the Just For

1 You coloring book. At least 30copies of each book were do-nated to hospitalized children.

15

Project Make a Differencewill continue in academic year1993 - 1994 with a $3,532 grantfrom the Bank of Boston SchoolInitiatives Grants Program.

I 9UST COPY AVAILABLE

"Parents As Partners"

The Quincy Elementary Schooldeveloped the Parents As Partnersprogram to increase parental in-volvement through purposeful ac-tivities. Parents and their childrenwere involved in literacy activitiesusing IBM P.C. Jr. computers, a fullynetworked IBM computer lab andappropriate software along with ahome component utilizing popularmulticultural children's literature.

Morning and afternoon classeswere given in seven week sessionswhich provided computer-based,hands-on individualized skill train-ing. All classes were filled to capac-ity with a good mix of both bilingualand monolingual parent participa-tion. Due to increasecipopularity ofthe program, a waiting list wasstarted. Classes had an attendancerate of close to 90%.

Parents became more visiblethrough their efforts to attend classeson a regular basis. Parents and teach-ers had an opportunity to communi-cate by virtue of this time. Students'performance in the areas of readingand language arts increased, andparents and children worked to-gether to accomplish meaningfultasks using computer technoioduring class and at home.

Oneahlesegrand-parent stated, "I hadbeen a teacher inChina for overthirty years. WhenI came (to the ptu-gram) Ihad sucha doseand warm feeling as if Iwere coming back to myteaching position. Now, Icome here with my grand-daughter.I amvety pleasedto tell you that the programproves again that learningcan be a vety wonder-ful experience."

(English translation of a commentreported in the Sing Tao newspa-Per)

Michael DiCaprio, Project Di-rector, wrote, "The project strength-ened bonds between parents and theschool. It also provided an opportu-nity for staff, administration andparents to function as a team work-ing toward specific goals."

Boston Plan staff site visits andobservations attest to the success ofthis important program. It has beeninstitutionalized within the school,will continue in the coming yearsand can be easily replicated in othersettings.

BKBSIGP

Josiah Quincy

Elementary School

FY 93 - $7,574

Prindpal:

Bak Fun Wong

Project Director:

Michael DiCaprio

Target population:

135 Students, grades 3 - 5 and120 Parents

16

20

BKBSIGP "Patchwork of Dreams"Charles Sumner

Elementary School

FY 93 - $6,050

Principal:

Joseph Shea

Project Director:

Elaine Capobianco

Target population:

300 3 - 5 grade students,

30 parents

As at many inner city ^rhools,the Sumner Elementary School has alarge number of "at-risk" students.These are students who do not pos-sess the motivation to achieve in anacademic setting. They behave in adestructive manner; theydonotstayfocused on a particular task; they donot follow verbal directions. In short,these are the 'problem' students. Toencourage these students toward anorientation of what they can do, thePatchwork of Dreams program wasdeveloped.

17

The program was a primary re-search model program designed toilluminate the mles of diversegroupsof people on their mad to freedomand to offer an alternative learningenvironment to the 'at-risk' student.Quilts were the vehicle by whichstudents experienced an interdisci-plinary approach to "hands-on"learning, gained understanding ofthe truevalueof freedom, and sharp-ened critical thinking skills.

The year-long interdisciplinaryproject encompassed quilting, oralhistory, story telling, geometricmanipulatives, fine arts, and writ-ing. The subject matter of the pmject,The Underground Railroad, was ofgreat interest to the entire school.

Students signed a "Contract forSuccess" which helped to establishthe basic rules of learning. Quilt pat-terns which hung outside the "safehouses" to identify them to slavesheading North were reproduced.Students were taught basic handsewing skills and pattern design.They keptjournals of thequilt devel-opment. Classes were integratedduring computer classes and stu-dents worked together designingquilt patterns. A school-wide quiltdesigning contest was designed tocreate a sense of school spirit.

The culmination of the projectwas the fifih grade dass of 28 stu-dents traveling to Okham, SouthCarolina to meet the studelts fromthe middleschoo they worked with.The Sumner School won a contestfor the most quilti entered.

The project instilled a positiveschool climate based on successfullearning and was a great success.

21

B.EA.R. Write!

The B.EA.R. Write! project wasa schoolwide effort to recognize thegood writing of students and to havefun while doing it. The objectives ofthe project were: to foster studentself-esteem; to enlarge dassroom li-braries with books in Spanish andEnglish as models of good writing;to increase parental involvement;and to increase staff developmentopportunities.

Teachers met monthly with lit-eracy specialists from WheelockCollege to discuss themes and strat-egies and to share information andmaterials. Students wrote in Span-ish or English. Monthly assemblieswere held as a showcase for studentwriting. Student:9 were recognizedas Teddy Tobin Writers and receiveda Teddy Tobin pin-on button and aspecial pencil. Some classes coop-eratively developed Big Books, pre-sented them at the assemblies andwere awarded a Teddy Tobin rib-bon for their effort. Writinp weredisplayed on the bulletin board inthe school lobby along with a photo-graph of the reader. Parents in theFamily Literacy Project's ESL andGED classes were also invited towrite on the same themes as theirchild.

Authors visited the school tospeak with students about the im-portance of reading. Staff develop-ment opportunities were enhancedby establishing the Staff ResourcesCenter which now containsmulticultural literature, videos,Spanish and Englishchildren's booksfor read-alouds and models of goodwriting, professional literature andbook-making materials.

The project brought teachars to-gether to share their writing exper-tise and to overcome barriers be-tween primary and elementaryteachers and between bilingual andmonolingual teachers. The TobinSchool successfully implementedthis project with funding from theBank of Boston School InitiativesGrants Program for three years, andthe school plans to continue with theprogram in the future.

14,

4.

18

2 2

BKBSIGP

Maurice J. Tobin

Elementary School

FY 93 - $7,875

Principal:

Janet Short

Project Director:

Jean Egen

Target population:

School-wide

BKBSIGP "Violence and How It Affects Our Children"William H. Trotter

Elementary School

FY 93 - $7,800

Principal:

Muriel Leonaid

Project Director:

Margaret Wirth

Target population:

650 students

Violence and How It AffectsOur Children was developed bythe Trotter School to address thevery real existence of a culture ofviolence with which many childrenlive. Using a multi-disciplinary andcreative curriculum, teachers, ad-ministrators and parents taughtstudents alternative coping strate-gies that helped to enable them todeal in social situations. The themeof "harmony" was an integral partof the curriculum and the diversityof the student body made thistheme a reality.

Critical objectives of the projectwere to reduce the number of inci-dents reported among TrotterSchool students by encouragingand expanding in the school-widecurriculum upon the school motto"We Are A Circle of Friends"; tocreate a positive school environ-ment that rewards and encouragespositive social behaviors; to incor-porate the theme "Harmony" intoan interdisciplinary curriculumthat included literature, writing,language arts, music, art, social sci-ence and physical education; andto help parents recognize the manyways that violence impacts on theirchildren's lives and to use alterna-tive coping strategies.

19

The Trotter School contractedwith the Art of Black Dance andMusic, Parent and Children's Ser-vices, the Poobley Greegy PuppetTheater, and the Violence Preven-tion Project at Boston City Hospitalto provide students with a rich cul-tural experience and self-esteemand encouragement vehicles toenact change in children's behav-ior.

The Art of Black Dance andMusic provided instruction in role-playing to resolve situations thatare potentially problematic. Fourthand fifth graders served as rolemodels and peer advisors for theyounger children at the school. ADrug Education Counselor fromthe Upham's Corner Health Cen-ter spoke to students about the dan-gers of drugs and alcohol and astrong relationship with the Bos-ton Police Department was devel-oped.

Monthly writing themes ontopics such as "I respect my neigh-bor", "I am peaceful", "I have self-control", and "I am lovable" wereimplemented throughout the year.Parents participated in monthlyworkshops dealing with issuessuch as encouraging a child's self-esteem, sibling rivalry, coping overthe Summer holidays, and violenceon television.

Project Director MargaretWirth wrote, "The school climatethis year has definitely been en-hanced by the program. Everymember of the school family hasmade a commitment to reducingthe level of violence."

Violence and How It AffectsOur Children will continue in aca-demic year 1993 - 1994 with a Bankof Boston School Initiatives Grantin the amount of $5,000.

03

"Coming Together: A Thematic Approach" BKBSIGP

Joseph P. TynanIntegrating students at the

Tynan Elementary School is a pri-ority, and one approach used at theschool has been thematic teaching.The Coming Together: A ThematicApproach program helped theTynan School to change from us-ing isolated blocks of skills, e.g.reading, math, social studies, etc.to emphasizing developmentallyappropriate themes of interest tochildren in regular and special edu-cation.

The Project Director set up thefollowing measurable objectives forthe program: to develop a resourcecenter of readily available materi-als and equipment for teacher les-son planning in relation to themesselected; teacher training in devel-opment and creation of materials;instruct children in songs and mu-sic related ti vted themes; in-crease parent pinticipation; and topromote multicultural learning byincreasing studentawareness of thecontributions of diverse cultures inrelation to the themes selected.

The students wrote in journalsand read relevant theme relatedmaterials daily. Activities coin-cided with the various monthlythemes: harvesting/seeds; NativeAmericans and Thanksgiving; De-cember Celebrations, etc. Although

only one monthly theme was cho-sen for the entire school, such asOcean Life, each grade or class fo-cused on a different aspect of thetheme such as whales, sharks orwater fransportation. The chosenthemes provided the basis for in-troducing and reinforcing skills andbuilding a knowledge base.

Project Director KathleenVierbickas wrote, "Theme teach-ing allows children to learn con-cepts as a whole instead of seg-mented, unrelated skills. With eachtheme comes new and differentmaterials and resources. Thesebring changes to the learning cen-ters. Children's interest in the learn-ing centers is maintained as theycontinue to explore new activitiesand experiences and contribute totheir development. Even when atheme is repeated with otherclasses, it takes on a new scope."

Thematic teaching at the Tynanalso helped the school come to-gether as a whole. Since the schoolis architecturally isolated and di-vided into pods (grade level areas)separated by floor levels, workingon schoolwide themes provided acommon interest and dialoguewhich helped to overcome isola-tion between grades.

2f4): 4

Elementary School

FY 93 - $9,500

Principal:

Maurice Downey

Project Director:

Kathleen Vierbickas

Target population:

420 students

BKBSIGP "Role Models: The Right Route to Reading"West Roxbury

High School

FY 1993: $7,910

Headmaster:

Donald Pellegrini

Project Director:

Mary Ellen Bower

Target population:

400 students, grades 9 - 12

111110.-

.

,

When students consider them-selves to be inadequate readers,they can often develop low self-esteem. The reading deficit can spillover into all content areas and con-tribute to failing grades and theeventual dropping out of school.At West Roxbury High School, aprogram was developed to addressthis need and to encourage highschool students to learn to love toread.

Role Models: The Right Routeto Reading was designed to de-velop student motivation and in-terest in reading through children'sliterature. High school students

21

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

became involved with communityservice and were role models toelementary school.children in Bos-ton. WHRS students met two daysper week after school for "out inthe field" reading experiences atseven different elementary schoolsthroughout the year. Reading ma-terials focused on many differentcultures and backgrounds and pro-moted reading as an enjoyable andessential activity. For teachers, thisprogram provided an opportunityto learn different strategies andtechniques to teach reading. Forparents, it provided an opportu-nity to encourage reading at home.

As a result of this program, acommunity service learningproject, "Book Buddies" was initi-ated. Teachers presented readingaloud techniques using children'sliterature and assigned high schoolstudents to read to younger chil-dren. Students learned about writ-ing children's books and discussedthe various styles of writing atlength. The television productionclass at WHRS taped sessions ofstudents critiquing books that wereread and the entire school viewedthe tapes via the Whittle communi-cation vehicle Channel 1.

Project Director Mary EllenBower wrote, "Our projectWORKS! It's concept is simple butextremely fruitful. Students aremotivated to read and are learningthat reading is a skill they can enjoyfor the rest of their lives. Studentsare also beginning to realize thatby helping others they can also helpthemselves, their community, andfuture generations."

The Role Models program willcontinue in academic year 1993 -1994 with a Bank of Boston SchoolInitiatives Grant in the amount of$9,540.

25

HEART GRANTS(Hancock Endowment for Academics, Recreation & Teaching)

Supported by John Hancock Financial Services

The HEART Program targets the middle school yearswhen students are facing the critical transition from childhoodto adolescence. Funded projects focus on reaching under-achieving and "at-risk" students by providing motivatingacademic and recreational programs designed to help stu-dents achieve success, boost self-esteem, and fuel the incentiveto stay in school. Academic grants utilize mentoeng, individu-alized instruction, new technology, academic enrichment ac-tivities in non-school settings, and other innovative means tohelp students master basic skills.

HEART has funded over 165 projects in Boston publicmiddle schools. William Boyan, President and Chief Opera-tions Officer of John Hancock Financial Services stated, "It's anecessary program because it provides the bridge for youngpeople between middle school and high school to keep them inschool and ,active and interested in their own education anddevelopment. Most business people think about high schoolstudents entering the workforce, but the truth of the matter isthat the middle years are what build the foundation for futuresuccesses; they serve as the foundation for high school."

The HEART program has been working with middle schoolssince 1985. John Hancock Financial Services has become amajor advocate for middle school education in Boston. Twoyears ago, Hancock convened and hosted the first ever Bostonpublic middle school forum for principals, administrators andteachers. The forum created an important communication linkbetween the business community and school personnel. Dis-cussion revolved around future goals, strategies, and needswithin the Boston middle schools and how best HEART cantake on the challenges of encouraging excellence during thecritical middle school years. This has become an annual eventwhich will continue to provide additional relationships be-tween Hancock and the middle school level.

22

26

HEART "Math Tech"Joseph H. Barnes

Middle School

FY 93 - $4,702

Principal:

George Moran

Project Director:

Vincent Caristo

Target population:

150 students

Upon receipt of the math testscores for 1991, staff at the Umana/Barnes began to discuss ways inwhich to increasemathperformance.Parents, students, staff and adminis-tratorscollaborativelydeveloped theMathTech program to address theneed of offering students additionalassistance in the area of math duringschool hours. Students at-risk of fail-ing mathematics were given reme-dial and enrichment instructionthrough a combinationof computer,calculator,and television technology.Teachers used an integrated, hori-zontal-across the curriculum ap-proach to develop strategies that in-volved students in more real-lifeapplications of their studies.

23

Teachers identified students inneed of remediation and/or enrich-ment. Teachers and students werescheduled in such a way that prob-lem students were brought togetherfrom all classes into a math labora-tory once each day. Each teachertaught four regular math classes andone math lab per day. Students werescheduled to be removed from onlystudy periods.

Weekly evaluation of the stu-dents' progress took place.The num-ber of times a student was assignedto the math lab depended on theirprogress throughout the year. En-richment and exploratory work wasprovided through Apple IIGS com-puters, appropriate software,manipulatives and calculators.Teachers used the computers notonly for instruction, but also forprojcct record keeping, evaluation,scheduling and report generafion.The monthly school newspaper keptparents apprised of the projectsprogress.

Project Director Vincent Caristowrote, "Many times I had to gentlyurge students to stop their work aswe had run out of time. They did notwant to stop, but rather begged formore time in math! Students whohad shown little interest or effort inmath began arguing with theirfriends over math problems!"

Students became more enthusi-astic about their studies and askedfor increased time to workon projectsafter school. As a direct result ofMathTech, many students raisedtheir class average in math above a"D" for the very first time. Teachersfound that teaching in an interdisci-plinary, thematic manner was effec-tive and rewarding.

The Mattifech program willcontinuein 1993-1994 witha HEARTgrant in the amount of $5,475.

2 7

"Ambassadors to Success"

All sixth graders face difficultadjustments during their middleschool years as they evolve fromchildhood to adolescence and fromelementary to secondary school. TheCleveland MiddleSchool developedAmbassadors to Success to addressthis critical transition period . Fundedfor three consecutive years begin-ning in academic year 1991-1992, theprogram increased the percentageof students promoted to highergrades and provided alternatives tocounteract the negative effect thatneighborhood problems and peerpressure may have on students.Mentoring was used to provide nec-essary academic and emotional sup-port systems.

The project began with the in-coming sixth graders (in academicyear 1991 - 1992). Two teachers weredesignated as the lead mentors whoworked with adult mentors, whowere either members of the Cleve-land staff and/or parents, to discusstechniques, methods, and materialsneeded to implement the program.Lead mentors met with eighth gradeteachers to solicit referrals of stu-dents for the position of peer men-tors. Peer mentors were selectedbased on the following criteria: rec-ommendation by two or more teach-ers who had the student during theprevious year; a grade average of"C" or better in all subjects duringthe previousyear; the student's genu-ine interest in participating in theproject; and parental permission.

Peer mentors attended two train-ing sessions and were paired withmentees. The students worked to-gether after school two times perweek in the areas of English, read-ing, math, computer skills and othersocial activities. Special materials,group activities and field trips weredesigned to enhance the mentoringexperience and to help build posi-tive relationships between the stu-

dents. Both mentors and menteesprepareti and participated in an Aca-demic Decathlon competition to cul-minate the yeaes successful project.

In the evaluation of the program,the school used report card grades,parent surveys, meetings betweenlead and parent mentors, and meet-ings between mentors and mentees.The outcome was successful. Pro-gram attendance averaged slightlyhigher than the average 6th gradeattendance. The school saw a reduc-tion of referrals to Special Educationand in disciplinary referrals of stu-dents involved in the program. Theretention rate of students involvedin the program was high, and menteetardiness compared favorably incomparison with the school widepopulation. Teachers noticed thatrapport with students improved be-yond a traditional academic relation-ship.

The third year of the project willbegin in September, 1993 with a$4,000 grant from HEART. The sixthgraders who began with the pro-gram will now participate as men-tors during the year.

24

HEART

Grover Cleveland

Middle School

FY 93 - $4,500

Prindpal:

Mikel Sidberry

Project Director:

Francis Ahearn

Target population:

15 Middle School mentors

72 proteges

HEART

Clarence ItEdwards

Middle School

FY 93 - $5,250

Principal:

Charles McAfee

Project Director:

John Sousa

Target population:

560 students

"The Rising Stars Club"

Designed to motivate 6th, 7thand 8th graders regardless of theiracademic and physical capabilities,The Rising Stars Club was a combi-nation of athletics and academicsthat helped students to make posi-tive decisions about relevant ado-lescent issues. Students partici-pated in various activities afterschool building life long skills inleadership, sportsmanship, teambuilding and a commitment to in-dividual excellence.

The criteria for involvementwas arriving to school on time,working toward maintaining a "C"average or better in all subject ar-eas, and developing and maintain-ing a positive attitude towardschool, teachers, and classmates.Students participated in basketball,ping pong, aerobics, flag footballand floor hockey at all levels of theprogram including the advertise-ment, recruitment, development,implementation, maintenance andmanagement of the programs.Compiled statistics and pertinentinformation were distributed to thevarious disciplines for use in stu-

dents' scienceprojects, statisti-

cal analysis,writing top-

ics for

writing folders, reading compre-hension, critical thinking skills, theschool newspaper, and word pro-cessing.

Many students participated inthese activities for the first time,and all activities provided an op-portunity for greater multiculturalinvolvement and understanding ofboth racial and ethnic backgrounds.Students gained a sense of commit-ment to their school and the atten-dance rate for the school was one ofthe best in Boston.

School staff and administrationincorporated the concepts of holis-tic education and cooperative learn-ing within the school and the class-room. Throughout the school asense of pride and school spirit wasinstilled through the project.

Ms. Eleanor Tallent from theEdwards School Parent Councilwrote, "The program provided amuch needed vehicle to assist inincreasing and maintaining a highrate of school attendance in schoolspirit. Not only was I able to seestudents of diverse backgroundscome together to participate andenjoy after school activities, but alsoto see teachers line these athleticactivities with classroom instruc-tion."

The project willcontinue in academicyear 1993 - 1994 with a

grant from theHEART program inthe amount of$5,000. Activities

will continue asscheduled, with the ma-

jor change in the programbeing an appointed academic

coohlinator.

25n 9

"Student Incentive Program"

The Gavin Middle School dis-covered in the school's 1990 - 1991needs assessment that many stu-dents did not meet the require-ments of the academic and athleticprograms to receive schoolwiderecognition. This put students whomost needed alternative and extra-curricular programs in a non-participatory positionwhich reflected onclasswork, behavior,and their feelings ofschool involvement.The staff of the GavinMiddle School, underthe direction of theProject Director and AssistantPrincipal Joan Leonard, de-signed the Student IncentiveProgram to include the en-tire school population inthe development of men-tal, social, physical, andemotional well being ofall the Gavin's students.The specific goals of theproject were: to improvestudent behavior; to im-prove the atmosphere forteaching; to improve stu-dent self-esteem; to im-prove student/teacherrelationships; and toimprove students' ba-sic skills.

tering school late, getting a referralor suspension. Students retainingall of their merit slips were re-warded at the end of each quarterwith field trips, movies, or vouch-ers. Students were able to buy backlost merits through positive actionsand through the after school tutor-ing process. Many students whohad lost merits in the beginning of

the school year began to signifi-cantly improve in both aca-

*" demics and sociallythroughthe additional attention re-ceived after school andthrough peer encourage-ment.

Elaine Spellman,Gavin School teacher,

wrote about the stu-dents having to stay af-ter school, "Academic

help often led to timespent with the stu-dent discussingpositive ways to

change the behaviorswhich initiated the

time after school.She noticed achange in attitudeof many studentswho had been an-gry about stayingafter school. Manystudents left beingpolite, courteousand with a notice-able attitudechange. Also,

some students increased goals toattain quarterly rewards of honorroll, perfect attendance, and schoolcitizenship awards.

All teachers at-tended an orientationat the beginning of theacademic year to learnabout the Student Incentive Pro-gram. Letters were sent to parentsand the project was kicked off witha school wide spirit project. Eachstudent received one merit slip permonth of school, totaling ten. Stu-dents could receive additionalmerit slips for good behavior, suchas participation in class projects,teacher recognition, good atten-dance, academic improvement, etc.Students received demerits for en-

The project successfully in-creased student attendance by fos-tering positive self-esteem, in-creased parental and communityparticipation in school activities,and improved the overall instruc-tional progress.

2630

HEART

Patrick F. Gavin

Middle School

FY 93 - $4,650

Principal:

Joseph Lee

Project Director:

Susan Homan

Target population:

535 students

HEART "Bridge It"Solomon

Lewenberg

Middle School

FY 93 $4,997

Principal:

Thomas O'Neill

Project Director:

Karin Taylor

Target population:

535 students

,

ft_ttPRI

The Bridge-It project was de-signed in keeping with theLewenberg's philosophy of "Learnby Doing; Do by Learning. Stu-dents, faculty, parents and admin-istrators joined together in this pro-gram to learn the benefits of team-work, trust, diversity, enterprise,and achievement. The Lewenbergstudents had demonstrated enthu-siasm for adventure-based learn-ing prior to this program. Bridge-Itenhanced that enthusiasm by us-ing Project Adventure games andactivities to generate challenging,humorous, unusual, and dynamiclearning experiences.

Three full-day sessions of team-oriented,adventure-based learningwere held in the Fall of 1992 (oneday for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades).Activities requiring varying levelsof physical effort were scheduledsuch as moonball, the Lewenbergeggdrop, the jello drop and Bridge-It. All of the activities required acooperative team effort. Each clus-ter established World Records forall physical activities. All students

27

participated as peers along withfaculty and parents. Students,teachers and parents developed avideo documenting the Fall Bridge-It days.

The project began breakingdown the barriers set up byhomeroom distinctions, class leveldistinctions and the many culturaldifferences which exist in theschool. The objectives of the projectwere to successfully complete teamactivities and projects, increasepositive interaction between regu-lar, special education, and bilin-gual students at the same gradelevel, and to increase recognitionand interaction between studentsand faculty in different grades andclusters.

The project culminated in Maywith the construction of the"Lewenberg Bridge" as teamsworked from opposite ends to builda great bridge that met in themiddle. The half-day enterpriseincluded a celebration ofLewenberg's diversity, achieve-ments, and new "community"spirit.

Project Director Karin Taylorwrote, "Bridge-It Day impacted theschool by providing an opportu-nity for self-discovery. Studentsand staff learned how to work to-gether, overcome language barri-ers, adapt to different learningstyles, and directly reiate physicalactivity to the learning process. Theproject made school a place wherestudents wanted to be, to enjoylearning, to discover new friends,and to feel safe, successful, andproud of personal and teamachievements."

Bridge-It will continue in aca-demic year 1993 - 1994 with a $5,724HEART grant.

31BEST COPY WHAM

"Academic Renaissance Through Sports"

Low academic achievement,high dropout rates, chronic atten-dance problems, student body dis-cord in socialization and communi-cation, and a general apathy forschool and education in geneml wereall problems faced by the KingSchool. In 1990, the ARTS programwas developed as a way to improvestudent self-image, and to provide alink between the enthusiasm forachievement in sports to the aca-demic world.

Students were required to meetacademic and attendance standardsto participate. Special considerationand outreach activities were targetedtoward ineligible students. A tuto-rial program usingcomputers,coun-seling, and the use of teacher advi-sors to closely monitored these stu-dents throughout the year. Manystudents who were unable to partici-pate changed their behaviors to at-tain eligibility for the progratnwhichwas reflected in the school atten-dance figures.

The project activi-ties consisted of a sea-sonal schedule pro-viding a variety ofteam sports such asbasketball, floorhockey, volley ball,gymnastics, dance,aerobics, and aPresident's PhysicalFitness program. AProject Adventurecomponent wasadded to further in-clude the "at-risk"members of the school.

classes, and developing interview-ing skills with both the winners andthe losing team members.

Dramatic improvements in at-tendance, lower retention and fail-ure to promotion ration, dropoutratio, improvements in reading andmath scores, and school spirit werethe result of this program. Overallimproved student performance andincreased parental and communitypartidpationhelped theKing to meetits goals of becominga united school.

An awards ceremony was heldat theend of the year to maximize theimportance of participation. Incen-tive awards were given out to allstudents. The goals of meeting aca-demic and social needs of studentsthrough self-awareness and morepositive self-esteem were met. Ath-letics used as a catalyst to enhance are-birih of interest in the school wasa success at the King.

The academic componentof the program consisted of photo-documentationof theactivities, lead-ershipdevelopmentprograms,writ-ing and editing a sports page withthe language arts teachers, statisticalprint-outs in the computer and math

28

32

HEART

Marfin L King, Jr.Middle School

FY 93 - $2,425

Principal:

Stephen Leonard

Project Director:

Paul Connell

Target population:

550 students

HEART "TEAN Esteem"Lewis

Middle School

FY 93 - $5,524

Principal:

Brenda Jones

Project Director:

Mimi Forbes

Target populafion:

230 Students

The TEAN Esteem project wasdeveloped in an attempt to giveequal prestige to student participa-tion in athletics, extracurricularactivities, and academics. Theproject fostered teamwork by hav-ingall students work toward a com-mon goal of success and allowedLewis youngsters to master numer-ous skills. Promoting self confi-dence and self esteem in all stu-dents was a major objective of thisprogram.

Throughout the school year,students participated in learningvarious skills after school such ascraft projects, needlecrafts, dance,and drama. An athletic componentwhich fit into an overall academic /recreational program for studentsprovided swimming, aerobics, vol-leyball, softball and basketball, aswell as other sports. The total schoolproject involved a point system forall schoolwork. Points were re-ceived for completed homework

assignments, projects, good con-duct awards, etc. and were com-puted by students and maintainedon a bar graph chart. Attaining spe-cific point totals entitled classes tocertain prizes such as lunch servedby the principal, one free night ofno homework, an English class inthe park, etc.

Teachers met throughout theyear to assess the progress of theprogram and to coordinate efforts.A significant improvement in at-tendance was evident, as well as anincreased ability of students towork in groups and to help oneanother. Cooperative learninggroups were more successful dueto the fact that students had moretime working together and helpingeach other. Students were able tointegrate what they had learned inthe after school programs to theiracademic subjects, and student/teacher relationships improvedthrough small group sessions.

Project DirectorMimi Forbes wrote,

.4111k 4, "Staff morale in-creased because of the

....._,_ AM._

29

project. Often, thehub-bub of the schoolday and the rush tocomplete academictasks during the nor-mal time does not al-low teachers to workwith students in themanner that a relaxedafter school pace al-lows. Teachers wereable to see students inan entirely differentlight - as individualsand children."-

Tean Esteem willcontinue in academic year 1993 -.1994 with a HEART grant in theamount of $5,480.

33

"Bad Actors Workshop"

In October 1991, an informalassessment was conducted by thestaff at the Shaw Middle Schoolwhich reflected the need to developan additional vehicle for studentinvolvement in extracurricular/ar-tistic activities. The Bad ActorsWorkshop was designed to increasepositive outlets for the expressionof adolescent creativity and artisticability, to increase cooperativelearning and peer leadership in theschool, to introduce theater arts in-struction, oral presentation skills,and self expression opportunities.The program also focused on creat-ing a more positive school climate,additional image building activi-ties, and emphasized basic skillenhancement.

Both in school and after schooltheatre arts instruction and pre-sentations took place throughoutthe school year. Special needs stu-dents, regular education students,and "at-risk" students worked to-gether in a positive way to buildone another's self images, learnbasic skills, and be introduced toTheatre Arts. The adaptation andpresentation of three Modern/Classical plays took place. Activi-ties consisted of dramatic skillspractice, rehearsal, script develop-ment, and costume design. Peers,teachers, parents and communityrepresentatives attended the plays.Videos of the three productionswere completed and many weredistributed to parents.

During the course of the year,students participating in the pro-gram improved their grades dra-matically and truancies declined.Also, suspensions and failures de-creased. All special needs classesparticipated in the program in boththe preparation and performances.

ProjectDirectorStephenYoungwrote, "The Bad Actors Workshophad a tremendous positive unify-ing impact on the school. It helpedto integrate special needs, at-risk,and academically talented young-sters into school-wide projects. Itbrought the school a great deal ofpositive publicity and respect."

The Bad Actors Workshop willcontinue in 1993 - 1994 with a $4,625grant from the HEART program.

'

HEART

Robert Gould Shaw

Middle School

FY 93 - $5,050

Principal:

Edward Marbardi

Project Director:

Stephen Young

Target population:

265 students

BEST COPY AVAILABLE30

34

HEART

Phi llis Wheatley

Middle School

FY 93 $4,958

Principal:

Michael Anderson

Project Director:

Robert Forbes

Target population:

School-wide

"Wheatley Olympic Triathlon"

The Wheatley OlympicTriathlon was developed to add acooperative learning component toacademic and athletics at the schooland to improve the social interactivesldlls and self esteem of students.The program created an environ-ment where students were encour-aged to work together to help eachother succeed. By placing studentsin small heterogeneous groups,achievement increased, social skillsimproved and personal self-esteemwas promoted.

Each class in the school was ateam. Teams gained points for aca-demic, athletic and social progress.Points were computed and graphedweekly so that each team knew howthey were progressing. Teams were

able to redeem points for rewardssuch as class movies, pizza parties,dass trips, etc. Academic points weregained for homework assignmentscompleted, class projects, long termprojects, book reports, etc. Socialpoints were gained for perfect atten-dance, no student tardiness and co-operation among peers. Athleticpoints were gained for masteringskills in the intramural cooperativeprogram (five sports were offered).

All Wheatley staff were irainedin the use of cooperative learningand in the modification of teachingstyles needed to implement this typeof program.

By offering an after school activ-ity that directed student interest intopositive activities and promoted so-cial skills, the Wheatley MiddleSchool was brought together as acommunity. Project Director RobertForbes wrote about the program,"Some students who never passedin homework or brought a pencil toschool started trying to accomplish(the project) goals for the sake oftheir dassmaWs gaining points. Peerpressurebecame a positive reinforce-ment"

31

35

"Wilson Literacy Project"

The Wilson MiddleSchool, withan increasing student population ofHaitian immigrants, found they hadlanguagebarriers and a separate aca-demic program that created racialandcultural tensions. Americanbomstudents had little interaction withHaitian students and as a result, littleunderstandingof who they were andlittle or no understanding of theHaitian culture. The Wilson LiteracyProjectwas designed to provide tech-niques used to enhance cultural lit-eracy to enable students to becomeproficient in reading, writing andcommunicating, and to bridge thecultural gaps between ethnically di-verse groups in the school.

Through art projects, library re-search, field trips, storytelling, cul-tural celebrations and reading andwriting activities, students were ex-posed to various cultures. Plannedactivities such as a celebration ofChinese New Year and Haitian FlagDay were successful and helped stu-dents put into perspective their ownexperiences with holiday traditionsand customs. A program entitled"ALL IN ONE BOAT" providedcultural information to studentswhich sensitized them to culturaldiversity. A multi-cultural perfor-mance inwhich students shated theirknowledgeand understanding witheach other took place at the end ofthe year.

Teachers gained a greater un-derstanding and appreciation of thecultural diversity of the school'spopulation and were trained to pro-mote multicultural learning throughan interdisciplinary approach. Staffmembers had the opportunity toparticipate in workshops and in-ser-vice training on multiculturalism,cooperative learning, heterogeneousgroupings, and inclusion in educa-tion. Cultural consultants workedwith teachers to develop and imple-ment a multicultural curriculum fea-

turing music, dance and visual arts.This process allowed teachers to linkconnecting activities with the regu-lar classroom curriculum throughmonthly thematic units.

Parents were encouraged to uti-lize learning-at-home activity kitsthat focused on cultural diversity,radsm and discrimination to furthersupport fostering a positive school-communityclimate. Limited Englishspeaking and Haitian and Asianparents were provided with assis-tance from support staff who metmonthly with parents.

As a result of the program, amarked decrease in radal conflictsamong Haitianand monolingual stu-dents was seen. Students demon-strated a greater understanding ofand respect for one another. Thelearning process and overall schoolclimate was improved due to stu-dents' positive sodalization and co-operation within the classroom.

HEART

Woodrow Wilson

Middle School

FY 93 - $3,000

Principal:

Rosalyn Browne

Project Director:

Christine Hill

Target population:

210 students

32

36

MEININIENNINEMON

BEINUMINI

PROJECr ACIION

Project ACTION works with Boston public high school students todevelop student-run foundations. The project is designed to providestudents with a comprehensive educational experience that connects theirschool experience with the realities they encounter at home and in theirschool's neighborhoods. In addition, the project aims to recruit high-riskyouth and to integrate them into a successful working group with me-dium-risk and low-risk students. By bringing together students of differ-ent academic and social skill levels, an opportunity is created for studentswho are experiencing academic and/or social difficulties to interact andlearn from students who are experiencing higher degrees of academic andsocial achievements. By bringing together students of different racial,ethnic, and neighborhood backgrounds, the program seeks to build bridgesof communication and trust that will be capable of stopping racial, ethnic,and neighborhood conflicts before they begin. In Boston, high schoolassignments are citywide and often students are not familiar with theschool's immediate neighborhood. This program gets the students outinto the school's neighborhood and lets them learn about the community.

The Boston Plan for Excellence provides each selected school with atotal of $3,500. $1,500 of the funding is used as a stipend for a facultyadvisor. The other $2,000, along with a $500 match that must be raised bythe students, is intended to provide grants to neighborhood agencies and/or organizations which, in the students' opinion, best addresses theneighborhood needs that the students have identified through the imple-mentation of their community needs-assessment process.

In addition, The Boston Plan for Excellence provides substantialtechnical assistance including:

a detailed 24-session curriculumfaculty advisor trainingmonthly school visits

During academic year 1992 - 1993, the three Project ACTION schoolswere Brighton High School, Dorchester High School, and West RoxburyHigh School. Over 60 students were involved in the program. ProjectACTION schools awarded grants to the following organizations andprograms: St. Elizabeth's Hospital Children's Unit; Gang Peace; CodmanSquare Health Center; and the Path to Progress Program. Through thesegrants, teens were able to effectively address issues such as teen preg-nancy, infants born addicted to drugs or HD/ positive, gang violence, highschool drop outs, and keeping teens off the streets.

Loretta Roach, current Chairperson of the Project ACTION committeestated, "Project ACTION serves as a wonderful model of how Boston highschool students can be involved in community service and peer leader-ship. This translates to a positive school climate and growing awarenessof the needs of their community."

Project ACTION is supported by the Plan for Social Excellence, Inc.,and has received in-kind support from Northeastern University.

333 7

ACCESS

Created with an initial $1 million grant from The New England in1985, the ACCESS program eliminates barriers to higher education byproviding financial aid advising in every Boston public high school, "lastdollar" scholarships within our guidelines to eligible students withinguidelines to make up the difference between the total cost of attendanceand what a student has been able to raise from other sources. ACCESSprovides confinuing support through college including a monthly news-letter, personal and financial advice, and an emergency loan fund.

The continuing financial and personal support available to "ACCESSScholars" after they enter college is having a dramatic effect on retentionand graduation rates. Of the 1,100 ACCESS Scholars entering college since1985, nearly 80 percent either have graduated, or are expected to graduate.This retention rate is more than 50 percent higher than the rates for allcollege students nationally, and higher still than the separate nationalretention rates for inner city students.

In academic year 1992 - 1993, ACCESS Advisors saw over 1,500students individually, and another 2,000 in group workshops. ACCESSwill distribute over $500,000 in "last dollar" scholarships to both newACCESS Scholars and continuing Scholars in Fiscal Year 1994. The Pro-gram has provided financial aid advising to over 16,000 Boston public highschool seniors in their schools and awarded over $1.7 million in "lastdollar" scholarships. For every $1 that ACCESS contributes in scholar-ships, ACCESS Advisors help college-bound students leverage another $8from other sources of aid.

The ACCESS endowment has grown to over $6 million with majorcontributions from The Boston Foundation, American Student AssistanceCorporation (formerly Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Cor-poration), The New England, and more than seventy-five other corpora-tions, professional firms, foundations and business associations.

34 38

EOM=111/11111111111NM

PX4NumZEEMEM

MgtHISIMEM

Artrari

TaSelftairairarermailibMOV*.

Mr. William L Brown *Chairman of the Board (Retired)Bank of Boston

Mr. Francis H. ChangProgram OfficerKaiser Family Foundation

Dr. Daniel CheeverPresidentAmerican Student Assistance

Dr. Joseph CroninPresident, Bentley College

Mr. Alex d'ArbeloffChairman, Teradyne, Inc.

Mr. Lawrence S. Di CaraPeabody & Brown

Ms. Frieda GarciaExecutive DirectorUnited South End Settlements

Mr. Avram GoldbergChairman, The Avcar Group, Ltd.

Charles H. Gibbons, Jr.President & Ctdef OperationsOfficer

Pamela CH leyProgram Officer

Dawn SinclairACCESS Program Officer

Jeanette McCarthyController

TRUSTEES EMERITI

Ms. Mary Ann HardenbergCommunity Representative

Rev. Michael HaynesPastor, 12th Baptist Church

Mr. Arnold Hiatt.Chairman, Stride Rite Foundation

Honorable Julian HoustonAssociate JusticeSuffolk Superior Court

Ms. Ellen JacksonDirector Affirmative ActionNortheastern University

Mr. Peter McCormickPast Chairman, Bank of NewEngland

Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J.President, Boston College

Mr. E James MortonChairman & CEO (Retired)John Hancock Financial Services

STAFF

Fannie YoungAdministrative Assistant

Shelley AdamsACCESS Advisor

Mark HarrisonACCESS Advisor

Thomas LyACCESS Advisor

35

39

Dr. Daniel PerlmanPresident, Webster University

Mr. Edward E. PhillipsChairman (Retired)The New England

Mr. Rudolph PierceGoulston & Storrs

Dr. David Rockefeller, Jr.Chairman, Rockefeller BrothersFund

Mr. Miguel SatutVice President, Kresge Foundation

Dr. Miren Uriarte-GastonProfessor, University ofMassachusetts Boston

Mr. Thomas WinshipPresident, Center for ForeignJournalists

* Former Chairman

Terry Monroe-ElliottACCESS Advisor

Jose RosaACCESS Advisor

Celia WorrellACCESS Advisor

4 0