Progress and Promise: Lessons from the Boston Pilot Schools

1. Progress and Promise:Lessons from the Boston Pilot Schools Center for Collaborative Education January 2006

2. History of Pilot Schools • Pilot Schools are the result of a unique partnership between the Boston Teachers Union and the Boston Public Schools • They were created in 1994 to provide increased choice to Boston families and to serve as laboratories for innovation.

3. Pilot Schools Have Autonomy • Budget • Staffing • Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment • Governance and Policies • Schedule

4. Additional Key Features of Pilot Schools • Accountable • Small • Vision-Driven • Focused on Equity

5. Boston Pilot Schools Network • Same per pupil expenditure • Goal of being demographically representative of district students • Not selective by prior academic achievement or entrance exam

6. 1. Pilot high schools outperform the district average on every indicator of student engagement • Higher attendance rate • Lower out-of-school suspension rate • Lower district leaver rate • Lower in-district transfer rate

7. Student Engagement Findings

8. 2. Pilot high schools outperform the district average on every indicator of student performance • Lower grade level retention rate • Higher MCAS proficiency rates • Higher MCAS pass rates • Higher college enrollment rate

11. Percent

12. 3. Pilot high school demographics are representative of district enrollment. • Race/ethnicity • Free/reduced lunch eligibility • Mainstream special education • Substantially separate special education • English proficiency

13. 4. Pilot Schools achieve their results by using control over their resources to shape the school in three areas: • Instruction • Structure • Culture

14. Instruction • A core curriculum for all students • A competency-based approach to graduation • Integrated curriculum (e.g., Humanities) • Multiple forms of assessment

15. Structure • Small school size • Lower class size (18 students) • Low student-teacher loads (55 per teacher in secondary grades) • Long instructional periods • Significant amounts of collaborative planning time for faculty

16. Culture • Unifying vision • Professional collaborative culture • Shared decision making inclusive of staff, families, students • Focus on equity through use of data • Support for students (advisories)

17. Implications for High Schools and Districts • The Pilot Schools represent a powerful district - teachers union model of reform. • Autonomy and accountability go hand-in-hand. • School size is an important factor. • Autonomy and school size are not the solution in and of themselves, but critical ingredients of high school reform.

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