Wallace Foundation to Fund Partners for Student Success
Grant of Up to $8 Million to Local Nonprofit Will Support Improvements in After-School For Boston’s Youth
Boston—Why children succeed or fail in school, and what can be done about it, is a central public concern. Consensus is emerging that schools alone cannot close the achievement gap, particularly when many of the barriers to success are not academic.
To further its work on behalf of Boston’s youth, Boston After School & Beyond (Boston Beyond) received a grant of up to $8 million over three years from the Wallace Foundation to strengthen out-of-school learning and help improve the systems to support it.
“Partners for Student Success” (PSS) is a multi-year initiative that aims to more tightly align in-school, out-of-school and community resources to ensure that struggling students get the support they need to succeed. PSS is led by Boston Beyond in collaboration with the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools, and philanthropic, nonprofit and civic organizations.
“Boston is a city of innovation, rich with educational and human resources,” said Stephen M. Pratt, President of Boston After School & Beyond. “And yet, many of our children are still falling through the cracks because these resources are not coordinated in an organized, systemic way. PSS is designed to connect the dots across the city so that Boston’s many assets can reach as many of our children as possible.”
PSS grew out of the recognition among city leaders, educators and philanthropists that schools alone - and academics alone - cannot address the student achievement gap in a meaningful way.
“Today, Boston Public Schools are places where children are achieving more and reaching new heights but we need to ensure that every Boston Public School student has the opportunity to achieve all that he or she is capable of,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “This grant from the Wallace Foundation will help Boston After School & Beyond and the City of Boston make sure every one of our students has the tools to succeed.”
PSS will be piloted in fifteen public elementary schools over the next three years, targeting schools that have failed to make “adequate yearly progress” as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act. A key feature of the initiative is the creation of a new staff position at each school—Manager of Extended Learning and Services (MELS). The MELS will serve as the liaison of services for the school.
Each of the schools will work with community-based organizations to build out-of-school time (OST) programming and other essential human services. Professional development and technical assistance components will be offered to PSS schools and OST providers over the course of the initiative.
The first five schools selected to participate are: the Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, the Condon Elementary School in South Boston, the Marshall Elementary School in Dorchester, the Tobin K-8 School in Roxbury, and the Winthrop Elementary School in Dorchester.
Each of the five schools showed many signs of strength, and all were determined to be “change-ready,” because of a variety of factors such as excellent leadership, a positive school climate, and a strong sense of strategic direction. What was lacking is an efficient system for connecting all of their students to the non-academic supports that facilitate learning.
A second group of five schools will be chosen by January 2007, and the third by January of 2008.
“Effective collaboration between schools and community-based organizations is essential to the success of our students,” said Thomas W. Payzant, Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. “Partners for Student Success will help these schools improve achievement among all students by creating seamless connections between their lives in and out of school."
While traditional case management serves one child at a time, the approach of PSS is to identify clusters of need within the student population, which then get matched with community resources. In addition to realizing significant economies of scale, this approach ensures that all children in the school, not just those who are struggling, have access to a variety of supports and opportunities.
“Across the country, cities are seeking better ways to provide high-quality out-of-school learning opportunities to children who need it most—through understanding need, aligning programs with those needs, and tracking participation,” said Nancy Devine, Director of Arts and Communities at The Wallace Foundation. “Boston is already recognized as a leader in after-school and for the steadfast commitment of its leadership. We hope that this grant will help Boston move even closer to its goals, and provide useful lessons for other cities.”
“Because of the leadership of Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and the work of Boston After School & Beyond, Boston is leading the nation in terms of children having a safe place to learn after school,” said Chris Gabrieli, Chairman of the Board, Boston After School & Beyond. “We’re proud that the Wallace Foundation will join the countless civic, non-profit and philanthropic organizations that support this important work.”
The Wallace Foundation
The Wallace Foundation is an independent, national foundation dedicated to supporting and sharing effective ideas and practices that expand learning and enrichment opportunities for all people. Its three current objectives are: strengthening education leadership to improve student achievement; enhancing out-of-school learning opportunities; and expanding participation in arts and culture. More information and research on these and other related topics can be found at The Wallace Foundation Knowledge Center at www.wallacefoundation.org or by calling 212-251-9810.
About Boston After-School & Beyond
Boston Beyond leads a partnership of the City of Boston and philanthropic, civic, and private sector organizations, designing and implementing an integrated youth development strategy for the children of Boston.
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