City on a Hill Wins National Recognition, Designated Blue Ribbon School

The U.S. Department of Education has named Boston’s City on a Hill Charter School to be a National Blue Ribbon School.  This award is given for overall academic achievement. City on a Hill was one of just four schools in Massachusetts and 269 schools across the country to receive the award. To win the award, officials put together data on performance and assembled detailed descriptions of the school's programs.

Click here to read the story.

KIPP Opens New School Building in Lynn

KIPP Academy Lynn celebrated the opening of its new school faciility, which will house KIPP Academy Lynn Middle School and KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate High School.  Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville, and Massachusetts Commission of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester spoke at the opening ceremony, held at the school on September 13th.  KIPP MA currently serves 588 students in grades 5-10, and hopes to grow to 850 students in grades 5-12 by 2015.

Click here to read the story.

Teachers at Charter Public Schools Disband Union

Teachers at the only two charter public schools to unionize recently decided to abandon their union representation. Teachers at Boston's Conservatory Lab Charter School formally voted to disband after they felt there was no longer a need for representation. At Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, there has been little activity and no negotiation on a contract since the bargaining unit was formed. Education leaders said that unions have had trouble organizing charter teachers because of the collegial atmosphere that exists in charters.

Click here to read the Boston Globe story.

Atlantis Charter Gets Results with Aggressive MCAS Strategy

Atlantis Charter School was featured in the Fall River Herald for implementing an intensive academic support program that has lifted MCAS scores significantly. The program focuses on ensuring Atlantis’ children have their emotional and social needs met to reduce issues that could spill into the classroom.

Click here to read the full story by the Herald News.

Mass Technology Leadership Council Honors AMSA Teacher

Kelly Powers, Computer Science department chair at The Advanced Math and Science Academy, was awarded the 2012 Workforce Development Award by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. Now in its 15th year, the MTLC Awards recognizes outstanding achievement in both the development and implementation of technology. The MTLC is considered one of the premier associations for innovative technology.

Click here to read the full story by the Community Advocate.