School News & Features

Community Day Students Earn Top Honors in Teen Writing Contest

Charter Newsline — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:12:29 +0000

Six students from Community Day Charter Public School (CDCPS) have been selected as winners of The Boston Globe Scholastic Art and Writing Contest, the most CDCPS students ever to win these awards in the same year.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Contest, entering its 90th year, is the nation’s oldest continuously run art and writing competition and is a source of scholarships for young artists. The Awards recognize student achievement in the visual and literary arts in 28 categories, including poetry, graphic design, fashion, science fiction, video game design and more. The Awards have acknowledged and inspired millions of students including Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Zac Posen, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates, who won when they were teens. There are over 100 regional programs across the country, offering students in grades seven through 12 an opportunity to submit their work for the chance of receiving scholarships and national recognition. In Massachusetts, the contest is run through the Boston Globe.

Commissioner of Education to Present City on a Hill Charter Public School with the 2012 Blue Ribbon School Award

Charter Newsline — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:50:05 +0000

In November, the U.S. Department of Education honored two representatives from City on a Hill Charter Public School with the 2012 National Blue Ribbon School Award in Washington D.C. based on its overall academic excellence. City on a Hill Charter Public School was one of only four schools in Massachusetts and 269 nation-wide recognized for this honor.

On Friday, February 15, 2013 the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester will be at City on a Hill to present the award to the entire CoaH community in a ceremony beginning at noon.

Film, "Doors Open," Features Three Innovative Schools

Charter Newsline — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:42:06 +0000

A new short film, “Doors Open” features three new schools that opened in the Fall of 2012: KIPP Academy Boston, a charter middle school launched by a national network of high-performing charter schools; Margarita Muñiz Academy, an Innovation School and Boston's first two-way bilingual Spanish-English High School; and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School, an "in-district" charter school and a partnership between a great neighborhood organization and a teacher training program modeled after medical residencies in teaching hospitals.

On its own, each school offers a compelling story – one of vision, mission, and bright hopes for kids. Yet, looked at together, they are also part of a bigger story about breakthroughs in old debates about public education. These schools were all made possible by new education legislation passed in 2010. “An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap” gave Massachusetts districts like Boston new tools for helping struggling schools, and also for expanding their portfolio of choices with new, innovative schools, like Muniz, Dudley, and KIPP Boston.

Doors Open from Barr Foundation on Vimeo.

SABIS Students Take Home Team, Individual Awards at Model Congress

Charter Newsline — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:36:33 +0000

SABIS Model Congress TeamSeventeen students from Sabis International Charter School in Springfield, MA recently competed in the 73^rd Model Congress of 2013. The students ranging from grades 9-12 took home 4 of the 11 individual and team awards along with over $100,000 in scholarship money.

Click here to read the story.

Senator Eldridge Visits Local Charter School

Charter Newsline — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:28:43 +0000

Senator James Eldridge (D-Marlborough) recently visited the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough to learn more about the school’s operations. Eldridge met with AMSA’s executive director, took a tour of the school’s campus and visisted three classes. Eldridge also attended the school’s “Back to the Future” event during which recent graduates return to talk about their college experiences and answer other students’ questions.

Boston-area Charter Public School Students Featured in Inaugural Video

Charter Newsline — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:22:09 +0000

Students from two charter schools in Hyde Park sent direct messages to President Obama in a national inaugural video “Hear Our Voice: A Children’s Youth Inaugural Address.” Students ranging from ages 5-17 at Academy of the Pacific Rim and Boston Renaissance tackled topics ranging from affordable health care, education, colllege tuition, gun control, hunger and school lunch programs.

Click here to watch the story on NECN.

You can watch the video below, or click here to watch it online and submit a video of your own.

The Importance of Character Education

Charter Newsline — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:18:40 +0000

In a recent interview on Radio Boston Scott Seider, assistant professor of education at Boston University argues that along with teaching writing, reading, and math, schools should also teach character. Three schools Seider recognizes for teaching character development to their students are Boston Preparatory Charter Public School, Roxbury Preparatory Charter Public School, and the Academy of the Pacific Rim.

Click here to read the story.

MLK Charter School students tackle philosophy

Charter Newsline — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:01:01 +0000

The second-graders at Martin Luther King Charter School of Excellence in Springfield are "showing wisdom beyond their years" as they tackle great philosophical questions as part of a philosophy program offered in partnership with nearby Mount Holyoke College. The program was the brainchild of Mt. Holyoke Professor Thomas E. Wartenberg and MLK Executive Director Alan Katz. Once a week, Professor Wartenberg and his undergraduate students read the young philosophers a classic children’s book to raise philosophical questions, which the young students then dissect and use to have thoughtful discussions.

Professor Wartenberg describes the children's progress, saying, "They're learning how to really reason and think deeply about various different questions."

The MLK program was recently featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition on WFCR, the NPR affiliate in Amherst.

Click here to listen to the segment (begins at 8:19).

Charter school finalizes plans to move into Lena Park Community Center

Charter Newsline — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 17:12:46 +0000

Brooke Charter Schools announced recently that it will move one of its network schools, Brooke 2, into a permanent home in Mattapan at the old Lena Park Community Center. The new building is scheduled to open in 2014, and will be part of a larger development on that site that will include a new community center, senior housing and a skilled nursing facility. Currently, Brooke 2 is located in South Boston.

Click here to read the story.

Voices of Renaissance sings at White House holiday party

Charter Newsline — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 17:06:54 +0000

For the second year in a row, students from the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School took a trip to Washington D.C. to perform at the White House. The Voices of Renaissance Choir - at the invitation of President and Mrs. Obama - entertained guests of the First Couple at a holiday reception on December 21. Under the direction of Ms. Evelyn Lee-Jones, the choir is made up of Renaissance students in grades three through six.

Click here to see a video of the choir singing at the White House.

Click here to read the Boston Globe story.

Click here to see the NECN story.