Boston School Committee approves pilot school expansions

BOSTON – The Boston School Committee last night approved Superintendent Carol R. Johnson’s recommendations to open three new pilot schools in Boston next September. Along with several other pilot school expansions approved earlier this month, the measures will result in the creation of nearly 2,000 new seats for students to attend pilot schools, an increase of nearly 25 percent.

Pilot schools are the result of a unique partnership launched in 1994 among Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston School Committee, Superintendent, and the Boston Teachers Union (BTU). Considered “in-district charter schools,” pilot schools are part of the school district but have autonomy over budget, staffing, governance, curriculum/assessment, and the school calendar to provide increased flexibility to organize schools and staffing to meet the needs of families.

The School Committee approved the following new pilot schools:

· The Boston Teachers Union (BTU) Pilot School will open in Jamaica Plain next September with kindergarten through grade 2, as well as grade 6 classrooms, eventually becoming a full K-8 school.

· The Mary Lyon Pilot High School in Brighton will serve high school students beginning with the addition of grade 9 next year. The school will serve students from the existing Lyon K-8 School, which operates a full inclusion model for students with and without disabilities.

· The Dennis C. Haley Elementary School in Roslindale is converting to a pilot elementary school beginning next year.

Earlier this month, the Committee approved recommendations in Superintendent Johnson’s “Pathways to Excellence” plan to expand two other existing pilot schools:

· The Young Achievers School of Mathematics and Science, a K-8 pilot school currently in Jamaica Plain, will expand and relocate to Mattapan, in the building currently occupied by the Lewenberg Middle School.

· TechBoston Academy, a pilot high school in the Dorchester Education Complex, will expand to serve middle school students in grades 6-8, in the current Wilson Middle School building.

As a result of the “Pathways to Excellence” plan, the Boston pilot schools network will now include 24 schools, serving more than 9,000 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12.

For more information about pilot schools, vist the pilot schools page.

Pictured here: TechBoston Academy students on a field trip to Spectacle Island.