Congratulations to our School on the Move winners

Our friends at EdVestors have named the Joseph Lee Elementary School in Dorchester as the recipient of the 5th annual $100,000 Thomas W. Payzant School on the Move Prize. The award names the school that has shown substantial progress toward closing achievement gaps for all students. runners up this year were the Clarence R. Edwards Middle School in Charlestown and the Charles H. Taylor Elementary School in Mattapan, which each received $10,000!

EdVestors also released a report on the common practices that the group has found across all five schools that have won the School on the Move prize in the past. Here's what they found in each highly-successful school:

-Strong and collaborative leadership from principals with active involvement and support from teachers

-Collecting hard student data beyond district requirements and using that data to drive changes in curriculum and instruction on a continuous basis

-Balancing high academic and behavioral expectations of students with high levels of support beyond the classroom to address students’ academic, social and emotional needs

Here are some great links to read the full report and learn about why Lee Elementary was selected. Congratulations to principal Kimberly Curtis and all of our teachers and students!
(photo courtesy Don West)