BOSTON – President Obama, along with Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, paid a visit Tuesday to the TechBoston Academy in Boston, Mass.
TechBoston Academy (TBA) is one of the success stories in the Boston public school system that perhaps best exemplifies Obama’s vision for reforming the country’s education system. The administration’s goal is to meet the tough economic challenges of the 21st century, out-educate the competition to win the future, and what the White House calls a “shared responsibility for education.”
The president outlined in a speech his commitment to invest in the education system. “What’s happening here [at TBA] is working. We know what works. What’s required, then, to get results from any school is no longer a mystery,“ Obama stated. ”And that means there can’t be any more excuses—from anybody. As a nation, we have a moral and economic imperative to give every child the chance to succeed.
“And that’s why I set a goal when I took office, that by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. We will be number one again.”
TBA is a 6th-12th-grade pilot school in an urban setting with a student body comprised largely of blacks and Hispanics from low-income backgrounds and tough neighborhoods, where English is not the first spoken language in many homes. TBA’s student population comes from 15 countries speaking 37 different languages with just as diverse a culture.
TechBoston split from the former Dorchester High School, which was on the verge of being taken over by the state due to poor academics. With a $400,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation it has grown from 75 students in 2002 to 785 today.
Though many students arrived at TBA trailing behind their peers academically, they have shown improvement, were able to catch up, and attend college. The TBA graduation rate is 82 percent compared to an average graduation rate of 63 percent in the Boston Public School district. About 95 percent of graduates go on to attend two- and four-year colleges and universities (85 percent are first generation college students).
What sets TBA apart is its innovative approach, incorporating technology into every classroom; providing access to cutting-edge curriculum; greater autonomy for decision making within its own school, and establishing partnerships with philanthropic and business leaders to provide its students a powerful educational program.
“We’re also trying to give school districts more flexibility to open charter schools and pilot schools like TechBoston, so that they have the flexibility, [and] the autonomy, to do what’s best for students,“ President Obama said. ”We’re working to make sure every school has a 21st-century curriculum like you do.”
TechBoston Academy’s high test scores, graduation rate, 21st century technology-ready curriculum, and successful public-private partnerships make it a model for the nation’s schools. Obama’s new education initiative also calls for $90 million in funding for the creation of a new grant competition next year called the “Advanced Research Projects Agency–Education” (ARPA-ED) that pursues breakthroughs using technology to empower learning and teaching.
Obama is also seeking extension of the “Investing in Innovation” (i3) program with a $300 million competition for projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The president also stressed the importance of teachers, “Because we know that the single most important factor in a student’s success after their parent is the person standing at the front of the classroom; we are looking to make teaching one of the most honored professions in our society.”
TechBoston Academy (TBA) is one of the success stories in the Boston public school system that perhaps best exemplifies Obama’s vision for reforming the country’s education system. The administration’s goal is to meet the tough economic challenges of the 21st century, out-educate the competition to win the future, and what the White House calls a “shared responsibility for education.”
The president outlined in a speech his commitment to invest in the education system. “What’s happening here [at TBA] is working. We know what works. What’s required, then, to get results from any school is no longer a mystery,“ Obama stated. ”And that means there can’t be any more excuses—from anybody. As a nation, we have a moral and economic imperative to give every child the chance to succeed.
“And that’s why I set a goal when I took office, that by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. We will be number one again.”
TBA is a 6th-12th-grade pilot school in an urban setting with a student body comprised largely of blacks and Hispanics from low-income backgrounds and tough neighborhoods, where English is not the first spoken language in many homes. TBA’s student population comes from 15 countries speaking 37 different languages with just as diverse a culture.
TechBoston split from the former Dorchester High School, which was on the verge of being taken over by the state due to poor academics. With a $400,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation it has grown from 75 students in 2002 to 785 today.
Though many students arrived at TBA trailing behind their peers academically, they have shown improvement, were able to catch up, and attend college. The TBA graduation rate is 82 percent compared to an average graduation rate of 63 percent in the Boston Public School district. About 95 percent of graduates go on to attend two- and four-year colleges and universities (85 percent are first generation college students).
What sets TBA apart is its innovative approach, incorporating technology into every classroom; providing access to cutting-edge curriculum; greater autonomy for decision making within its own school, and establishing partnerships with philanthropic and business leaders to provide its students a powerful educational program.
“We’re also trying to give school districts more flexibility to open charter schools and pilot schools like TechBoston, so that they have the flexibility, [and] the autonomy, to do what’s best for students,“ President Obama said. ”We’re working to make sure every school has a 21st-century curriculum like you do.”
TechBoston Academy’s high test scores, graduation rate, 21st century technology-ready curriculum, and successful public-private partnerships make it a model for the nation’s schools. Obama’s new education initiative also calls for $90 million in funding for the creation of a new grant competition next year called the “Advanced Research Projects Agency–Education” (ARPA-ED) that pursues breakthroughs using technology to empower learning and teaching.
Obama is also seeking extension of the “Investing in Innovation” (i3) program with a $300 million competition for projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The president also stressed the importance of teachers, “Because we know that the single most important factor in a student’s success after their parent is the person standing at the front of the classroom; we are looking to make teaching one of the most honored professions in our society.”
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