East Boston
With a commitment of over $250,000, BSF is helping to create over 200 more high-quality seats in East Boston and to provide East Boston families a true PK-12 pathway in their neighborhood. The Otis, PJ Kennedy, Adams, O’Donnell, Guild, and Bradley schools together serve over 1,000 English Language Learners, and support many of Boston’s newest residents with outstanding academics and family and community engagement.
Claire Carney, principal at the Bradley, shared how BSF’s funds directly helped them in this expansion process. Boston Public Schools expanded their facilities and funded new teachers, pairing with Boston School Fund’s resources provided the capacity to plan and implement effectively.
“When you talk about access to high-quality seats...planning directly impacts the outcomes. BPS gave us money on the facilities end of things, and for hiring new teachers, but if we don’t have teachers planning out their curriculum and giving money towards that we’re going to have a much more difficult time in actually being successful with students in the classrooms...
This is giving us the opportunity to have kids hit the ground running as opposed to a trial year where we make lots of mistakes.”
The grant allowed the Bradley and the other five schools to work collaboratively and share resources, tools, and knowledge in the expansion.
“BSF has given us a framework in which to operate, especially right now during COVID... BSF has empowered us as school leaders not only to take our role in the planning process really seriously but to not feel so siloed and isolated in our planning. We have a shared budget and notes of what we’ve done with those funds, we can give each other support and advice on what the next steps should be.”
Return to Five Years of Boston Schools Fund