Educational Vision r04a 9.28.16
Our guiding values articulate why we must evolve These are the three guiding values that we want embodied in everything we do at BPS. From the small actions we take day-to-day to the large decisions that will impact our district for years, we use these values to remind us of what we are working towards. Equity Coherence Innovation Eliminating system bias and Driving system logic and Building a culture of change in providing authentic learning consistency of expectations. an organization that generates opportunities for all students; We will create a system that is new solutions, rather than Students will have the ability to navigable by all and that simply continuing along experience excellence in their ensures every BPS experience established paths. We will keep own unique ways while achieving provides the same level of up with changes both local and equitable measures of success. quality. global by continually recognizing and evolving what and how students should learn to prepare them for future success.
Our vision for our students
By schools, I don’t mean only the conventional facilities that we are used to for children and teenagers, I mean any community of people that comes together…Some features of conventional schools have little to do with learning and can actively get in the way of it. The revolution we need involves rethinking how schools work and what counts as a school. It’s also about trusting in a different story about education. Ken Robinson, Creative Schools
Pushing BPS forward BPS students are the leaders, scholars, entrepreneurs, advocates, and innovators of tomorrow. Boston families deserve nothing less than a world-class education system of innovation, with welcoming schools that are working to transform the lives of all our children. This is what we are working hard to build within BPS.
The need for change
The demands of work today and in the future point to the need for change The job of BPS is to prepare our graduates to be productive in our communities, as successful workers and citizens. With the fast pace of change in today’s economy, it is necessary to step back and look anew at the world we are preparing our students to enter. We note the following key changes as we consider how to build an educational vision that will sustain our students as we confront this future. Insight Over Services Rule Pack for the The Post- Information Unknown Employer World In the wired society, It is projected that by It is estimated that 60% An on-demand knowledge lives in our 2018, 78.8% of jobs in of the jobs of the future landscape and the “gig pocket, not only in our the US economy will be do not yet exist, and the economy” continue to brains. The successful service-based. To thrive number of jobs a person trend. In this context, employee will have the in the service economy, can expect in a lifetime individuals need to have analytical mindset to be employees today need continues to increase. broad-based business able to distill and problem-solving and We must prepare our understanding, as they interpret information social skills and the students to continuously are increasingly from many sources. ability to connect across adapt, empowering responsible for platforms. them with the resources managing themselves to be able to flex to new as businesses-of-one. opportunities.
Our vision of the BPS graduate But career readiness is only one piece of our role. School is a practice field for the behaviors, skills and attitudes that our children will carry with them into their adult lives. With this goal in mind, we strive to develop students who are: Career Ready Equity Oriented Community Full of Agency Contributors Fundamental to our We don’t want to just We want students to Where do we learn work are the skills, climb the ladder, but to see themselves in about injustice? Where knowledge, and reach back and pull brilliant futures and to are the opportunity capacity necessary for others up. Our believe in their ability to gaps? The actions of college and career communities are a e ff ect change. School the adults, peers, and success. We must be reflection of ourselves, should help them systems in our lives are clear about what and our students are recognize the role and read daily and studied capabilities future critical in shaping what potential of the more closely than any workers will need and our communities look individual. textbook. BPS has the design our system to like over time. Our Success is a student ability to shape develop these in our schools are who experiences full significant elements of students. communities in enfranchisement. our students’ early themselves, and we experiences to speak practice daily what each better to the value of student can bring to equity. theirs.
In order for BPS students to graduate career ready, with an equity orientation, prepared to contribute to their communities and full of agency, we have to be clear about: What students will learn • How they will learn • Where they will learn; and… • … how BPS will organize itself
Instructional vision
BPS Instructional Core BPS students are the leaders, scholars, entrepreneurs, advocates, and innovators of tomorrow. Students will read The content will challenge • • Educators will create • widely, think critically, students to apply safe and welcoming and communicate standards-based learning environments e ff ectively. knowledge and skills to that a ffi rm our students’ real-life challenges that unique cultural and are authentic to the linguistic strengths. discipline. They will plan instruction that stimulates interest, presents content in di ff erent ways, and provides choices for students to demonstrate their understanding.
This instructional vision informs what our students will learn Based on our instructional vision we Personal Capacity have articulated three key areas of communication ! focus, which will form the emphasis for collaboration ! education in our district. Our teaching grit ! and learning will support each of these critical thinking ! categories. creativity & problem-solving ! social intelligence ! self-regulation & reflection ! goal-setting & planning ! Core Knowledge Life Skills Math ! financial literacy ! English Language Arts ! media savvy ! science, technology & citizenship ! engineering ! health & wellness ! history and social studies ! business literacy ! world languages ! technology literacy ! career-technical skills ! professionalism ! arts !
The need for equity & coherence
Implications for our school environments
We are transforming an old model
Our instructional vision dictates requirements for our spaces This instructional vision impacts our teaching and learning, our system-level areas of focus, and our school environments. To achieve this vision, we have established key principles to drive the design of our spaces. Flexible Sensory Contextual Systemic Our district is comprised of Our infrastructure requires Our existing spaces often Dissolving boundaries, largely old buildings in diverse that we work within prioritize the intellectual life whether physical, neighborhoods across a constraints. We also know of the individual. We want organizational, or mental, dense urban landscape. We that the perfect school our spaces to recognize that opens up new opportunities must be imaginative in today could be outdated learning is not just to achieve our objectives. applying our vision to the tomorrow; the pace of intellectual, but a physical, We must think systemically context of our district and our change in the world requires social and emotional as we seek to achieve our specific schools. We also us to create spaces that will experience, and that to educational vision, looking must recognize the unique flex to meet future demands. educate, we must engage beyond the unit of the aspects of individual This means that all our our students’ senses and classroom — or even the communities and spaces, whether new or personalities as well as their school — to find new ways neighborhoods within our city, existing, must be agile and minds. to give our students the creating opportunities for our serve multiple purposes. experiences we want them schools to reflect this to have. diversity.
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