How can my son/daughter apply for a seat in the school?

How will students be selected for TechBoston Academy, and how many will beselected?

What is the calendar and schedule for a typical day at TechBoston Academy?

What kind of curriculum will TechBoston Academy offer?

What kind of technology skills will my son/daughter learn?

I read that community service and internships are big parts of the school. What is the structure for these programs? Will my son/daughter be paid for doing it?

Where will TechBoston Academy be located and what kind of transportation will be provided?

My son/daughter plays a sport. Will there be sports teams at the TechBoston Academy?

Will my son/daughter get college credit for the courses he/she takes at TechBoston Academy?

How will TechBoston Academy help students with the college application process?

Can my son/daughter transfer into TechBoston Academy for their sophomore or junior year?

What role will parents and the community have in the student experience at TechBoston Academy?

What kinds of approaches to teaching and learning will TechBoston Academy take?

What are Informational Technology (IT) Pathways?

How is TechBoston Academy addressing the needs of students with special requirements, who are bilingual, and advanced?

How is TechBoston Academy different from other schools?

What is TechBoston Academy's background?

How will the students' work towards their goals be assessed?

What support services will TechBoston Academy offer?

What are the requirements for my son/daughter to graduate from TechBoston Academy?

How can my son/daughter apply for a seat in the school?

On June 03, 2002, the Department of Implementation will circulate a letter to all 8th graders in Boston Public Schools about TechBoston Academy. For more information, parents can contact your local Parent Information Center.

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How will students be selected for TechBoston Academy, and how many will be selected?

Students will be chosen randomly from the pool of eligible applicants. Before entering the lottery students and parents should agree to the extended day, extended year calendar. The only eligibility requirement will be that each student must be eligible for promotion to the 9th grade (by June 30) as specified by Boston Public Schools' standards. There will be approximately 75 students per class, meaning there will eventually be 300 students total.

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What is the calendar and schedule for a typical school day at TechBoston Academy?

TechBoston Academy will operate year-round with block scheduling.
A typical school day will last from 8:30am until 4:30pm, with the afternoon block directed towards individual student needs and interests. During this time students could, for example, get one-on-one tutoring or do extra-curricular activities.
TechBoston Academy will be in session all year, with December, February, and April being extended vacation months. July will be used for a combination of academic camp and out-of-building community service.

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What kind of curriculum will TechBoston Academy offer?

TechBoston Academy will offer students a wide range of curricula, including Integrated Humanities (Language Arts, Writing, Literature, History and Social Studies); Math (Algebra, Geometry, Statistics and Probability, and Calculus); Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics); Art; Music; Foreign Language; as well as Health and Fitness programs. Students will have the opportunity to to take a variety of Advanced Placement (AP) courses as well as courses at local community colleges during their 3rd and 4th years. The curricula will align to both the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework sand the Boston Public Schools Learning Standards. TechBoston Academy will meet and exceed all high school requirements established by the Boston Public Schools and align its courses to CLEP (College-level Examination Program) and AP standards so that motivated students can begin earning college-credit for their high school classes.

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What kinds of technology skills will my son/daughter learn?

At TechBoston Academy students will develop skills required for success in both post-secondary school studies as well as careers. To this end, all academic courses will actively emphasize usage of a wide range of technology in the classroom. Students will become familiar with a variety of tools that will allow them to seamlessly transition from the classroom to advanced studies and/or the workplace. Students will be use a variety of technology tools such as laptops, hand-held devices, graphing calculators, smart boards, et cetera. In addition, all students at TechBoston Academy will be required to pursue an Informational Technology (IT) pathway which allows them to focus on a specific technology area during their final three years. Examples of IT Pathways include Networking, Information Systems, Multi-Media/Web Development, and Computer Programming/Application Development.

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I read that community service and internships are big parts of the school. What is the structure for these programs? Will my son/daughter be paid for doing it?

Community service and internships will be essential to students' experience at TechBoston Academy. The purpose of these experiences is to allow students to practice their emerging IT skills, broaden their awareness of career opportunities, stimulate their interest in and commitment to their own learning and to post-secondary education, and cultivate appropriate business, community, personal and social skills. During the final school years, internships will be more intense and may occupy as many as four afternoons each week. This will provide students more opportunities to connect with the many dimensions of the chosen IT pathway, ensuring that students who decide to remain in that field for further education or a career will be adequately prepared. Depending on the type of internship, students might receive a stipend for their participation. Community service will typically be done during the summer following 9th grade, with internships being done in the summers following 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.

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Where will TechBoston Academy be located and what kind of transportation will be provided?

During the 2002-2003 academic year TechBoston Academy will be located at 20 Warren Street in Brighton, at Taft Middle School. The recommended form of transportation is the MBTA (subway or bus). The T stop closest to TechBoston Academy is Warren Street, off the Green Line, branch B. Directions are below:

By MBTA:
From Kenmore Station take Bus #57 to the Warren Street stop. Taft Middle School is in front of the hill and Brighton High School.
From Dudley Square or Roxbury Crossing Stations take Bus #66 to Union Square, then take Bus #57 towards Watertown/Oak Square to the Warren Street stop, as above.
From Park Street take the Green Line-B Train to the Warren St. trolley stop. Follow Warren Street to the right for 1/8 mile.

By Car:
From the Mass Pike ( Rt. 90 E or W), take Exit 20 for Brighton/Cambridge. After the toll, follow the signs for Allston/Brighton. This will lead to Cambridge Street. Go through 5 lights to Union Square. At Union Square, go straight, staying on Cambridge St., to the left of the Twin Donuts. After the 3rd light you will see Taft Middle School.
From Storrow Drive West, take the exit for Western Avenue. Take a left at the end of the exit onto Cambridge Street. Follow directions above.

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My son/daughter plays a sport. Will there be sports teams at the TechBoston Academy?

Since the inaugural class at TechBoston Academy will only have 75 students, it is unlikely that there will be any sports teams during the first year. However, every effort will be made to develop a variety of extracurricular activities, including athletic teams, in the years to come.

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Will my son/daughter get college credit for the courses he/she takes at TechBoston Academy?

TechBoston Academy will align its courses to CLEP (College-level Examination Program) and AP (Advanced Placement) standards so that motivated students can begin earning college-credit for their high school classes.

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How will TechBoston Academy help students with the college application process?

TechBoston Academy will provide students with college tours, help with completing college applications, information about financial aid, and a host of other post-secondary education information and assistance. Students will be linked with area-based colleges before they leave high school for many purposes. For example, agreements will be made for TechBoston Academy students to take or audit college courses. They might also attend a class in order to decide about a potential college major, or to observe campus and dormitory life to help them make decisions about the type of college environment that they might desire. It is expected that 100% of TechBoston's 2007 graduating class go on to a two- or four-year college.

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Can my son/daughter transfer into TechBoston Academy for their sophomore or junior year?

Only rising 9th graders (students having just completed their 8th grade year) will be eligible to attend TechBoston Academy.

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What role will parents and the community have in the student experience at TechBoston Academy?
Parents and guardians, local businesses, higher education institutions, community organizations, neighborhood groups, health agencies, and cultural and religious organizations are invited to become a part of the school's learning network. To date there are already commitments from a range of community organizations to work with the school in terms of lending guest speakers, hosting presentations and site visits, arranging internships, donating equipment and providing other supports. Businesses like Cisco, Sun, Apple, IBM, Lotus, Oracle, HiQ, and Microsoft, and organizations such as Jobs for the Future, Boston Private Industry Council, City Year, Citizen Schools, Boston Public Library, and Boston University have endorsed and supported TechBoston Academy.

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What kinds of approaches to teaching and learning will TechBoston Academy take?

TechBoston Academy is founded on the belief that all students in the Boston Public Schools can learn and meet high standards. A variety of teaching and learning approaches will be used accomplish these goals, including Project-based learning, the Competency-Based approach and technology as a tool for learning.

• Project-based learning involves small groups of students working together to develop a project or product that will be a potential solution to a stipulated problem or assignment. The learning derives from the need to apply conceptual knowledge to real situations, think and act sequentially, develop and test hypotheses, observe outcomes, anticipate effects and achieve a particular result.
  
  

• The competency-based approach articulates and makes explicit the specific skills and competencies students need to acquire and demonstrate in order to reach specific academic goals. Competency-based education means that students will often progress at different rates, which is appropriate and expected since the purpose is for all students to reach the same final goal, not for only some to finish by a specified time. Competency-based education ensures that those students with a range of learning abilities and needs are allowed to work at their own pace without compromising the goal of meeting all the required competencies.
  
  

• Technology is used both as an instructional tool for teaching and as the subject of learning - as both a means and an end. Over the last five years, the TechBoston initiative and the LINC Plan have demonstrated that technology enhances project-based and competency-based educational approaches. It offers students multiple ways to learn, a range of timeframes within which to reach academic goals, and makes full use of all major senses, auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Students will be active in their own learning process, using their own preferred learning styles and interests as the key to expanding their frontiers of knowledge.
  
  

• Internships and Community Service will be critical venues for student learning. The purpose of the internship and community service experience is to allow students to practice their emerging IT skills, broaden their awareness of career opportunities, stimulate their interest in and commitment to their own learning and to post-secondary education, and cultivate appropriate business, community, personal and social skills.
  

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  What are Informational Technology (IT) Pathways?
  
  Every student will choose a school-to-career Informational Technology (IT) pathway while at TechBoston Academy. The IT pathway is a field of focus analogous to a collegiate major. During their four years at TechBoston Academy, students will participate in a graduated series of internships with local businesses, public institutions, and other enterprises where they will gain broad exposure to a variety of technology fields and entrepreneurship opportunities. By participating in a career pathway, students will prepare for further education, a career, or a combination of the two.
  
  Possible IT Pathway choices:
  
  

  IT Pathway	Earlier Years	Upper Years
  Networking	Computer Concepts; Fundamentals of Networking and Computer Repair/Unix/Windows 2000 Server	Cisco Networking Academy
  Information Systems	Computer Concepts; Fundamentals of Networking and Computer Repair/UNIX/Windows 2000 Server	Net+ or Oracle Internet Academy (Database Admin); MOUS/Adobe Applications
  Multimedia/Web Development	Computer Concepts; HTML/Adobe Photoshop/Design/Flash	Flash/Adobe Premiere/Adobe GoLive/Adobe Photoshop Advanced/ Dreamweaver/Scripting; Oracle Internet Academy
  Computer Programming/Application Development	Computer Concepts; Visual Basic/C++	C++(AP); C++/Sun Java; Oracle Internet Academy(PL/SQL)/ Oracle Java

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  How is TechBoston Academy addressing the needs of students with special requirements, who are bilingual, and advanced?
  
  Since TechBoston Academy's enrollment will mirror that of Boston Public Schools, we expect a diverse student body. There will be students who speak English as a second language. The technology used at TechBoston Academy will provide a 'universal design' -- no barriers -- so all students, including special education and bilingual students, will have full access to the learning opportunities offered at the school.
  Since the school will not have students placed into traditional grades, and students will progress at their own rate, students who demonstrate the need, interest and ability for advancement might become involved in extra projects or be placed in internships sooner than other students. Advanced learning opportunities on-line will be explored for these students. They might be selected to mentor or tutor other students. They might reach graduation requirements sooner and earn their diploma earlier than within the typical four-year time frame.

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  How is TechBoston Academy different from other schools?
  
  TechBoston Academy is a unique, small high school that realizes in practice the goals of Focus on Children II, the six essentials of Whole School Improvement, and the goals of Boston's approved proposal to the Carnegie Corporation, Focus on High Schools. The innovations of TechBoston academy will include:
  

• A model small high school where technology is infused into all student learning;
  

• Internship experiences for all students;
  

• Year-round calendar and longer school day;
  

• Leading BPS school deploying the MyBPS portal to facilitate student, teacher, and     parent connections;
  

• First high school site for Technology Goes Home @ School, training parents and     students together and placing technology in homes;
  

• Professional Development School for training veteran teachers and teacher interns;
  

• Pioneer in teacher development of and school use of online curriculum.
  
  

  The school calendar, block scheduling, common faculty planning time, professional development and the trimester schedule are all features not typically found in combination in most other schools. Students will have an active role in determining their own educational program, working with advisors to create a mutually beneficial plan of study. Also, students will not be placed in traditional grades and will instead be evaluated based on progress towards their graduation requirements.
  

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  What is TechBoston Academy's background?
  
  The impetus for TechBoston Academy grew within the context of Boston Public Schools commitment to systemic educational reform. This reform was represented by the goals of several organizations, including the Model Secondary Schools Project (MSSP) and the Learning and Information Network for the Community (LINC). Both of these groups sought to show that using technology, if used effectively, had powerful positive effects on student learning outcomes.
  
  On November 3, 2001, Superintendent Thomas Payzant and Mayor Thomas Menino together launched LINC 2 the Future, a new five-year technology, teaching and learning plan for the Boston Public Schools. LINC 2 breaks new ground by providing a MyBPS portal to Boston's students, teachers, administrators, and parents that will foster home and school communications and on-demand learning. In addition, LINC 2 will support the scale-up of Technology Goes Home @ School, the City of Boston initiative to train parents and students together for technology and to place computers in the home.
  
  TechBoston, begun in 1999, originally provided technology-based courses for BPS high school students to learn current technical skills for their own career development. TechBoston, unique to Boston, is an outgrowth of Boston's technology initiatives, and is an award-winning and nationally recognized program. The first students in the US to pass industry certification tests in a range of informational technology areas such as web design and networking were graduates of TechBoston.
  
  

  The extension of TechBoston Academy to a full-time secondary school is being launched within the overall context of the BPS commitment to systemic reform as articulated in Focus on Children II: Boston's Education Reform Plan 2001-2006, adopted by the Boston School Committee in April 2001. Focus on Children II (FOC2) summarizes the accomplishments of the first five years of Boston's commitment to systemic reform under the leadership of Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant. It outlines the strategies for the next five years, which build on the experience, learning, challenges and success of the previous five years.
  

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  How will the students' work towards their goals be assessed?
  
  Students at TechBoston Academy will be assessed in a variety of ways:
  
  

• Grades -- Traditional grades for subjects will be given to provide clarity for parents     and colleges. Report cards will also include a narrative description of the student's     performance and achievement of competencies and skills.
  

• Standardized Tests - The performance of students will be measured by standardized     tests. Tests will include the PSAT, SAT, Stanford 9, and the MCAS.
  

• Industry Certifications -- In their high-tech pathways, student will have the opportunity     to take exams leading to certifications recognized by the technology industry such as     CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator), Oracle DBA (Database     Administrator), Sun Java and A+ Hardware.
  

• Internship Performance -- Students will receive several evaluations and performance     reports for their internships, as field placements will be key to their applied learning.
  

• Exhibitions -- Students will exhibit their projects to juries of their peers, teachers, and     external expert and community reviewers. Students will demonstrate their knowledge,     explain and defend the project's content, their ideas, and their presentation skills.
  

• Digital Portfolios -- All final work and projects done at TechBoston Academy will be     kept in a Digital Portfolio that will demonstrate to colleges and potential employers     what the student is capable of doing.
  
  
  

  What support services will TechBoston Academy offer?
  
  Since the student/teacher ratio at TechBoston Academy will be lower than most public schools in Boston (1 teacher for every 20-25 students) each teacher will function as both a teacher as well as an advisor. Faculty will be able to offer personal and academic counseling as well as make referrals to outside agencies for psychological counseling or evaluations. A Support Specialist will have primary responsibility for ensuring that all staff is trained in offering counseling as appropriate along with their instructional and advisory duties. Tutors will also be available after school for students who require extra help or for those students who desire extra, advanced work. Mentors from the community as well as upper-level students will further offer tutoring and other one-to-one assistance on a range of matters and academic issues. Students in internships will receive extra help from their workplace mentors/supervisors. The longer school day and blocks of learning versus typical 42 minute periods will additionally offer students the opportunity to receive increased and more intensive help on academic subjects as well as personal counseling.
  

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  What are the requirements for my son/daughter to graduate from TechBoston Academy?
  
  Students at TechBoston Academy will meet and exceed the Boston Public Schools high school graduation requirements: 4 years of English, 4 years of Mathematics (including passing Algebra I), 4 years of History/Social Studies, 4 years of Science, Physical Education, Health, Music, Language, and Art. TechBoston Academy will also require students to complete at least one Information Technology Pathway, a community service experience, and consecutive successful Internship programs.
  

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