Case Studies

Boston Collaboratory School

Boston Collaboratory School (BoCoLab) is a model for an innovative school that is student-centered and culturally responsive. The school is a shining example of solid teamwork, but the team of educators behind BoCoLab is currently struggling to find a school building to implement their model.

Holmes Elementary School

Holmes Elementary successfully implemented a redesign plan to transform the school through extensive faculty professional development and the implementation of a new student-centered, social/emotional learning curriculum. The school has seen improved student and community engagement, along with higher student success since the redesign.

Hampton Elementary School

Hampton Elementary School has increased its focus on personalized learning to create a more equitable learning environment for students, allowing them to set and reach their own goals in the classroom. Student are more engaged and have seen much improvement in their scores.

Loreto Street Elementary School

Loreto Elementary School is committed to social justice, and it realizes its mission through Peace Assemblies and an annual Festival of Masks, which introduces the community to diverse cultures. Since the school's transformation in 2018, Loreto Elementary School has seen a dramatic increase in ELA test scores, and its dual language program has helped students reach English fluency at faster rates than traditional ELL models.

Chelsea Opportunity Academy

Chelsea Opportunity Academy is a new school founded in 2018 that seeks to meet the needs of students who did not find success in a traditional high school set. The school implements a competency-based learning and assessment model, and uses multi-lingual courses, holistic curricula, and flexible schedules to support its students.

Common Themes and Lessons Learned

Read more about the convergent themes and lessons from the above case studies.

An approach to teaching and learning that is flexible and adaptable, adjusting the system to the individual students and what they need to be successful in today's diverse, global world.

Students exercise voice and choice in their learning, embracing their individual strengths, needs, interests, and cultural backgrounds.

The ability to use the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse learners as conduits for teaching them more effectively. (Geneva Gay, 2002)

Developed in a way that ensures a barrier-free environment for all students, ensuring that every student, particularly those within historically underserved groups, has what they need to be successful. To be truly equitable, schools must not only have equity of opportunity, but of outcomes.

The process of envisioning, designing, and implementing a school model, either from scratch as a way of redesigning and disrupting the existing educational system, or as part of the transformation of an existing school.