Mayor Walsh invites you to design the high school of the future

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced a series of public conversations aimed at imagining the high school of the future. High School Redesign, a collaboration of the Mayor's Office of Education, Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the Boston Opportunity Agenda, will produce a set of recommendations and a design vision for changes to BPS high schools that will be implemented in the years to come.  The first of four public meetings will be held Monday, May 4 at the Presentation School Foundation in Brighton at 4 p.m. The City of Boston is also encouraging stakeholders to host their own visioning sessions  with the community and share that feedback with the High School Redesign team.

“High School Redesign is an opportunity for residents to contribute to Boston’s blueprint for modern learning,” said Mayor Walsh. “ I encourage every member of Boston’s vibrant, creative community — educators, school leaders, nonprofits, funders, colleges/universities, business communities, students and their families — to help us identify the tools our students need for future success.”

“BPS has made enormous strides in preparing our students for college and career, including innovations that have helped us to reach both a historic graduation rate and an unprecedented decline in the dropout rate,” stated Interim Superintendent John McDonough. “Yet, our work can’t stop here; we want to partner with the community to ensure our schools meet the emerging needs of all students, adapt to support our changing student population, and address the demand for new and different skills that will shape career paths in the next decade and beyond.”

“Our High School Redesign effort is guided by a set of design principles that we believe will spark imaginations across the city,” said Rahn Dorsey, Boston’s Chief of Education. “We hope you are inspired to participate in this unique and important effort that will lead us to a dramatically new vision for our local high schools.”

Over the past decade, BPS has partnered with community-based organizations, nonprofits and private funders on initiatives that have addressed the needs of at-risk students, moving the dial on students dropping out of school from nearly 2000 students in 2006 to an all-time low of 701 for the past school year. However, achievement and opportunity gaps persist that particularly disadvantage low-income and special needs students, as well as black and Latino males. For example, despite successfully graduating high school, too many high school students have to take remedial courses in college and have not gained the non-academic skills needed for future success. 

To address these challenges and ensure that new learning experiences exist that prepare young people for high demand jobs of the future, High School Redesign invites the public to share ideas through in-person design conversations, visiting HighSchoolRedesign-Boston.org, providing feedback via social media (#HSReD), and by participating in a High School Redesign competition later this spring. 

The City of Boston will host four High School Redesign forums and is encouraging the public to host and facilitate their own design conversations too.

• May 4: Presentation School Foundation, 640 Washington Street, Brighton, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
• May 11: BPS Headquarters, Bolling Building 2nd floor, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
• May 20: East Boston High School, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
• May 21: Boston Foundation, 75 Arlington Street, 10th floor, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

For the latest schedule, more information, and more inspiration, please visit: highschoolredesign-boston.org.