Boston school boss has bold new plans:
"The district is launching Parent University, a leadership program to help parents work with their children on classwork and receive job support, including help with resumes.
The Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury will house a new “re-engagement center” where dropouts can get individualized help as they return to high school. Johnson wants to cut the drop-out rate by more than half, reducing it to 3 percent by 2012. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has faced criticism from other mayoral candidates over the city’s 7.2 percent rate.
“We know that it won’t be enough to say, ‘Go to your old high school,’ ” Johnson said. “We have to give them individual support.”
Some of the changes could encourage parents to remain in the city rather than opt for the suburbs or private schools, said Karen Daniels, executive director of Step UP, an organization founded by Menino that brings together five Boston universities and colleges to provide support to 10 underperforming Boston schools. The K-8 model and Montessori schools are more commonly found in the suburbs, she said."
"The district is launching Parent University, a leadership program to help parents work with their children on classwork and receive job support, including help with resumes.
The Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury will house a new “re-engagement center” where dropouts can get individualized help as they return to high school. Johnson wants to cut the drop-out rate by more than half, reducing it to 3 percent by 2012. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has faced criticism from other mayoral candidates over the city’s 7.2 percent rate.
“We know that it won’t be enough to say, ‘Go to your old high school,’ ” Johnson said. “We have to give them individual support.”
Some of the changes could encourage parents to remain in the city rather than opt for the suburbs or private schools, said Karen Daniels, executive director of Step UP, an organization founded by Menino that brings together five Boston universities and colleges to provide support to 10 underperforming Boston schools. The K-8 model and Montessori schools are more commonly found in the suburbs, she said."