Chelsea schools are not the only educational institutions benefiting from the ongoing fieldwork conducted by many of the University's Schools and Colleges. What the University does in a concentrated way in Chelsea, it also does in different, site-specific ways throughout the Boston area.

A cooperative approach is at the heart of many University programs. The Boston Schools/Boston University Collaborative provides selected Boston public schools with access to University resources and services, such as technical assistance and professional development activities, to address articulated needs of children, teachers, and school administrators.

The Boston University Initiative for Literacy Development (BUILD) is a collaborative effort sponsored by the School of Education and supported by several University departments and the Boston Public Schools Collaborative. With Federal Work-Study funds made available by the University in support of the federal America Reads and the local Read Boston programs,  more than 170 literacy tutors provide assistance in six after-school, five in-school, and four community-based programs. These programs serve elementary schoolchildren in Boston and Chelsea.

Teenagers from Boston public schools learn to scale a rock-climbing tower as part of the summer portion of the Upward Bound/Project ACHIEVE program held at the Sargent Camp in Peterboro, N.H. The exercise provides a physically challenging trust and risk-taking activity before the start of the six-week academic program.

Boston University also contributes pro bono services such as housing for the Upward Bound/Project ACHIEVE summer program and a one-week residential, academic orientation program for Boston High School Scholars.

The Early Learning Center is a public preschool opened in 1987 by faculty from Boston University, Wheelock and Simmons Colleges, and personnel from the Boston Public School system. The center serves children between the ages of three and seven, and is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Jackson-Mann School facility in Allston. Offering both instruction and after-school enrichment, the center has become a national model for early childhood education programs.

The School of Education directs a Consortium Council of seven local public school systems and a number of public agencies. Education students complete fieldwork in various settings offered by consortium members; the latter advise on current curricular issues in the classroom and enhancing the student teaching experience. The University has made money available to fund some of the educational programs of the consortium members, including programs such as Literacy Support for Early Education, Homework Made Fun, and Health Awareness for All.

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