The Boston University School of Education has a long tradition of community service that began with the vision of its founders in 1918. Dr. Arthur H. Wilde, the first dean of the School, wrote, "Our policy has been to keep in as vital touch with the everyday work of the schools as we could—to know the needs of the teachers and of the school officers and to give immediate satisfaction to those needs, yet with a view to the broader education of these teachers and officers."
Major Boston University School of Education projects include:
The Boston University/Chelsea Partnership
The Boston University/Chelsea Partnership is the only example of a private university accepting responsibility for the day-to-day management of a public school system. Boston University provides managerial and educational expertise to oversee and rebuild an entire urban school system and to construct a model for the reform of urban education. The challenges faced by the partnership in Chelsea are typical of those faced in economically disadvantaged urban areas throughout the United States. In June 1989, Boston University accepted the invitation of the Chelsea School Committee to manage the Chelsea Public Schools under a unique ten-year partnership agreement. By unanimous vote of the Chelsea School Committee in 1997, that agreement was extended an additional five years. In June 2002, the School Committee once again voted to invite Boston University to extend the partnership, this time through June 2008. The Boston University Chelsea Partnership remains the only instance in which a private university has accepted responsibility for the overall day-to-day management of a public school system. The University receives no monetary compensation for its work; rather, it provides managerial and educational expertise and oversight in order to rebuild an entire urban school system and to construct a model for the reform of urban education. The challenges faced by the partnership in Chelsea are typical of those faced in economically disadvantaged urban areas throughout the United States.
Boston University School of Education Consortium
In 1977, the Boston University School of Education and a selection of Boston-area school districts, social service agencies, and overseas universities came together to form a consortium for the mutual exchange of expertise and training. Since that time, consortium school systems and social service agencies have offered SED students with a variety of settings in which to student-teach, gain school-based counseling experience, and work as administrative interns. For more information, contact Associate Dean Joan Dee, 617-353-3212 or e-mail jdee@bu.edu.
The Boston University Initiative for Literacy Development (BUILD)
BUILD is a collaborative effort that enjoys the support and contributions of the School of Education and the Boston University Offices of Financial Assistance and Student Employment. With federal Work-Study funds made available by Boston University in support of the federal America Reads and local Read Boston programs, 130 literacy tutors provide assistance for one hospital, eight after-school programs, five in-school programs, and organizations serving elementary school children in Boston and Chelsea.
The Boston University Public School Collaborative
The Boston University/Boston Public Schools Collaborative is the administrative organization at the University that oversees more than a dozen programs created in support of the Boston Public Schools. In 1975, court-ordered school desegregation in Boston stimulated an unprecedented commitment by Boston-area colleges, universities, and businesses to help the city's schools and children. Boston University has been and continues to be an active participant. University resources contribute to the support of a full-time director who initiates and seeks funding for new programs which involve faculty and students in serving the needs of Boston school children. For more information, contact Ruth Shane at 617-353-3551 or e-mail rshane@bu.edu.
COACH (College Opportunity and Career Help)
COACH empowers Boston Public School students to make informed decisions about their futures by matching current college students with 11th and 12th graders to provide information, to motivate, and to support these students as they make post-secondary plans. Working directly in the high school classrooms, coaches gain a unique perspective on issues of college access, public education, and educational opportunity. By linking practice with ongoing research and dialogue, COACH continually looks for ways to challenge, explore, and bridge the growing opportunity gap for traditionally underrepresented students.
Jumpstart
Jumpstart is an AmeriCorps program that recruits college students to mentor 3-5 year old children. Students read stories, sing songs, and play games that support young children’s school readiness and earn a Work-Study wage, a $1,500 living allowance, an AmeriCorps education award of up to $1,000, and take course credit in ED 206. Jumpstart Corps members work 8-12 hours a week in local early childhood centers, paired one-to-one with a partner child.
Step UP
Boston University is one of five universities involved in Step UP, an unprecedented collaboration with the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the City of Boston to help ten local schools. Step UP was formed in the fall of 2006 and provides comprehensive, coordinated services aimed at improving student performance. Boston University’s two partner schools are the William Monroe Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester and the English High School in Jamaica Plain. Based on the needs identified by each partner school, BU aims to help the Trotter and the English make improvements in areas such as instruction and tutoring, after-school support, student wellness and safety, and family and community engagement.
Upward Bound
Upward Bound is a college preparatory program for potential first-generation college and low-income Boston Public High School students. It is a federally funded TRIO program that serves 75 low-income and first generation college students who join in either ninth and tenth grade and participate until high school graduation. Students must be enrolled in the Boston Public Schools and either attend one of the target high schools (Brighton High, English High, The Engineering School, Community Academy of Science and Health, Social Justice Academy, or Snowden High) or live in one of the target neighborhoods (Allston, Brighton, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, or Mattapan). Program Services include afternoon classes and tutoring during the school year and a residential six-week summer academic program.
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Boston University School of Education projects within academic programs:
The Boston University Donald D. Durrell Reading and Writing Clinic and
Literacy Lab
The clinic provides diagnostic assessment and intensive, individualized and small-group tutoring to elementary school students who are experiencing difficulty learning to read and write. The clinic also offers professional development education for teachers.
The Early Childhood Learning Laboratory
The Early Childhood Learning Laboratory (ECLL) is a preschool affiliated with and located at the School of Education.
Exploring Quantum Concepts in General Chemistry
This project focuses on introducing undergraduate students to quantum concepts. The goal is to reform undergraduate education and produce a curriculum more in keeping with modern science. The project is an outgrowth of earlier research on how high school students learn quantum ideas and how teachers can effectively support this learning. The project emphasizes how computer visualization tools can provide students with a descriptive introduction to quantum phenomena in atoms and molecules. For further information, contact Peter Garik (garik@bu.edu).
Gaylen Kelley Distance Education Laboratory
The Gaylen Kelley Distance Education Laboratory at the Boston University School of Education enables teachers and students to communicate over distance—across the city or across the globe.
Healthy Futures Education Initiative
Through this focus, those students in science education studying to become science teachers receive timely training on environmental themes. This exposure revolves around our current development of a demonstration exhibit in science education which will feature solar, wind, and human power generation displays. This initiative, woven into the methods classes in science education, will help prepare youth for a future
where human beings can act more compatibly with our home—the earth.
Intergenerational Literacy Program
The program supports families in working with their children, both to attain the instructional objectives of the schools and to reinforce positive attitudes toward education.
International Symbiosis Society
Located at the Science Education Program, the International Symbiosis Society is made up for biology researchers and educators from around the world. The society fosters learning and sharing about the importance of symbiotic systems, including coral reefs, lichens, and forest communities. For more information, contact Dr. Douglas Zook at 617-353-2030 or e-mail dzook@bu.edu.
The Loving Well Project
The Lovng Well Project helps adolescents learn responsible sexual and social values through literature.
The Microcosmos Project
The Microcosmos Project in the Science Education program is an international effort that has developed new curricula and materials that introduce the important world of microorganisms into the classroom. The program shows how the unseen world of microorganisms, upon which we all depend, can be a dynamic vehicle for stimulating interest in the natural sciences in children and adults. For more information, contact Dr. Douglas Zook at 617-353-2030 or e-mail dzook@bu.edu.
The Annual Poetry Institute
The Favorite Poem Project, in cooperation with the Boston University School of Education, will hold the seventh annual Poetry Institute for Educators at Boston University in July 2008.
Projects in Civic Engagement
Projects in Civic Engagement share a common aim—to promote civic engagement in democratic life, both within the United States and in emerging democracies abroad.
sedGreen
The sedGreen committee is an expanding group of faculty, students, and staff who work to advocate for green practices and policies in the School of Education, as well as all of Boston University.
Tuesday/Thursday Physical Education Program
For the past three decades, children from the Boston Public Schools have been brought to Boston University for a positive teaching and learning environment for physical education. All graduate students in the Physical Education program plan, implement, and evaluate movement lessons for grades K-6. |
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