BOSTON — It seems that Bradley Elementary School in East Boston has just received the equivalent of an “A”.
The K-6 school recently won the ‘School on the Move’ competition, which is awarded to a Boston public school that continuously improves its learning environment.
It comes with a $100,000 prize.
The School on the Move is sponsored by EdVestor, a Boston non-profit committed to improving the quality of education.
Claire Carney has been the school’s principal for the last 10 years.
She says getting the award felt validating, “like we’re on the right track, and we’re doing the right work.”
“What we realized when we dug into the data was that we were actually in the 33rd percentile because we weren’t doing well for all students. . . what we’re proud to say is that now we’re in the 84th percentile in Massachusetts.
Carney says when she first arrived, the school had a good track record serving high-achievement students, but didn’t do as well with those facing additional learning challenges.
Her mission was to change that.
“Our job is to make sure that every child gets the best education here and that we have a plan for every child, and I can truly say that when we look at the data and think about who is struggling, we dig down into what are the barriers, and how can we put together a plan to see success over the course of their time here.”
Aimee Galego, a learning specialist, added, “We want all students to have access to high-quality instruction that’s happening in the classroom.”
She said students at all levels are often blended together today, and that’s helping everyone.
“Doing something separate, removing students from the classroom, asking them to do something separate is not giving them that access, and not providing them those experiences.”
As a parent, Ghizlane Elabar is happy to have a school of this caliber just blocks from her home.
“The teachers love to educate. They love the students. It doesn’t matter what your background is, where you come from, they treat everybody with respect and dignity and fairness throughout the school.”
Winning a prestigious award like this made an impression on 6th grader Miranda Ramos.
“Everybody was very, very happy, and the community of the school was just very thankful.”
Standing on the stage in front of Boston’s educational community after the award was announced was an indescribable moment for Carney, one confirming the power of change.
“I’ve said this is a number of times that every kid has one shot at an education. If you have one shot at an education, you need to make sure that what you’re putting in front of kids and the kind of conversations and tasks that they have in classrooms that are really strong.”
As for the prize money, Carney would like to bolster the school’s STEM curriculum.
She says there might also be a party for the entire school community to celebrate their achievement.,
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