Charlestown school wins $100,000 award

November 07, 2011|By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent, Globe Staff

By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent

Charlestown's Clarence R. Edwards Middle School has been named a "School on the Move" by a local education company, with the school receiving $100,000 along with the title.

Boston-based EdVestors, an organization focused on sustained improvement in urban schools, announced Monday that the middle school received the sixth annual Thomas W. Payzant "School on the Move" prize, an award that recognizes "an urban school that has made marked and sustained improvement toward closing the achievement gap for all students."

According to the organization, Edwards was one of seven schools invited to compete for the award, which is based on improvement on MCAS scores from 2006 through 2010. The winner was chosen by a panel of business and education professionals.

Edwards is one of four Boston Public Schools that has "extended learning time," and EdVestors said in a press release that the school has used the longer school day "to provide targeted academic interventions" and arts and enrichment programs.

From 2006 through 2010, according to the organization, Edwards' improvement in English language arts was five times greater than the district middle school average, and double the district average in math improvement.

New Mission High School in Roxbury and Urban Science Academy in West Roxbury were finalists for the prize, with each school awarded $10,000.