Education Director Wendy Puriefoy to Leave Barr
Wendy Puriefoy, director of education, has decided to leave the Barr Foundation to pursue her passion for national education reform.
Innovation in Parent Engagement Among Public, Parochial, and Charter Schools
Parent engagement has never been the biggest part of Barr's K-12 grantmaking, but it has long been an important one. Read about a new effort that is helping a cohort of Boston district, charter, and parochial schools test and share new methods for engaging parents, and a new graduate-level program for the next generation of family engagement professionals.
Three Keys to Breakthrough on Complex Social Contract Issues
When complicated politics and old wounds keep deep-sixing change efforts, what does it take to get to a new outcome? A recent breakthrough in Boston suggests a template.
Education Week Features Boston Center Creating Second Chances for Dropouts
Thanks to concerted efforts on dropout prevention, high school graduation rates in the U.S. are the highest they have been since the 1970's, yet every year roughly one million high school students still leave without a degree.
Talk/Read/Succeed – Inspiration and Ideas from Springfield
![[STAFF] Kimberly Haskins Photo 2022](https://barrfdn-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/crop/4646/square_crop_small.jpg?1658507367)
With an ambitious, citywide goal, what’s the right scale to get started? What target population is small enough that results are achievable and the impacts tangible? In Springfield, Massachusetts, it looks like the answer is 180 families.
Getting to "Whole Child Time"
What would it take to move beyond a school- and classroom-bound view of where learning and youth development actually happens – to explore more holistic approaches?
Doors Open
"Doors Open" is a new short film featuring three schools that opened their doors for the very first time in Boston this fall. Each school is a compelling story—of vision, mission, and bright hopes for kids. Looked at together in this film, they are also part of an even bigger story about breakthroughs in old debates about public education.
Talking ELL's in BPS
Over two years ago, the Gaston Institute at UMass Boston issued a scathing report on the status of English Language Learners in the Boston Public Schools.
New and Refined Directions for Early Education at Barr
A 2011 strategy review of Barr’s approach to early education led to new and refined directions for this work in 2012 and beyond.
Come Together Right Now...
How has Boston thrived in a resource-constrained era of fierce political divisions?