President Obama to Visit TechBoston
President Barack Obama, joined by Melinda Gates, will be visiting  TechBoston in Dorchester today, a school where over 80% of it’s students receive free or reduced lunch and is overflowing with private invenstment. The White House issued a press release stating the president is visiting the school to “build on his State of the Union call for America to out-educate the competition to win the future.”
TechBoston shows promising results :
- 82% graduation rate (BPS’ is 63%)
- >94% of graduates attend 2 and 4 year colleges and universities
- proficient/advanced MCAS scores at 55%/65%
- 94%attendance rate
There are two lists on the White House press release that seem to be factors that contributed to the school’s success. One list contains structural changes to the school day and the other list contains private investments made in the school. BPS Superintendent Carol Johnson made it a point to explain that as a Pilot school, TechBoston “has flexibility around staffing, budget, curriculum, and has a longer school day than what is authorized in the general Boston Teachers Union contract.” Her characterization is another reminder of the misconception that collective bargaining rights hinder student performance. Looking at the table below, it is very clear that it took much more than just extra time in the classroom to bring those kind of results.
