Whole-Child Education

The mission of Boston Renaissance Charter Public School is to nurture and develop academic, social, and emotional competence while building confidence, character, and citizenship among its students.

We pursue our mission through the application of a whole-child approach to education – we seek to develop the whole child, starting first and foremost with the academic skills and knowledge outlined in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and Common Core State Standards.

Beyond core academics, we commit significant attention and resources to supporting students’ social and emotional health and development.  We maintain a sizable team of mental health professionals and specialists, and emphasize students’ positive social and emotional development in all staff training and professional development.

BRCPS utilizes the Second Step social-emotional learning curriculum. Implemented school-wide, grades K1-6, this nationally recognized curriculum has become an important part of the BRCPS whole-child program. Professional development was provided at the beginning of the year, and Second Step implementation was a standing monthly agenda item at grade level team meetings. School administrators made sure the curriculum was being implemented through individual teacher check-ins and observations during the scheduled Second Step time. In addition, our Mental Health team was included in the implementation, with scheduled classroom drop-ins and support for teachers.

In Upper School, grades 3-6, BRCPS also utilizes Restorative Justice approaches to support social-emotional and leadership development. Upper School teachers work closely with the Student Support team to identify and intervene with groups of students who were experiencing social-emotional challenges, including working with students in groups/circles.  Restorative justice practices are also applied by teachers and administrators in regularly held grade-level town hall meetings, amplifying messages of personal and shared responsibility.

We promote students’ artistic, cultural, and physical development through exceptional specialty classes, including visual arts, music, dance, Mandarin Chinese as a second language, technology, and physical education.  Specialty classes are part of each student’s daily schedule, with 55-minute classes for every student, every day.

Our highest priority is to ensure each and every student is developing the academic skills they need, while developing a true love for learning.

While this broad curriculum and whole-child approach are core to the Boston Renaissance model, instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, and science is always at the heart of our work.  Our highest priority is to ensure each student is developing the academic skills they need, while developing a true love for learning.  We regularly assess students, analyze individual student data, create highly personalized learning plans, and provide targeted instruction and interventions.  We regularly observe instruction and provide instructional coaching, and we employ math and literacy specialists skilled in individual and small-group interventions.

 

Our school is structured to effectively support and teach every child who comes through our doors.

At Boston Renaissance, we also demonstrate a strong commitment to serving all children, based on their unique abilities, interests, and needs.  Our school is structured to effectively support and teach every child who comes through our doors, and we maintain this structure by committing the necessary resources year after year, in spite of any fiscal challenges.  Finally, we maintain a strong academic program by developing and retaining excellent teachers, and by empowering those teachers to be leaders in the school community.