Superintendent's Message

A message from the Superintendent of Schools

Twenty years ago, the school system in Chelsea was broken; and the district was the lowest performing public school system in Massachusetts. In consequence of the unique twenty-year governing Partnership with Boston University (1989 - 2008), the Chelsea Public Schools achieved annual incremental progress that brought the district into the ranks of sister urban districts. As mutual partners in this Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the urban school districts of Massachusetts have certainly improved educational opportunities for the urban poor, for immigrants, for children of color. The Chelsea schools undeniably stand higher now than they stood twenty years ago. But they need to improve more. The work of urban education reform has only just begun.

For Chelsea there are three overall, district-wide goals: 1) the incorporation of 21st century skills into the curriculum; 2) the evocation of high aspirations in our students; and 3) the emergence of a common vision in this community about excellence in teaching and learning.

The first goal—21st century skills—is now on the state's agenda, identified as a priority through the Readiness Committee authorized by Governor Patrick. Our curriculum committees have used models and delineated skills that have emerged from the national initiative, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Our curriculum planners have been ensuring that our various curricula embrace and include—not as mere add-ons, but as integral elements—the core skills that complement our existing Core Knowledge content and our compliance with the state's curriculum standards.

The second overall goal that remains before us is the evoking of student aspirations- aspirations for a future beyond poverty, for success beyond the streets, for successful completion of high school, for success in college and career, and for success in the pursuit of true happiness. The order is so big, the hurdle so high, that we have to engage our community partners in this task. We must ourselves become more successful in getting our students to stay in school, to prepare for college, to imagine professions and careers that suit the demands of living in this global century.

The third aspect of our triple goal is to come to a common understanding about what makes for excellence in teaching and learning. The days of the autonomous classroom are long gone. All the evidence we have tells us that the single, greatest variable in the educational enterprise, and the single greatest change agent in all education, is the classroom teacher. We in Chelsea are striving to establish "professional learning communities" that help break down the hurdles impeding excellent performance. Our lessons from the success of the Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives in the elementary grades is that teaching as mutually supportive colleagues and learners is far better than presuming the work can be done alone.

Goals alone will not continue to promote reform in Chelsea, nor will single annual measures such as state tests. In order to measure progress towards the district's goals, we have set nine objectives and labeled them the Bridge to Success. These objectives represent of a host of measures to ensure continued academic improvement for our students and our continued educational success as a district. (See Chelsea's Bridge to Success, a separate page on this website.)

Under the Boston University/Chelsea Partnership, the Chelsea Public Schools became a case study in education reform. Post-Partnership, the School System continues its commitment to urban education reform within the City Under the Bridge by providing through its nine schools a Bridge to Success for all its students.

Thomas Kingston
Superintendent