What makes Henry L. Higginson School Outstanding?
The Henry L. Higginson School was chosen for the second year in a row as the Outstanding TutorMate School of the Year for Boston. Innovations for Learning has formed a strong partnership with this school, touching almost every classroom in the school. Three first-grade classes partner with MassMutual tutors, who call faithfully each week to help their students practice reading. Even though these tutors are located at the other end of the state in the Springfield area, many of them drove almost three hours to attend the TutorMate End-of-Year Celebration in May. The three first-grade teachers, Ms. Keohan, Ms. Kong, and Ms. Beatty, are among the most dedicated TutorMate teachers in Boston. We expanded the TutorMate program to second grade this year, and MetLife and Cardinal Health proved to be excellent partners for these classes, taught by Ms. Lehane, Ms. Wright, and Ms. Figuereo. At their End-of-Year Celebration, these students proudly shared stories written by them and their tutors, and they all cheered for Principal Marie Mullen when she was presented with a certificate recognizing the Higginson once again as the TutorMate Outstanding School for Boston.
In addition to the TutorMate program, IFL’s Teacher/Student Portal has been adopted in three of the kindergarten classes at Higginson, and three pre-K classes are treated to Friday morning storytellers calling in over Zoom to read to these students and help them learn to love reading. MassMutual tutors went beyond the usual TutorMate duties to sign up for these storytelling sessions, and the pre-K students eagerly look forward to listening to the stories and answering the questions posed by the storytellers.
The Henry L. Higginson School, a K0 through grade 2 school, opened only six years ago, with a brand new staff and a new student body, many of whom are transient because of homelessness and other economic and social issues. The Higginson offers full inclusion for English Language Learners, students in general education, and students in special education. The mission of the school is “to support [their] students in reaching their highest potential academically, socially, and emotionally” by providing “a learning community that is developmentally appropriate to the special needs of [their] children.” According to Principal Mullen, the school is intent on analyzing assessment data to pinpoint the interventions that each of their students needs. At the time the school opened, 86% of the students were below grade level. Ms. Mullen reports that they are starting to see consistent academic growth in recent years as they have adapted the various curricula used in the Boston School District to their particular students. Teams of highly-skilled teachers and administrators analyze assessment data, fine-tune curricula, and then design action plans for students. TutorMate supports this effort to differentiate instruction by offering one-on-one encounters between tutors and individual students. In one of the Higginson first-grade classes, the reading proficiency of TutorMate students has grown about 5.1 levels as of April.
School Demographics
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Enrollment by ethnicity:
African American or Black: 37.5% Hispanic or Latino: 56% Multi-race, non-Hispanic: 3.6% Asian: 0.6% Native American: 0.6% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0% White: 1.8% |
English Language Learners: 45.2%
First language not English: 48.8% Economically disadvantaged: 81% Students with disabilities: 25% Total enrollment: 168 Grades served: K0 through grade 2 Languages spoken: English, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, French, Portuguese, Cantonese, and Haitian Creole |
Corporate Sponsors
Founded in 1851, MassMutual offers life insurance and protection products, and retirement and investment services to help clients meet their financial goals. In 2018, they were included on the Forbes list of best companies to work for. Members of the tutor team from MassMutual traveled two hours or more to attend the End of Year Celebration on May 8.
MetLife is the tutor partner of two of the second-grade classes at Higginson. According to the company’s mission statement, this leading global provider of insurance, annuities, and employee benefits, is devoted to enabling and empowering everyone to attain financial independence and to be recognized as the world’s most trusted company.
Cardinal Health is the tutor partner for one of the second-grade classes at the Higginson School. Cardinal Health’s vision is to be the premier global healthcare company as recognized by current and potential customers, employees, and shareholders. Diversity, inclusion, and access are essential elements of that vision and are reflected in the company’s EPPIC core values (Ethical, People-driven, Performance-driven, Innovative, and Collaborative).
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