School Offers Preparation For Future
Daily Free Press
September 20, 2002
By Linda Boulden
The Media and Technology Charter School, previously located in Brookline, has found its new home in the midst of Boston University, at the former site of the famous "Ellis the Rim Man" automotive store.
The building, on the corner of Babcock Street and Commonwealth Avenue, just underwent a $4.2 million renovation and has won awards for its unique architecture. MATCH Executive Director Alan Safran referred to it as "a gateway to West Campus," and said the school is thrilled to be so close to Boston University.
Safran said MATCH also hopes to lease its empty floor to the University. The school has a close relationship with BU administrators, offering work study and volunteer opportunities to BU students wanting to tutor children, according to Safran.
"We hope to become a national model of how big universities can help kids learn," Safran said.
As a charter school, MATCH is a public school receiving state funding, and accepts Boston students through a lottery system, since it can only accept one-third of its applicants. The majority of MATCH students come from Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan, and have primarily poor backgrounds, Safran said.
"Their minds are equal to the greatest minds in America," Safran said. "They just don't have the skills."
MATCH, beginning its fourth year in existence, is unique from other public schools in that one of its main goals is to prepare each student fully for college and the world.
"Our promise to every kid is to get them into college," Safran said, adding, "other schools try to prepare their kids for college, while we aim for their success beyond it."
Tenth-grader Maria Molina hopes to attend Tufts University to become a veterinarian, and chose the MATCH school to prepare her for her goals.
"I came here because they give us lots of opportunities to go to college, and they give college prep classes," she said.
MATCH also has strict grading standards, requiring a grade of C or better to pass each course. Safran said the school retains 40 percent of students between ninth and tenth grade due to this rule.
Strict standards and individualized teaching methods have proven successful for the school, however. Before attending MATCH, only 17 percent of incoming students had passed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam, while 80 percent passed the 10th grade MCAS exam.
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