A Charter School's Success Attracts Tech Biz Partners
Mass High Tech
November 17-23, 2006by Catherine Williams
Anthony Trotman, 16, wants to study computer science in college. On a recent November evening, the Dorchester teenager is tucked in a corner of his high school hallway, tapping on a laptop, pondering a summer internship at EMC Corp.
The secret of his drive -- and his school's success overall -- comes in a one-word answer: "Dedication."
At Boston's Media and Technology Charter High School, students like Trotman have not only outpaced their urban counterparts, but also those in the wealthier suburban schools. And three Massachusetts-based tech shops, including Akamai Technologies Inc., are applauding. Student performance is high, and companies have invested in the school. Now there is an active call for other businesses to join in too.
"Our focus is a rigorous building of math and technology skills," says Alan Safran, executive director of the school, also known as the Match School. "Kids transform here. The trajectory of their life changes here."
All of the school's graduates -- who are mostly lower-income city-dwelling teens -- have gone on to college, including such schools as Brown University and Boston College. All seniors are required to take calculus. The formal school day ends at 5 p.m., but students are encouraged to stay later. Each student receives two hours of tutoring per day by a corps of college graduates who devote one year of service to the school.
And tech businesses have become more involved. Akamai has offered up $150,000 to sponsor three MIT tutors. And EMC and Microsoft Corp. have joined the effort recently. EMC donated 30 laptops and offers summer internships. Microsoft provides software for administrative tasks, says Safran.
"We have a shared responsibility as an industry to provide support and make the case for change," says Paul Sagan, president and CEO of Akamai.
Large employers like Microsoft and emerging tech companies have similar work force needs and should support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs, says Brian Burke, Microsoft's regional director for government affairs.
Match School students are selected randomly from a pool of Boston public school students who complete a one-page application form. Competition is tight, with just 60 slots open for the Match School's 2007 academic year. The school was founded in 2000 by educator Michael Goldstein and graduated its first class in 2004. The student body is mostly low income and lacking in basic reading and math skills when students first enter.
But at test time, Match School students, for example, outscored students from wealthy suburbs on the 2006 10th grade math MCAS. The Match School received an overall math performance grade of 98.9, while Wellesley students received a score of 95.5, for example.
Sagan focuses his efforts on the Match School rather than the large public schools because innovation is stunted in large school districts, and competition breeds change, he says.
The charter model gives reformers the opportunity to try new methods, which are difficult to introduce in traditional district schools, according to Alison Fraser, assistant director at Mass Insight Education and Research Institute.
"But the district schools have to be willing to take these models and take these lessons from the charter and learn from them," says Fraser.
At 6:30 p.m. on a chilly fall Monday, boisterous students stand in line, waiting for dinner served up by Safran. The school is looking for a corporate sponsor to offset the cost of the meals.
Akamai became involved with the school in 2000 and Sagan's involvement is so personal he says he gets choked up during the school's graduation ceremony. Sagan's wife, Ann, is the school's dean and serves on its board. His advice to industry is simple: Get involved.
"We all struggle with hiring. We need to be able to give kids the inspiration to aspire to be research scientists, administrators or to have my job," says Sagan.
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