Brighton's Conservatory Lab Charter School Meets NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress Goals

The Boston Globe reported today on the release by the state Department of Education of how schools in the past year have met national performance metrics. Those U.S. goals -- Adequate Yearly Progress -- are required under the federal No Child Left Behind act.

Seven schools in the state that had not been meeting AYP standards this year made sufficient progress to bring them within the AYP standard. Five are in Boston, all of those five are elementary schools, and one is in Brighton: the state-chartered Conservatory Lab Charter School at 25 Arlington Street (space leased from St. Columbkille's parish). Twenty-eight schools in the state that were previously meeting the AYP standard, however, went in the other direction and are now classified as "identified for improvement"; nine of the schools declining in their AYP performance are in Boston, of which seven are high schools. Note that there are many more schools in Boston that are currently failing to meet AYP standards, including many in Allston-Brighton; this news story only reported on those schools whose status changed from last year to this year.

Earlier this year, I reported on how the Conservatory Lab Charter School was doing well in comparison to its peer schools in Boston, but not in comparison to the state average. The school is using a very novel approach: starting in first grade, all students learn to play the violin, with music integrated into all aspects of the curriculum. In June I wrote:

As the school moves forward, it will be interesting to see if this experiment in music-based education can beat its competition in Boston and Massachusetts.

I think the recent announcement by the state Department of Education on the school's improvement is the first indication of success for this innovative school. Congratulations to the staff, students, and parents on their success!