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New Data Shows 98% of 2016 Boston Charter High School Graduates Have Been Accepted to College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 22, 2016

CONTACT:
Eileen O’Connor
eileen@keyserpublicstrategies.com
617-806-6999

BOSTON, MA – New data from Boston’s six public charter high schools shows that 98.5% of 2016 graduates were accepted into college; 89% were accepted to a four-year university. Each of the six public charter high schools in Boston sent more than 90% of their 2016 graduates to college.

An analysis of the most recent postsecondary data reveals that hard fought academic gains by Boston charter school graduates continue to be leveraged after high school. More than 46% of the 2009 charter graduating class had earned a postsecondary degree by spring 2016 in comparison to 19.8% of 2009 graduates from non-exam, open enrollment high schools in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). Even when you include graduates from BPS elite exam schools, which have rigorous entrance requirements, the percentage of BPS graduates who earned a college degree by spring 2016 stood at 30%.

At a time when a college education is more important than ever, Boston’s public charter schools – which serve a student body that is 89% Black and Latino – have a proven track record of preparing students for success and closing the achievement gap. According to Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), public charter school students in Boston are learning at double the rate of Boston district school students, making two years worth of academic progress in English and math for every year they’re enrolled in a public charter school.

According to new data from the six public charter high schools in Boston:

• MATCH High School, Codman Academy High School, the Academy of the Pacific Rim, and Boston Preparatory High School each had 100% of 2016 graduates accepted to college.
• 98% of Boston Collegiate Charter School graduates were accepted to college.
• 93% of City on a Hill graduates were accepted to college.
• The colleges and universities that students were accepted to are among the nation’s best, including: Babson College, Bates College, Bentley University, Boston College, Brandeis University, Bridgewater State University, Brown University, Bucknell University, Colby-Sawyer College, College of the Holy Cross, Curry College, Dartmouth College, Davidson College, Emmanuel College, Loyola University Maryland, Merrimack College, Newbury College, Northeastern University, Providence College,  Quinnipiac University, Simmons College, Smith College, The George Washington University, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell, University of New Hampshire at Durham, Vassar College, Wesleyan University, Wheaton College, and Wheelock College.

“We applaud the students, faculty, and staff of Boston’s public charter high schools for their tremendous achievement,” said Eileen O’Connor, a spokesperson for Great Schools Massachusetts. “This latest data highlights the need to expand access to  public charter schools so that more children can have access to the longer school day and intensive personal attention that public charter schools provide. As this new data shows, public charter schools are closing the achievement gap and helping more Boston children gain access to college.”

“This latest data shows what’s possible for Boston students when they’re given a high quality education,” said Thabiti Brown, Head of School at Codman Academy in Dorchester. “Expanding access to public charter schools will give more children the opportunity to attend public high schools that prepare them for success in college and beyond.”

Great Schools Massachusetts is a statewide coalition of parents, community groups, public charter schools, business leaders and education advocates committed to providing families with equal access to public charter schools. More than 34,000 children in Massachusetts remain stuck on public charter school waiting lists due to arbitrary enrollment caps, including more than 13,000 children in Boston alone. New charters are also frozen in Lawrence, Holyoke, Fall River, and other urban districts where traditional public schools are underperforming and parents have shown a clear demand for public charter schools. Great Schools Massachusetts is committed to providing families with equal access to public charter schools.