At Dudley Street School, People Stick Around

The team at Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School (DSNCS) has always known their corner of Roxbury deserves a world-class elementary school. The school, which is an in-district charter, serves 288 students, 97% of whom are children of color. 

In 2019, DSNCS was rated a Tier 4 school by BPS’s School Quality Framework, the lowest tier. Their successful improvement efforts reflect several of the key conditions that EdVestors identified in a study of past School on the Move winners, especially teacher collaboration, academic rigor and student support, and effective use of data.

DSNCS has prioritized academic rigor for all students, implementing new literacy curriculum based on the Science of Reading. The school invested in new staff to support teachers, including interventionists in both reading and math. In addition, the school changed Thursday’s schedule to provide more time for teacher collaboration. Teacher-led teams use data to identify and pursue improvement projects. The school tracks data for the lowest-performing quartile of students in particular, and was happy to see all goals for that group met or exceeded, from attendance to academics.

Beyond academics, DSNCS has a goal of providing supplemental social-emotional support to every child. That doesn’t just look like meeting with the school counselor—it also means vibrant sports teams and connecting families to Big Brother/Big Sister programs.

In 2023, BPS rated DSNCS a Tier 1 school—the highest tier. They are one of only two schools in BPS this year to make this dramatic improvement. The school has 96% teacher retention over the past 3 years, and while BPS enrollment is shrinking overall, DSNCS’s enrollment has remained steady. It’s the kind of place where people want to stick around.