Extra Time is the Magic Ingredient at John F. Kennedy Elementary

This school year, John F. Kennedy Elementary in Jamaica Plain received a rare honor: they were declared a School of Recognition by the state, one of only four schools in Boston. Since 2018, the school’s accountability percentile has jumped from the 4th percentile to the 39th. 

This incredible rise is thanks to the JFK’s data-driven practices and commitment to extended learning and planning time, which enable key conditions of improvement that EdVestors’ research has identified: teacher collaboration, effective use of data, and family and community partnerships.

Concerned by their 4% accountability percentile, the JFK invested in teacher collaboration, building double blocks of planning time into the schedule and enabling the Instructional Leadership Team to take on a greater role. Instructional leaders audited each classroom and held data meetings with each teacher to align instruction.

Teachers at the JFK share a commitment to their students that doesn’t end when the bell rings. To combat pandemic learning loss, classroom teachers were stipended to stay after school to provide their students high dosage tutoring. The program has been so successful that, although pandemic relief funds have run out, the school is building it into their regular budget. The JFK has also leveraged City Year to provide extra academic support to students, which has been a highly effective community partnership.