Research & Insights / Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School: A 2026 School on the Move Semifinalist

Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School: A 2026 School on the Move Semifinalist

The ten semifinalists for the 2026 School on the Move Prize are excellent examples of the conditions of sustainable school improvement EdVestors’ research has identified. Please join us at the Prize Ceremony on November 10th!

The Patrick J. Kennedy (PJK) School serves a diverse community of high-need students in East Boston, where 90% of its ~300 students are multilingual learners, many of whom require specialized academic support. Over the past decade, the PJK has undergone a significant transformation, driven by a commitment to ensuring that all students, particularly multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and Latinx students, have consistent access to rigorous, grade-level instruction.

Over the past five years, the PJK has focused on implementing inclusive, grade-level instruction as its default service delivery model. The school restructured its staffing, scheduling, and professional learning to significantly increase access to general education classrooms for students with disabilities and multilingual learners. Through co-planning structures, shared accountability for all students, and targeted coaching, teachers deliver rigorous, standards-aligned instruction with embedded supports rather than pull-out remediation. These structural shifts led to greater access to grade-level curriculum and stronger outcomes for multilingual learners and other historically underserved student groups. In both ELA and Math, English Learners and former English Learners outpaced the state's progress towards accountability targets.

The PJK also attributes its success to establishing a coherent approach to high-quality instructional materials and structured Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) improvement cycles. They aligned schoolwide curriculum implementation with high-quality, standards-aligned materials while building consistent data routines to monitor student progress, identify trends, and adjust instruction in real time. A clearly defined Student Support Team meets weekly using structured MTSS protocols to review student data, coordinate tiered interventions, and ensure timely progress monitoring across academic and behavioral domains. Since implementing universal screening and targeted interventions, the percentage of students entering each grade requiring foundational literacy support has decreased across multiple grade levels, reflecting a critical shift from remediation to prevention, as fewer students are carrying skill gaps forward year to year.

Finally, the PJK invested in adult learning and distributed leadership to sustain instructional improvement. They developed teacher leadership pathways and collaborative professional learning structures that empower educators to lead curriculum implementation, incorporate inclusive practices, and plan interventions. By building internal capacity and creating shared ownership of schoolwide goals, the PJK has strengthened staff retention and increased instructional consistency across grade levels. Teacher climate survey data from Winter 2026 reflects the strength of these systems. Eighty-four percent of teachers reported that professional development opportunities were valuable, 92% reported that colleagues’ ideas improve their teaching, and 92% reported that the school supports their growth as educators.