In 1998, the Boston School Committee linked promotion policies to higher achievement standards, ending social promotion. Eleven new pilot schools, providing laboratories for educational innovation, have opened since 1995. Boston's School to Career program, the model for national legislation, has provided a connection between classroom and work-based learning for thousands of students. Mayor Menino's Kids Compute 2001 is a multi-year plan to improve teaching and learning for all BPS students by using technology to support curriculum and assessment. Boston is the first major urban school district in the country to have networks and high-speed Internet access in every school.
Literacy is the foundation of academic achievement.
ReadBoston encompasses volunteer mobilization, fund-raising, community organization, teacher training, school involvement, book distribution, and coordination with the Boston Public Libraries, BPS, day care centers, pediatric clinics and family literacy efforts. ReadBoston has brought more than 1,000 volunteers and 200,000 new books to Boston's schools. Supporting and Nurturing Families with Young Children Recent research about the critical first three years of a child's life underscores the importance of helping families at the very beginning of child rearing. Boston has focused its efforts on providing parent education and nurturing programs to strengthen families and prevent child maltreatment. In 1995, Mayor Menino's office led the effort to create Connecting the Dots for Boston Tots, a citywide coalition funded by the Carnegie Corporation's Starting Points initiative.