The Boston Opportunity Agenda - Ninth Annual Report Card - May 2021 - A Historic Partnership

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia

The Boston Opportunity Agenda’s Ninth Annual Report Card (May 2021) assesses education success and challenges across the pipeline, from early literacy and birth-to-eight collaborations to summer learning academies, postsecondary attainment, and adult learners. The report frames pandemic disruption and heightened racial violence as drivers of inequity rooted in White supremacy, race, ethnicity, and class. It outlines revised mission and values centered on equity and anti-racist policy, and highlights key system and student-level indicators to guide action and close learning gaps.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

A Strong Educational Foundation

On Track for High School Graduation

On Track for College, Career and Life

Birth to Eight Collaborative

Boston Opportunity Youth Collaborative

About Us

i The Boston Opportunity Agenda Ninth Annual Report Card May 2021 A Historic Partnership Convening Partners and Investors Angell Foundation Archdiocese of Boston Catholic Schools Office Boston Charter Alliance Boston Children’s Hospital The Boston Foundation Boston Public Schools Bunker Hill Community College Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston City of Boston Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston EdVestors Nellie Mae Education Foundation New Profit Inc. Smith Family Foundation United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley University of Massachusetts Boston Table of Contents Introduction | 2 A Strong Educational Foundation | 4 On Track for High School Graduation | 8 High School Graduation | 10 On Track for College, Career and Life | 14 Postsecondary Attainment | 16 Adult Learners | 20 Birth to Eight Collaborative | 22 Summer Learning Academies | 24 Generation Success | 26 Boston Opportunity Youth Collaborative | 28 Success Boston | 30 About Us | 32 Cover Photo: lakshmiprasad S | iStock While devastating, the chaos of the year has also optimistically renewed the focus on racial justice in our institutions and systems and has strengthened a collective resolve to make our communities just and equitable for all. Introduction Dear Friends, To describe the past year as incredibly difficult is an understatement. Children, families and the educational institutions that serve them have dealt with once-in-a-century challenges to schooling as we know it. In addition to the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and others captured on video and highlighted in protests, and the increase in racial violence against those of Asian descent have laid bare the vast inequalities in our country rooted in White supremacy, race, ethnicity and class. While devastating, the chaos of the year has also optimistically renewed the focus on racial justice in our institutions and systems and has strengthened a collective resolve to make our communities just and equitable for all. Like other organizations, the Boston Opportunity Agenda has spent the year responding to immediate needs in our community while also reflecting on our purpose and vision. We revised our mission statement and adopted a set of values (see next page) that better reflect our work and purpose. We remain committed to creating a just educational system by removing the systemic barriers that create unacceptable outcomes and lack of opportunity for historically oppressed and economically disadvantaged populations. Our annual report card is a key vehicle for reporting on our success and challenges at the system and student level across the educational pipeline, and we are pleased to share with you this Ninth Annual Report Card. Due to the pandemic, we did not issue a report card last year in 2020 and many of the indicators that we traditionally track, including MCAS, are not available this year. As students return to school and our systems work to close the learning gaps created by more thana year of disrupted learning, it is critical that all stakeholders understand previous trends and baselines for each of our measures of success. It is equally critical that we report on measures that focus on where the systemic shortfalls are as, together, we seek to create the necessary prerequisites for students to experience success. This year’s report card is designed to do just that. As Boston students return to in-person learning across all settings, it is more important than ever to ensure we highlight the gaps that need to be addressed so that all students regardless of their race, ethnicity or socio-economic status are able to participate fully in our world-class city and economy. We hope that this report card spurs conversation and action. We thankyou for the work that you do daily to make the Boston Opportunity Agenda vision a reality. Deborah Kincade Rambo Chair Kristin McSwain Executive Director 2 Values Sta

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Ninth Annual Report Card?

It reports success and challenges at both system and student levels across the educational pipeline, especially focusing on where systemic shortfalls exist and what prerequisites are needed for student success.

Why was no report card issued in 2020?

The report card states that due to the pandemic, it did not issue a report card last year in 2020, and several traditional indicators (including MCAS) are not available that year.

What values guide the organization’s work described in the report?

The report presents values including pursuing equity, adopting anti-racist policy, strengthening community, continuously learning, acting with humility, and achieving impact through data-informed decisions and long-term success.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia