Friday, May 20, 2005   



Mission

The Boston Parent Organizing Network's mission is to organize a diverse constituency of parents, students, family and other community members to support and advocate for the improvement of Boston Public Schools."

Central to the BPON philosophy is the belief that engaging families and communities marginalized by race, socioeconomic status, language, and immigration status is critical to the success of education reform in Boston.


History

BPON was launched as a five-year citywide initiative in 1999 and has renewed its commitment for Years Six through Ten.  BPON was conceived by a group of parents, educational advocates and community organizers that shared common frustrations and desires for change in the BPS.  Since that time, BPON has grown into a network of 36 member organizations committed to BPON’s mission and guiding principles.

Our Work

BPON provides a central connection through which an exchange of ideas, information, and strategies to empower parents and build partnerships is shared.  Working on common campaigns, the network has emerged as a diverse and powerful, parent/community voice to improve the Boston Public Schools.

 

Our Victories

In its first five years, BPON has built on the strengths of its six major grantees to mobilize thousands of parents to significantly impact parental engagement and the quality of the Boston Public Schools (BPS).  In addition to the accomplishments of the grantees, as a network BPON has amassed a number of major policy wins.  Here are a few examples:

·       In the spring of 2002, BPON played a significant role in the reorganization of the BPS Family Resource Centers and the creation of a new Deputy Superintendent position for Family and Community Engagement.

·       In the spring of 2002, BPON convinced Mayor Menino to keep $41 million in budget cuts from affecting classroom instruction. 

·       In the spring of 2003, BPON collaborated with a number of other organizations to fight budget cuts at a state level.  BPON parents helped convince the Mayor of Boston to restore key provisions including maintaining class size to the BPS budget.

·       In BPON’s most recent campaign (2004), Real MCAS Supports for Real MCAS Success, BPON successfully pushed the legislature to increase spending on MCAS supports for remedial students from $10 million to nearly $15 million statewide. 

·       As part of its Real MCAS Supports for Real MCAS Success, BPON is holding regular meetings with BPS officials to improve the quality and implementation of MCAS support programs.