For years, finding the best school option for your child in Boston has been challenging and overwhelming. Between Boston Public Schools, charter schools, parochial schools, and private schools, there are many different choices, but also many different sources of information, and many decisions to make. Something as simple as identifying which schools serve 6th graders, or how to enroll in each school, required visiting multiple websites and sorting through all of the information. To help address this challenge, Barr recently provided a grant to Boston Schools Fund to develop and launch Boston School Finder. This new web-based tool includes information on all schools in Boston (district, charter, parochial, and private) to help inform parents and students of the school options, and empower them in the school selection process.
Barr’s Boston Strategy within its Education Program has a goal of expanding access to quality K-12 seats across the city. Achieving this goal can include both increasing the quality of the schools, and helping parents and students access the schools that are best suited for them. Boston School Finder helps get at that second component – improving access.
We were very excited about the potential impact of this tool, because of how parents informed Boston Schools Fund’s research, development, and testing. Through polls, surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with parents, Boston Schools Fund strived to understand how parents in Boston choose schools and what information and resources they value to make that choice.
They found that families valued a variety of information, but were missing a way to look at that information across all schools in one place, allowing them to evaluate the range of options for themselves. Boston School Finder is a response to that need. It includes information on all schools in Boston (district, charter, parochial, and private), is available in eight languages, and is free for everyone. It uses publicly available information, and does not evaluate or rank schools. It also strives to be easy to use by incorporating a searchable database with consistent school profile formats.
Barr believes in the importance of working collaboratively across the education landscape, as well as with elected officials and the private sector, towards a common goal. We are excited that Boston School Finder is an example of a public-private partnership that includes support from throughout the community. Boston Public Schools, charter, parochial, and private schools all contributed school-specific information and links to enrollment and applications processes. Boston based e-commerce company, Wayfair, provided in-kind support to build the website and the searchable tool. And over 75 civic and community groups, including City Hall, helped shape and contribute to the effort as well.
We believe there is a lot that can be learned as Boston School Finder is rolled out and utilized by families. The data collected on the usage of the tool and feedback from parents will improve the site, and better inform the public on why and how families choose schools.Subsequently, this could inform decision-making across the city and improve the support provided to parents and families. We encourage you to explore Boston School Finder and provide your feedback.
