BOSTON — Taking a school from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the heap is nothing short of a miracle.
But it’s something the Mattahunt Elementary School in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood pulled off in just a few years.
Last October, the school won the “School on the Move” award from EdVestors – a non-profit based in Boston focused on educational improvement.
The award came with a $100,000 prize.
Principal Walter Henderson remembers when things were much different at the Mattapan school.
“The Mattahunt, nine years ago? The school was in a challenging time. It was deemed one of the lowest performing schools in the state.”
In 2015 and 2016, the Mattahunt ranked in the bottom 1% of public schools in Massachusetts and was a target for a state takeover.
The Boston Public School System made a bold move. It closed the school for a year to build a completely new program.
“I guess chaos is not the right word. It was a controlled challenge, and tumult, because there were so many challenges going on.”
One building block was to strengthen ties to the Mattapan community by launching a dual language Haitian Creole program, the first in the country.
Instruction starts in Pre-K.
Priscilla Joseph, lead teacher of the program, said “I am from this community, so when I got the job, I was excited. Although it was a turnaround school and we had to go thru a number of trainings and work longer hours, I really wanted to give back to my community.”
Even after the reboot, some parents were still concerned about sending their children to the school.
Nadine Mode, who has a son who is autistic, wasn’t happy when he was assigned to the Mattahunt.
“My thought changed completely. My son is thriving in school and he’s doing great. He’s talking. He’s independent, and he knows how to advocate for himself. I’m so happy!”
Academic rigor is evident in English class students’ work on a research paper.
Efforts like that are pushing many of them to think and dream big.
5th grader Trisha Dumervil said, “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor. I want to help people. I want to make sure they’re OK. I want to make the world a better place.”
Anaya Julien, also in the 5th grade, said “I like that the teachers push you to be a better version of yourself.”
Shawna Hawkins is in the 4th grade. She said, “My dream is to be a lawyer because I want to help people in court.”
It was an emotional moment when the school won the award.
Joseph said, “I think we all started crying and it was tears of joy because we were told that we weren’t good enough and we failed, and to come back and say you know, to become the first, it was, I’m still getting chills.”
Henderson choked up as he added, “It was epic. It’s hard not to get emotional because the teachers, the families, have stuck with us through thick and thin during the hard times.”
While the award was a crowning achievement for Henderson and his staff, he wants the students to be the real winners.
“We want them to have Mattahunt memories that are fond and beautiful and that they can smile and look back and say, hey, I had a great education.”
There is no final decision on how the school will spend the $100,000 award money.
The administration is getting input from all facets of the Mattahunt community before they determine the best way to use those funds.
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