Programs
A.C.E. (Alternative Choices in Education)
ACE is an innovative, competency-based program at Brookline High School for up to 48 students, entering grades 10-12, who feel they will find more intellectual satisfaction and be more academically successful in a non-traditional setting. ACE provides a rigorous college-preparation pathway in which students are placed in multi-age classes based on their skill levels and can go at their own pace and graduate when they complete their content and skill competencies.
For more information, contact Amy Bayer or go to ACE Page
African American & Latino Scholars Program (AALSP)
The African-American & Latino Scholars Program at Brookline is designed to enhance the culture of high achievement among students of color. It is about helping Brookline High School reach its fundamental academic goal, an achievement profile that reflects the diversity of our student body. This program is generously supported by the BHS Innovation Fund.
For more information, contact Stephanie Hunt or see AALSP program pages.
B-CASA (Brookline Coalition Against Substance Abuse)
B-CASA is a community effort to address the underlying contributing factors of teen substance use and to offer effective strategies to counter the culture of acceptance of underage alcohol use.
For more information, go to B-CASA website
Brookline High School Tutorial
Brookline Tutorial is a one-credit course offering content area academic support for 10th through 12th grade students with the overarching goal of maximizing student achievement. Each class section (comprised of ten students with two content area teachers) meets four times a week in a supportive learning community. In collaboration with their Tutorial teachers, students identify specific goals for improving academic performance and receive individual guidance in developing effective study strategies. Class time is divided between personalized consultation (in which a Tutorial teacher assists the student in identifying more effective and efficient study habits) and independent practice (where the student implements recommended strategies).
For more information, contact Joanne Burke
BRYT
BRYT (Brookline Resilient Youth Team) is an initiative to support the reintegration of students who have been out of school and/or hospitalized due to an emotional, medical, psychiatric, or substance related issues. It is led by a collaborative of parents and staff from Brookline High School and the Brookline Center.
The Calculus Project
The Calculus Project is unlike any initiative in public education that aims close the achievement gap in mathematics. In particular, the project is designed to increase the number of African American and Latino students who enroll and succeed in high level mathematics courses at Brookline High School, culminating with the study of calculus in their senior year. This initiative originates in elementary school and offers a series of focused innovations that continue throughout high school. These include summer preview courses that support skill building, reduce summer loss, and prepare students for their subsequent mathematics course by introducing them to core mathematical concepts vital to their success; afterschool tutoring during the school year, where highly qualified mathematics teachers re-teach and reinforce concepts and skills; and the development of “cohorts” that serve to create a less stigmatized academic culture, enhance the aim of striving toward calculus, and provide support among the target population. If you have questions about the Calculus Project or want to join, please contact Meghan Kennedy-Justice and Lisa Rodriguez
China Exchange
The Mission of the Brookline High School China Exchange Program is to foster personal connections and a climate of mutual cultural understanding between the people of China and the United States. Each year, the China Exchange Program brings a group of eight high school students and one teacher from the Gao Xin School in Xi’an, China for a semester at Brookline High School, and a comparable group from Brookline High School to the Gao Xin School. The program provides participants with an opportunity for personal growth through increased cultural awareness, foreign language competency, and the maturation associated with navigating a new environment. The China Exchange Program enriches the communities of both schools far beyond the impact on the students and teachers who have directly participated since its inception in 1999. The program has fostered a much broader set of personal relationships among members of the two cultures involving school and community leaders, students and faculty, host families and other community members. It is also a powerful symbol of and focal point for the value that Brookline and Xi’an place on mutual understanding in an increasingly interconnected world.
For more information, go to BHS China Exchange Website or contact Steve Lantos
Global Leadership Program
The Global Leadership Program aims to provide students with the awareness, interpersonal skills, and knowledge needed for success in the 21st century. The program has three elements: the Global Leadership Course, the Global Leadership Clubs, and Global Leadership Trips.
The Global Leadership Course is a full-year elective open to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. There is an application (see below). The Global Leadership Club meets once a week, usually Wed. morning Z block in Room 388 (as of Feb.2018). Finally, the Global Leadership trips are designed to put BHS students in contact with real world complex problems around the world and adults who are trying to solve them. This involves both going to professional conferences and seeing problems in the field. Previously, we have gone to conferences in Copenhagen, Berlin, and Montreal. In 2018, we are planning to journey to Portugal, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin, as well as Nicaragua. If you are interested in future trips, please contact Mr. Ben Kahrl for a current list and for applications.
To lead in the twenty-first century’s increasingly interdependent world—a world in which different ethical and governing codes must constantly negotiate—requires global awareness, an ability to envision and coordinate a project, and the capacity to harness necessary resources. This program is generously supported by the 21st Century Fund. For more information, contact Roger Grande
METCO
The Public Schools of Brookline is a charter member of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO), a voluntary integration program founded in 1966 which provides K-12 education for over 300 students from Boston. METCO students participate in all aspects of the academic and extracurricular life of the schools and are supported by the METCO Director and staff.
For more information, contact Courtney Valentine
School Within a School (SWS)
School-Within-A-School (SWS) is a democratic program at Brookline High School for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Approximately one hundred and twenty students and eight staff share decision-making. Within the program, students take English, Social Studies, Biology, and Chemistry courses, as well as a weekly “Town Meeting” class. SWS functions as a separate administrative unit within the High School, with its own Coordinator who also serves as the counselor
For more information, go to SWS page or contact Dan Bresman
Social Justice Leadership
The Brookline High School Program in Social Justice Leadership trains a youth corps of social justice advocates and aims to nurture life-long leaders for social transformation—a powerful antidote to the recent decline in civic engagement and a response the growing demand by students to learn about and work for social justice. Participating students will grapple with the bedrock values of social justice—Commitment, Courage, Compassion, Humility, Praxis—and produce a social justice mission statement. Students will attend a bi-weekly seminar, blog and journal online, participate in trainings and intern at a local social justice organization. These experiences emphasize collective rather than individual responses to injustice, and transformative rather than temporary relief from social problems. The program is supported by The 21st Century Fund and is open to all juniors and senior applicants who can demonstrate maturity, a desire to participate, and a proven ability to fulfill commitment.
For more information, go to Social Justice Leadership website or contact Roger Grande
Steps to Success
Steps to Success (STS) is a comprehensive educational achievement program providing academic, social development and family support for low-income students and their families. Working with students in Grades 4-12, the program seeks to break through the attitudes and substantive barriers -both personal & institutional - that can make it difficult for these students to succeed in school and pursue a college education.
For more information, STS page or contact Melissa Sirin
ACE is an innovative, competency-based program at Brookline High School for up to 48 students, entering grades 10-12, who feel they will find more intellectual satisfaction and be more academically successful in a non-traditional setting. ACE provides a rigorous college-preparation pathway in which students are placed in multi-age classes based on their skill levels and can go at their own pace and graduate when they complete their content and skill competencies.
For more information, contact Amy Bayer or go to ACE Page
African American & Latino Scholars Program (AALSP)
The African-American & Latino Scholars Program at Brookline is designed to enhance the culture of high achievement among students of color. It is about helping Brookline High School reach its fundamental academic goal, an achievement profile that reflects the diversity of our student body. This program is generously supported by the BHS Innovation Fund.
For more information, contact Stephanie Hunt or see AALSP program pages.
B-CASA (Brookline Coalition Against Substance Abuse)
B-CASA is a community effort to address the underlying contributing factors of teen substance use and to offer effective strategies to counter the culture of acceptance of underage alcohol use.
For more information, go to B-CASA website
Brookline High School Tutorial
Brookline Tutorial is a one-credit course offering content area academic support for 10th through 12th grade students with the overarching goal of maximizing student achievement. Each class section (comprised of ten students with two content area teachers) meets four times a week in a supportive learning community. In collaboration with their Tutorial teachers, students identify specific goals for improving academic performance and receive individual guidance in developing effective study strategies. Class time is divided between personalized consultation (in which a Tutorial teacher assists the student in identifying more effective and efficient study habits) and independent practice (where the student implements recommended strategies).
For more information, contact Joanne Burke
BRYT
BRYT (Brookline Resilient Youth Team) is an initiative to support the reintegration of students who have been out of school and/or hospitalized due to an emotional, medical, psychiatric, or substance related issues. It is led by a collaborative of parents and staff from Brookline High School and the Brookline Center.
The Calculus Project
The Calculus Project is unlike any initiative in public education that aims close the achievement gap in mathematics. In particular, the project is designed to increase the number of African American and Latino students who enroll and succeed in high level mathematics courses at Brookline High School, culminating with the study of calculus in their senior year. This initiative originates in elementary school and offers a series of focused innovations that continue throughout high school. These include summer preview courses that support skill building, reduce summer loss, and prepare students for their subsequent mathematics course by introducing them to core mathematical concepts vital to their success; afterschool tutoring during the school year, where highly qualified mathematics teachers re-teach and reinforce concepts and skills; and the development of “cohorts” that serve to create a less stigmatized academic culture, enhance the aim of striving toward calculus, and provide support among the target population. If you have questions about the Calculus Project or want to join, please contact Meghan Kennedy-Justice and Lisa Rodriguez
China Exchange
The Mission of the Brookline High School China Exchange Program is to foster personal connections and a climate of mutual cultural understanding between the people of China and the United States. Each year, the China Exchange Program brings a group of eight high school students and one teacher from the Gao Xin School in Xi’an, China for a semester at Brookline High School, and a comparable group from Brookline High School to the Gao Xin School. The program provides participants with an opportunity for personal growth through increased cultural awareness, foreign language competency, and the maturation associated with navigating a new environment. The China Exchange Program enriches the communities of both schools far beyond the impact on the students and teachers who have directly participated since its inception in 1999. The program has fostered a much broader set of personal relationships among members of the two cultures involving school and community leaders, students and faculty, host families and other community members. It is also a powerful symbol of and focal point for the value that Brookline and Xi’an place on mutual understanding in an increasingly interconnected world.
For more information, go to BHS China Exchange Website or contact Steve Lantos
Global Leadership Program
The Global Leadership Program aims to provide students with the awareness, interpersonal skills, and knowledge needed for success in the 21st century. The program has three elements: the Global Leadership Course, the Global Leadership Clubs, and Global Leadership Trips.
The Global Leadership Course is a full-year elective open to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. There is an application (see below). The Global Leadership Club meets once a week, usually Wed. morning Z block in Room 388 (as of Feb.2018). Finally, the Global Leadership trips are designed to put BHS students in contact with real world complex problems around the world and adults who are trying to solve them. This involves both going to professional conferences and seeing problems in the field. Previously, we have gone to conferences in Copenhagen, Berlin, and Montreal. In 2018, we are planning to journey to Portugal, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin, as well as Nicaragua. If you are interested in future trips, please contact Mr. Ben Kahrl for a current list and for applications.
To lead in the twenty-first century’s increasingly interdependent world—a world in which different ethical and governing codes must constantly negotiate—requires global awareness, an ability to envision and coordinate a project, and the capacity to harness necessary resources. This program is generously supported by the 21st Century Fund. For more information, contact Roger Grande
METCO
The Public Schools of Brookline is a charter member of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO), a voluntary integration program founded in 1966 which provides K-12 education for over 300 students from Boston. METCO students participate in all aspects of the academic and extracurricular life of the schools and are supported by the METCO Director and staff.
For more information, contact Courtney Valentine
School Within a School (SWS)
School-Within-A-School (SWS) is a democratic program at Brookline High School for 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. Approximately one hundred and twenty students and eight staff share decision-making. Within the program, students take English, Social Studies, Biology, and Chemistry courses, as well as a weekly “Town Meeting” class. SWS functions as a separate administrative unit within the High School, with its own Coordinator who also serves as the counselor
For more information, go to SWS page or contact Dan Bresman
Social Justice Leadership
The Brookline High School Program in Social Justice Leadership trains a youth corps of social justice advocates and aims to nurture life-long leaders for social transformation—a powerful antidote to the recent decline in civic engagement and a response the growing demand by students to learn about and work for social justice. Participating students will grapple with the bedrock values of social justice—Commitment, Courage, Compassion, Humility, Praxis—and produce a social justice mission statement. Students will attend a bi-weekly seminar, blog and journal online, participate in trainings and intern at a local social justice organization. These experiences emphasize collective rather than individual responses to injustice, and transformative rather than temporary relief from social problems. The program is supported by The 21st Century Fund and is open to all juniors and senior applicants who can demonstrate maturity, a desire to participate, and a proven ability to fulfill commitment.
For more information, go to Social Justice Leadership website or contact Roger Grande
Steps to Success
Steps to Success (STS) is a comprehensive educational achievement program providing academic, social development and family support for low-income students and their families. Working with students in Grades 4-12, the program seeks to break through the attitudes and substantive barriers -both personal & institutional - that can make it difficult for these students to succeed in school and pursue a college education.
For more information, STS page or contact Melissa Sirin