Charlestown High School

Charlestown High School is a public school located at 240 Medford Street in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. Charlestown High School is the only high school in Charlestown. Charlestown is part of Boston which means the school is part of the Boston Public School System. According to the article, "Focus On Children, the Boston Publics Schools School Report Card," of the students enrolled in 2003-2004, 70.6% were in regular education 7.1% in bilingual education, and 22.2% in the special education. The racial/ethnic composition of the student population in the school was: 46.3% Black, 26.4% Hispanic, 19.5% Asian, and 7.6% White.Academic organizationThe school consists of grades nine through twelve. The school provides a strong academic program due to the five Small Learning Communities/Pathways. These Communities and Pathways are within an Upper School and Lower School. They were created in 1998 and 1999. The five Small Learning Communities have a college-based curriculum with a signature theme. These signature themes range from Web Design, Law & Justice,and Pre-Engineering, to Business/Technology and MCAS Preparation/Academics. There are ten teachers and one leader in each Small Learning Communities. Each teacher has one specific theme to teach.CurriculumThe Charlestown High School curriculum is strongly based on preparing students for a college education. In addition to the basic curriculum, extensive attention is given to college and exploration. Most of the students participate in the Boston University COACH (College Orientation and Career Help) program. Each Friday two groups of Boston University students come to the school where they divide up by teams and go to the pathways classes, for both juniors and seniors. They work with the students on the entire college application process and portray what college life is like to the students. Since the Boston University (and Harvard at one point) COACH program has been at the Charlestown High School, college application and admission has risen 28%. Because of this rise in college applicants at Charlestown High, over 70 percent of the recent graduates have gone to college.