Boston Partners in Education

Aim high supports students in grades 9-12 who have small gaps in skills and knowledge, and just need that extra push to find success. Aim high mentors work one-on-one or with a small group of students in humanities or science, technology, engineering and math (stem) subjects. Aim high helps students build confidence and resilience, and prepare for their future aspirations. in 2022-2023, aim high matched 120 students from 36 classrooms in 14 schools with 66 mentors, who spent an estimated 3,353 hours with students.

in independent learning support (ils), mentors are connected with bps students in grades 2-12 who have self-identified or been identified by their families as benefiting from extra, focused academic support. Ils matches meet virtually for one hour per week for the duration of the school year. A silent volunteer proctor attends and monitors all sessions to ensure safety and security. in 2021-2022, ils matched 132 students from 109 classrooms in 46 schools with 126 mentors, who spent an estimated 3,171 hours with students.

Accelerate can assist any student in grades k-8 identified by their teacher as needing extra academic or socio-emotional support. Accelerate mentors work one-on one with a student, or in small groups, during regular classroom instruction time. Accelerate is designed to help students who lack the skills, motivation or interest in ela or math. in 2022-2023, accelerate matched 252 students from 79 classrooms in 25 schools with 127 mentors, who spent an estimated 3,544 hours with students.

The big cheese reads brings business and community leaders into bps middle school classrooms to emphasize the important link between literacy and career success. Since its inception in 2004, more than 250 corporate and community leaders have visited classes to support the initiative. in 2022- 2023, 10 "big cheeses" visited with 346 students from eight classrooms in seven schools, reading short literary passages and sharing inspiring personal stories about how learning and literacy influenced their success in life. in motivate, a volunteer works with a full class of students in grades prek-2, at minimum one hour per week, in response to teacher requests for support. The volunteer helps run activities and manage the classroom, freeing the teacher to focus on individual students, thus improving his/her effectiveness. Volunteers help students build proficiency in reading, writing, math, science, art, and other subjects in a variety of contexts (e.g., independent work, small groups), while also helping teachers achieve social-emotional learning goals (e.g., building empathy). in 2022-2023, motivate matched 622 children from 29 classrooms in 13 schools with 32 mentors, who spent an estimated 1,574 hours with students.