Somerville School Committee unanimously voted to authorize the designation of the Winter Hill Community School as an Innovation School.

At their June 27 meeting, the Somerville School Committee unanimously voted to authorize the designation of the Winter Hill Community School as an Innovation School. Innovation Schools are in-district public schools that operate with greater autonomy and flexibility, providing opportunities to share best practices and provide ongoing planning and implementation support.

In 2010 Patrick signed the Achievement Gap Act that created Innovation Schools. Currently, there are 28 approved schools across Massachusetts, with 27 more in planning stages. Innovation Schools aim to raise student achievement and lower the state’s achievement gap

The School Committee action coincided with anther event Wednesday, as a group of Somerville educators joined the governor and state education officials at Boston’s Museum of Science to launch the Innovation School network.  Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is launching a network which aims to give educators and administrators who will be operating in Innovation Schools a platform to share best practices and support.

In attendance at today’s Innovation School Network meeting were seven members of the Winter Hill Community School Innovation Team.  This teacher-led team has been developing an Innovation Plan for the Winter Hill Community School for the past three months.

According to School Committee Chair Paul Bockelman, the Innovation Plan represents a significant step forward for the Somerville schools. He said, “This is a strong vote of confidence that our professional educators, working with families and community members, will build a dynamic, student-centered school. It is exciting to be on the leading edge of substantive educational reform in Massachusetts.”

School Committee member Christine Rafal, who worked closely with the Winter Hill Team in the development of the Plan, commented that it “has been such a privilege for me to participate on the innovation planning team and get to know the caring, dedicated teachers at the Winter Hill even better. They made considerate and considerable efforts to ensure all staff had input into the planning; they understand and care deeply about their students and their achievement. I am so excited about the possibilities that will unfold at the Winter Hill!”

The Somerville Teachers Association (STA) has actively supported the Somerville Innovation planning process. STA President Jacquelyn Lawrence stated, “It is no surprise to me that the professional educators at the Winter Hill Community School have been successful in designing an Innovation School.   WHCS has been innovative and focused on serving their unique community of learners for year.  Keep an eye on WHCS.”

Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi commented following the vote, saying “I am very pleased with this step, and commend the Winter Hill team for their leadership, as I applaud the other innovation concepts currently under discussion. This is a reflection of informal, ongoing innovation which we encourage every day in the Somerville Public Schools.

Two other Somerville schools are in the early stages of the Innovation School development process.  These include the John F. Kennedy School and a community-based proposal to create a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Academy, an Innovation School within Somerville High School.