UPCS At-a-Glance

• Grade 7–12 with 231 students

• All students are from the high-poverty neighborhoodsurrounding the schol. Admission is by lottery.

• Demographics:73% receive free or reduced priced lunch;67% speak English as a second language;61% are students of color.

Our Success• All UPCS graduates have gone on to college. All are

first-generation college attenders.

• All students have passed the state’s MCAS graduationexam on the first try, with the vast majority scoringadvanced and proficient.

Our Awards• Top-ranked high school in New England and top-

ranked high-poverty school in the nation by Newsweek

• Breakthrough High School, National Association forSecondary School Principals

• Outstanding Adolescent Literacy Program, Alliance forExcellent Education

• Dispelling the Myth Award,The Education Trust

• Highest performing urban high school inMassachusetts, MassINC

• Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award

Recognized as a national model by the Education Trust,the Alliance for Excellent Education, and NewsweekMagazine, the University Park Campus School hascompiled an unparalleled record of academic achievementsince opening its doors in 1997. UPCS, a grade 7–12 schoolserving 231 students, has ranked first among urban schoolsserving low-income students on state-mandated Englishand math graduation exams and in the top quartile of all

high schools in the state over the last four years. Allmembers of its first three graduating classes have gone onto college, each a first-generation college attendee.

The school’s record of accomplishment is all the moreremarkable given the low academic skills and limitedEnglish proficiency of its entering students. Located in thepoorest section of Worcester, the second largest city inMassachusetts, UPCS has as its only requirement for entrythat students live in the immediate neighborhood of theschool. Chosen by lottery, the vast majority of studentsenter at least two grade levels behind in reading and math.Three-quarters of the students qualify for free lunch; two-thirds come from homes where English is not spoken.Reflecting the ethnic composition of the surroundingneighborhood, 37 percent of the school’s students areLatino, 18 percent are Asian Americans, and 11 percentare African American. Many of the white students arerecent arrivals from Eastern Europe who enter the schoolspeaking only a few words of English.

Located a block from Clark University, UPCS wasfounded in 1997 as part of a larger effort by Clark and localcommunity development organizations to reverse theeconomic and social decline of the neighborhood. Togetherthe university and the Worcester Public Schools planned

and opened UPCS,which was builtaround the promise toprepare every studentfor college. Operatingon the same per pupilbudget as otherdistrict high schoolsin the city, the successof UPCS is not theresult of exceptionalfinancial resources.Rather, it is a result ofan exceptional schoolculture and academicprogram that refusesto let any student failto achieve highstandards.

University Park Campus School

An Unparalleled Record of Achievement

University Park Campus School

The school’s powerful educational program and deeppartnership with Clark have created a culture whereacademic success is universal. Beginning in the ninthgrade, all students pursue a rigorous college-preparatoryprogram consisting of all honors classes. At the same time,instruction is individualized to connect to each student’sparticular level of development. There is no tracking.Instead, there are small classes, personal relationship-building with a caring and competent faculty, 90-minutelearning blocks, and homework sessions in the morningand evening.

UPCS has no pull out classes. The school uses a fullimmersion model for its English language learners,meeting the needs of these students within its smallclasses. In addition, teachers work to promote students’social and emotional development as a critical pieceof overall academic and life success. By offering a commoncurriculum with few electives, the school can deploy itsteaching resources more efficiently than the typical highschool, keeping class sizes low (22 or fewer) in coreacademic subjects.

To make an accelerated college preparatory curriculumaccessible to all students by the beginning of high school,the grade 7–8 curriculum is designed to address thesignificant academic and English language skill gaps ofentering students. Literacy is a primary focus of theseyears, helping students to accelerate their reading and

writing skills to grade level as rapidly as possible. Studentsalso spend extended blocks of time on numeracy skills,learning both the hows and whys of basic mathematicoperations. And while students are developing basicliteracy skills, they are introduced to the distinctive modesof analysis in the core disciplines; they begin to engage inprojects where they learn to “think like scientists orhistorians.” For example, incoming seventh graders withvery low reading levels learn how to conduct a literacyanalysis using picture books as their texts.

Entering seventh graders attend a month-long AugustAcademy that helps them acclimate to the school andbegin their path to high academic achievement evenbefore their first official school day. Whenever possible,teachers loop with students in seventh and eighth gradesto ensure that no time is lost in those critical years andstudents are ready for the honors-level curriculumbeginning in ninth grade.

The honors-level program in grades 9–12 is modeled aftera prep school course of study that follows a curricularmantra of “minds thinking”—showing and explainingcritical thinking through writing at all times. The schooluses “writing across the curriculum” to continue to buildand reinforce literacy skills in all subject areas. UPCSoffers few electives; instead, juniors and seniors can takecourses at Clark University, choosing from the entirecollege course catalog.

Educational Program at UPCS

The Culture of UPCS

The culture of UPCS is one of excitement, engagement,and support. Students come to school excited to learn.They are fully engaged in class and have deep personalrelationships with the faculty. The teachers at UPCS arenot simply teachers- they are mentors and advisors fortheir students on academic and personal issues. With theirrelentless passion and an unflinching belief that allstudents can achieve at high levels, teachers motivatestudents to succeed and drive the achievement of theschool.

Education at UPCS is not driven by teachers alone.Students at UPCS take collective responsibility forensuring that their fellow students succeed. Juniors andseniors mentor younger students, formally and informally.Students support their peers in class, until every studentfully grasps the material at hand. Even friendships withinthe UPCS community revolve around academic successand support. The importance of academic achievement ispervasive at UPCS.

For staff, UPCS has created a system of embeddedprofessional development where all faculty memberscontinually support one another and veteran teachers

mentor their younger colleagues. Through analysis ofstudent data, the sharing of student work, and continualdialogue among the staff during weekly common planningtimes, every teacher knows the strengths, weaknesses, andplan for success for each student. This open door cultureleads to a group of reflective teachers who are continuallystriving to improve their own practice.

Partnership with Clark University

The educational program at UPCS is deliberately plannedto help students prepare for college. The partnership withClark University has the power to make the abstractconcept of “college” real for students. The sense of beingpart of a college community helps students gain themotivation and confidence they need to persevere indemanding academic courses. Students and teachers areon Clark’s campus nearly every day, not only using the labsor the gym but also observing and interacting with Clarkstudents and faculty. UPCS students take mini-seminarswith college faculty in grades 7 to 10, and most enroll incollege classes for credit during their junior and senioryears. As they become more familiar with the campusculture, they begin to see a future for themselves in whichcollege feels within reach. As early as the seventh grade,UPCS students walk through the campus and point outtheir future dorm rooms. They are “little Clarkies,” with

college IDs to seal the deal. Upon graduation, studentswho meet the admission criteria can attend Clark tuitionfree for four years, eliminating real and perceived financialbarriers to college.

The partnership with Clark University also providesUPCS with valuable teaching and professionaldevelopment resources through the Jacob Hiatt Center forUrban Education. The school serves as a clinical trainingsite for the university’s teacher preparation program, withfour to six student teachers working alongside UPCSmaster faculty for the full academic year. Many UPCS staffmembers started out as student teachers at the school.Several UPCS teachers lead courses in the university’seducation program and serve with college faculty oncurriculum teams in each discipline to improve instructionthrough careful analysis of data, student work, andclassroom practice.

Year–Subject Proficient/Advanced vs. Failing UPCS Worcester Massachusetts

2002-2005 Math(aggregate)

% scoring proficient and advanced 89% 31% 54%

% failing 0% 37% 19%

2002-2005 English(aggregate)

% scoring proficient and advanced 89% 39% 61%

% failing 0% 23% 12%

2005 Math % scoring proficient and advanced 90% 35% 62%

% failing 0% 32% 15%

2005 English % scoring proficient and advanced 81% 42% 65%

% failing 0% 20% 10%

Excellence on State Exams

At UPCS, even the neediest members of Worcester’sneediest neighborhood achieve academic success. Sincethe inception of the state’s tenth-grade graduation exams(MCAS), not a single UPCS student has failed the test.Averaging test scores from the past four years, 89% ofUPCS students scored at proficient and advanced levelson the tenth-grade MCAS math exam compared to 31%

of their Worcester public school peers and 54% statewide.In English, 89% scored at proficient and advanced levelscompared to 39% of students in the district and 61%across the state. Over this period, UPCS has achieved thehighest cumulative performance of any school serving amajority low-income population and placed in the topquartile of all schools in the state.

10th Grade MCAS Performance, 2002–2005

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FailingNeeds ImprovementProficientAdvanced

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Worcester

UPCS

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FailingNeeds ImprovementProficientAdvanced

2002–2005 MCAS English Performance2002–2005 MCAS Math Performance

UPCS/Clark Institute for Student Success

The University Park Campus School, Clark University, andJobs for the Future, a Boston-based educational non-profit,have partnered to form the UPCS/Clark Institute for StudentSuccess. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,the institute enables the school to share its success andserve as a model for other small schools across the nation. Attrainings and residencies, school developers, leaders, andteachers observe classroom practice and learn how to applythe leadership and instructional strategies that have led tothe school’s success.

If you would like more information about UPCS or theUPCS/Clark Institute for Student Success, contact:

Dan Restuccia • Institute Coordinator617.794.0726 • drestuccia@clarku.edu

www.upcsinstitute.org

Clark University, through the Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban Education, isdedicated to preparing outstanding urban teachers as part of a broad effort toenhance education possibilities for urban youth, transform schools and renewurban community life.

Jobs for the Future seeks to accelerate the education and economicadvancement of youth and adults struggling in our economy.

High test scores and college-going ratesare not all that sets UPCS apart from otherurban schools serving low-income students. Overnine years of operation, the school’s dropout andmobility rates are virtually zero. At UPCS, eventhe most at-risk students make it to graduationday—and beyond.

The same study that identified UPCS as thetop-performing urban high school in the statesingled out University Park as the only urbanschool that implements a demanding academiccurriculum without suffering significant studentattrition as a result. Other urban schools thatexcelled on state tests did so at a high price:many of their academically weaker studentswere leaving the school within two years ofentry.

Yet finishing high school is only the beginningfor UPCS students. In keeping with the school’spromise to neighborhood residents, everygraduate has left UPCS prepared to continue hisor her education in college, and 80% have goneon to four-year institutions, including Brown,Georgetown, Trinity, Tufts, and, of course, Clark.

All Students Graduate & Go On to College