Samuel Mason Elementary School

The Mason School has 210 students in kindergarten-grade 5, 24% of whom receive special education services.

An effective practice pilot and full-inclusion school in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, Samuel Mason Elementary School has been a Boston Teacher Residency (BTR) host school since its inception. Now, with eight BTR Teacher Resident/mentor pairs and four graduates on staff for the 2009-2010 school year, a critical mass of BTR-trained educators is working with the Mason’s innovative, dual-certified teachers to help students with moderate special needs overcome barriers to learning and excel in the classroom.

With a team-centered professional learning community; a research-based literacy and investigative math curriculum and an environmental science initiative; inquiry-based, differentiated instruction for students at all levels; and a low student-teacher ratio, the Mason teaches its children — and its BTR Residents — that hard work and collaboration lead to immense gains in learning for all involved.