Margarita Muñiz Academy in Boston, MA, was founded in 2012 with the mission of providing full cultural and linguistic fluency in Spanish and English for all of its students. The school’s development of its “Portrait of a Scholar” project led to a number of changes focused on providing greater opportunities for student voice and participation. The pandemic paused that work, but the experiences of remote learning ultimately reaffirmed the school’s vision.
This innovation profile focuses on the pause and what came after: how the Muñiz Academy community came together at the beginning of the pandemic, how it evolved during remote learning, and what it is moving forward into the future.
Other schools can consider these questions based on the Margarita Muñiz model:
- How can high schools create coherence and community wide understanding about the core approaches they prioritize?
- What staffing and advisory models can ensure that every student has a strong relationship with at least one caring adult to whom they can talk about their real lives?
- What instructional approaches allow students to see their languages and cultures reflected in their learning and contributing to their identities?
About the Project
Innovation profiles are part of Think Forward New England, a research project focused on how high schools in New England are reimagining learning for adolescents and young adults in the context of COVID-19. Each profile illustrates a school charting a compelling new course for high school education, and aims to spur new questions and conversations among education leaders about emerging from the pandemic with a commitment to reimagining high school.
