Public School Partnerships (PSP) is an academically focused team that cultivates strong education-based relationships with local public schools (with a specific focus in Allston-Brighton and Cambridge). The PSP team works with the district to identify responsive, innovative, and meaningful opportunities to connect Harvard faculty, staff, researchers, students, and educational initiatives to youth, families, and teachers. In addition, PSP develops and delivers college and career awareness programs, academic and cultural enrichment for youth, meaningful family engagement initiatives, events, and opportunities at the Harvard Ed Portal and directly within the schools.
Public School Partnerships
Community Partners
Action for Boston Community Development
Allston Brighton Adult Education Coalition
Charlesview, Inc.
Family Nurturing Center
Gardner Adult Education Program
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción
Jackson Mann Community Center
The Literacy Connection
Boston Public Schools
Baldwin Early Learning Pilot School
Boston Green Academy
Brighton High School
Edison K-8 School
Gardner Pilot Academy
Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Jackson/Mann K-8 School
Mary Lyon K-8 School
Mary Lyon Pilot High School
Winship Elementary School
Boston Public Library System
Honan Allston Library
Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services
Harvard Partners
HarvardX
Harvard College Admissions and Financial Aid
Harvard Business School
Harvard University Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Department of Philosophy
Department of Physics
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Harvard Peabody Museum
Harvard Art Museums
Harvard College Writing Program
American Repertory Theater
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Harvard Extension School
Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Harvard Medical School
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
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Schools play a vital role in the Allston-Brighton community. Through the Harvard Ed Portal’s partnerships with Boston Public Schools, there is an important opportunity to engage stakeholders, listen to their needs, and shape new, responsive opportunities for collaboration.
Soraya Ramos, Ed.M. '18, Harvard Graduate School of Education
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Public School Partnerships Monthly Newsletter
The monthly newsletter will help connect you directly to resources related to professional development for local Boston and Cambridge educators and enrichment and curricular opportunities for students and their families. Many featured events and programs are free.
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Upcoming Events
Project Teach
Harvard University’s official college and career awareness program
Project Teach demonstrates to seventh-grade public school students that attending college and developing career plans can be accessible, affordable, and attainable. The program helps students develop “college- and career-going identities” using a three-pronged approach that reaches students, teachers, and families. All seventh-grade students in Allston-Brighton and Cambridge participate in this program throughout the academic school year.
Visit the Project Teach website
Public School Partnerships Interns
Every year, the Public School Partnerships team works with interns from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard College, and local high schools, colleges, and universities. These interns provide more than 3,000 hours of support annually to educators, students, families, and community members.
From the Ed Portal to Dana-Farber
When he arrived in Allston from Honduras a decade ago, Allston resident Jose Mendoza’s parents wasted no time in signing him up for the mentoring program at the Harvard Ed Portal. He continued coming throughout his time in middle and high school and later returned with his two younger sisters who were also taking part in the mentoring program. His Ed Portal relationship eventually turned into a part-time job with the PSP team, allowing him to work closely with students and teachers within the Boston Public Schools, Cambridge Public Schools, and with education experts from the Graduate School of Education.
Read The Harvard Gazette story
SmartTALK: Homework Support for Kids Training
PSP partners with the Boston Public Library (BPL) to train BPL’s Homework Assistance Program mentors on SmartTALK: Homework Support for Kids. The training provides high school mentors with the tools to support children through behavior management, social and emotional support, and by aligning games to Common Core standards. Each year, the PSP team trains the BPL Homework Assistance Program mentors and these mentors reach more than 5,000 Boston students at BPL branches throughout the city.
Learn more at the Boston Public Library website
Family Nurturing Center Playgroups
The Harvard Ed Portal and Family Nurturing Center (FNC) are partnering to offer toddler morning playgroups! The playgroups are for parents and caregivers to interact and build skills with their young children through play and for families to connect with one another and with valuable resources.
Playgroups are open to all families living in Allston-Brighton. Groups are all multilingual, and for children 12-24 months (younger siblings welcomed). No advance registration required. For more information, please call 1-857-220-2641.
Offered on Tuesdays, September 19, 2023—June 18, 2024, 10:00am–11:30am.
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For Local Educators & Administrators
James Bryant Conant Fellowship
The James Bryant Conant Fellowship fund was established to support the professional growth of outstanding teachers and administrators under contract with the Boston and Cambridge public schools who are accepted to Harvard Graduate School of Education degree programs. Those interested in these competitive, full-tuition awards should consult their unions or school administrative offices concerning the tenure or professional status requirements of their school systems.
Professional Development Opportunities
PSP collaborates with Boston and Cambridge leadership, and Harvard partners, to develop and offer trainings that support professionals working inside and outside the classroom. PSP also offers professional development to out-of-school-time (OST) educators through the Harvard Out-of-School Time Learning Community (OSTLC). The OSTLC is a series of workshops that provide tools, strategies, and resources for supporting students during the academic portion of OST programs.
Online Resources
HarvardX provides a form of learning that is useful, transformative, and available for learners at every stage in life. It consists of a variety of online courses that can be audited for free. Students can choose to receive a verified certificate, the fee for which could be covered by the HarvardX scholarship.
Visit the HarvardX website for more
Harvard Partners
The Public School Partnerships team works with Harvard University faculty, museums, and research centers to develop rich and engaging programming.
See the list
Community Partners
The Public School Partnerships team collaborates with the Boston Public Schools and local organizations to integrate community resources into PSP’s work.