In a news release by the City of Boston, a promising partnership between Boston Public Schools (BPS), Mayor Michelle Wu's office, and UMass Boston has borne its first fruit in the form of a full-ride scholarship awarded to a BCLA/McCormack graduate. The Robert and Ruth Starratt Endowed Scholarship, recently announced, represents UMass Boston's most sizeable endowed scholarship fund to date and is a testament to the collaborative efforts aimed at enhancing college-level opportunities for students in Boston's public schools.
A philanthropic gesture from Robert and Ruth Starratt, who donated $1.9 million to UMass Boston's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), laid the financial groundwork for this initiative. Targeting beneficiaries from the Batson Academy, previously BCLA/McCormack, the endowed scholarship aims to encourage careers in education among graduates, especially within the Boston Public Schools framework. Johanna Peña, the 17-year-old Roslindale resident and the award's inaugural recipient, expressed her gratitude and sense of opportunity brought about by this endowment, according to the City of Boston news release.
The comprehensive scholarship will not only cover full tuition for its recipients but also aim to set them on a path to graduate debt-free and ready to engage with the Boston Public School system. It is designed to supplement other forms of student aid, ensuring that the financial relief is total, an initiative that Mayor Michelle Wu commended as a pivotal step in providing every student with access to career-connected learning opportunities.
More than just a financial boon, the scholarship program includes a mentoring component and expects its scholars to return to their alma mater, sharing their journey towards an education degree. This reciprocal arrangement serves to inspire current students and cultivate a continuous cycle of community reinvestment. “This is a true, seamless partnership with UMass Boston,” said Ondrea Johnston, Head of School at BCLA/McCormack, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship cemented by such initiatives, as stated by the City of Boston.
In tandem with these efforts, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in January has already begun to yield positive outcomes, as evidenced by enriching experiences such as BCLA/McCormack students attending a climate summit at the Vatican, and engaging with global leaders on pressing environmental issues. These encounters augment the academic curriculum, integrating it with practical, world-shaping exchanges that underscore the commitment of Mayor Wu as well as BPS and UMass Boston leadership in nurturing future generations.
