Profile: Roxbury Preparatory Charter School

When Jami Therrien caught one of her students passing a note in class, she quickly took it and continued with the lesson. While the students were studying quietly, she unfolded the piece of paper. It read “Cheer up, it’ll be ok. You’ll get a better grade next time.” It was far from the standard gossip note, and frankly, Jami wasn’t that surprised.

Roxbury Preparatory Charter School serves grades six to eight. The school puts scholarship first while inspiring a culture of positive attitudes, integrity and individual responsibility. Hallway transitions are silent. If one student drops a book, another retrieves it without fanfare. Students volunteer to clean up classrooms after labs, and each Friday they gather with teachers as a community to promote the school’s values among one another.

Such an environment doesn’t happen by accident. Along with the rigorous sixth grade to eighth grade curriculum, students build leadership skills and learn how to respect themselves and each other. Students gain academic skills and, of equal importance, they develop self-confidence at a crucial time in their lives. Returning graduates are proof that the Roxbury Prep curriculum works. After starting high school, one graduate returned to visit Jami. While talking about his high school experience he said, “My freshman year was a breeze. I’m at the top of my math class and on track for calculus.”

More than 75 percent of the students from Roxbury Prep’s three graduating classes are now enrolled in college, and almost all stay connected to Roxbury Prep. Some are math tutors and others help younger kids with applications for high schools or internships. Jami says, “Roxbury Prep is a safe place. Kids here feel like it’s cool to learn, it’s good to be intelligent and it’s great to just be themselves.”