FreightPlus, a leading provider of managed transportation services, is excited to announce its first official philanthropic partnership with UP Education Network, a nonprofit school success network committed to providing high-quality education to students in underserved communities. This partnership underscores FreightPlus' dedication to giving back and supporting meaningful causes that shape the future.

UP Educaon Network, a school success organizaon that partners with school districts, families, and sta to create exceponal schools for students systemically furthest from opportunity, is proud to announce that UP students are among the fastest growing students in the state according to the 2023-2024 MCAS results. Both prociency and growth are trending upwards, defying statewide trends of stagnaon and decline. Importantly, the latest results indicate that UP’s 8th graders are graduang prepared to thrive in high school with achievement levels in line with the state average and growth at the top of the state.

Welcome to fall in New England–a time for pumpkin-spice lattes and a renewed focus on learning for the kids in our lives. So let’s talk for a minute about that (learning, that is, not the PSL–ugh, sorry, not a fan).

I’m a veteran (maybe ‘relic’ is more appropriate?) of the greater Boston tech scene, and I enjoy being part of this creative community. I credit this powerhouse economic sector with giving me opportunities to build my skills and good fortune, both financially and otherwise. Having hired hundreds of people in various roles over the years, I’m also proud of what we contribute to the economy of this state, and the chances we provide for people to grow and prosper.

At Bitsight, we are committed to helping the communities in which we live and work. We dedicate our time and resources to meaningful causes and initiatives that reflect our core values. I am incredibly proud and excited to share our most recent example of this - a new partnership with UP Education Network, a nonprofit school success organization that partners with school districts, parents and staff to significantly improve formerly struggling Massachusetts schools.

Through this partnership, Bitsight can support UP Education Network’s mission of advancing equity in education. It is an opportunity for us to help provide hands-on STEM learning experiences to students at a young age. By working with UP Education to provide thoughtful exposure to STEM career pathways, we can help open doors for students in our community, ultimately contributing to a more diverse workforce in the future.

The UP Academy network of Dorchester schools held its first-ever fundraising gala, Shine Dorchester, on Thurs., May 2, at the Southline Boston building on Morrissey Boulevard.

UP Academy is an in-district Boston Public Schools (BPS) charter school network that now operates two schools in Dorchester and one in South Boston, UP Academy Boston. That facility is slated to close next year, leaving a merged two-school network – UP Academy Dorchester (the former Marshall School) and UP Academy Holland – in Dorchester.

Schools have always taken on responsibilities that go beyond teaching history, English, or math. They are an important part of the communities they serve and an integral part of the lives of the students they teach. That‘s part of why schools have historically taught kids everyday life skills alongside important academic skills.

One set of life skills that are especially important right now involves something called social and emotional learning.

While it isn‘t a new idea, social and emotional learning is something that will be more useful than ever as kids return to classrooms after COVD-19 and during this stage of the global pandemic.

This is the second in a series of four essays that reflect on a Knowledge Matters Campaign tour of school districts across Massachusetts. Part of a larger set of stories detailing the journey of educators across the country that have embraced a new vision of teaching and learning through implementation of high-quality instructional materials, this piece highlights UP Academy Holland, which shifted from balanced literacy to a high-quality, knowledge-building English language arts curriculum built to support the science of reading. Part of the Boston Public Schools, UAH is located in the Bowdoin-Geneva community.

UP Education Network announced today that it has been awarded a grant from the One8 Foundation to

fund implementation of OpenSciEd, a middle school applied science curriculum using phenomenon-based instruction and aligned to

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). OpenSciEd is a nonprofit organization that brings together educators, philanthropic organizations, curriculum developers, and professional development providers to improve science education through the development and implementation of high-quality, freely available science instructional materials.

UP Education Network, a nonprofit organization that partners with school districts, parents and staff to significantly improve formerly struggling Massachusetts schools, today announced that Bain Capital has contributed $100,000 to strengthen digital equity for all UP scholars. The contribution will provide UP Education Network’s students across five schools with devices, adequate internet access, and more IT support, ensuring every student successfully learns from home for what could be the remainder of the school year.

Michael Bower is the COO of UP Education Network, a school turnaround organization whose mission is to rapidly transform chronically underperforming district schools into extraordinary schools that sustain high achievement over time.

Since the shift to remote and hybrid learning, many parents have found themselves playing the role of tech support — a job they aren’t always prepared for. At the same time, school help desk teams are already stretched thin trying to support student and teacher IT needs during distance learning.

Some 64 percent of K–12 parents surveyed said they received little or no tech support last year, PC Magazine reports. Nearly 67 percent said they needed more guidance in order to support student learning. Recognizing this, IT teams around the nation have leveraged a range of creative approaches to expand remote learning resources and instructional support.