User:Stephanie.lewis58/sandbox

Lead Section

My city is that i was assigned to was Roxbury. I have decided to discuss in my section is Education, Transportation, Residential Housing, Recreation Areas and Green space. I think that the information that i have researched is good information to add because I thought that the person were missing information about Roxbury and it is important for people to read about Roxbury and have enough information in order to visit the different places that I have mentioned. Roxbury is an upcoming community and it is becoming more safe for people.

Education

Roxbury has a variety of schools in their district. There are 125 public schools that students can attend to. They include traditional district schools, exam schools, pilot schools, Horace Mann charter schools (also called in-district charter schools), Turnaround schools and Innovation schools. Exam schools include Roxbury Latin Academy, Boston Latin Academy and John D. O'Bryant. These schools are based on exam scores on national entrance exam plus grade point average. Students are going into these schools from 7th grade until their senior year of high school. They prepare students for college and other lifestyles that students need to learn.

The Boston Public Schools' pilot schools have a great partnership that was launched in 1994 among Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston School Committee, superintendent, and the Boston Teachers Union. The pilot schools were created to be models of educational innovation and to serve as research and development sites for effective urban public schools. Pilot schools are part of the school district but have over budget, staffing, governance, curriculum/assessment, and the school calendar to provide increased flexibility to organize schools and staffing to meet the needs of students and families. Roxbury has six Horace Mann Charter Schools, which is also called the district charter schools. Alternative school is when a student that just came to America, helps students has a strong start in the Boston Public schools. There are other programs that help students that are over-age or off-track, who need to go to school at night, has disabilities, and has disciplinary issues. Turnaround schools allows Boston Public Schools to come into the school to assist their lowest-performing schools by changing the staff, increasing class time, and adding new supports for students. With these flexibilities, the "Level 4" schools can access new tools to that can increase improvement in performance.

There are colleges in the area. Roxbury Community College is one of the popular colleges that people attend to get their Associates Degree. Also, there are universities such as Northeastern and Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Transportation and Travel

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was the first to emerge in the city in 1631, when Boston was a peninsula to the mainland bu a narrow strip of land which is not the south end. The MBTA has 5 different train lines and 500 bus lines. There are the Red, Orange, Commuter Rail (Purple), Green and Blue. The orange line and many buses runs through Roxbury. There is the 15, 19, 22, 23, 25, 28, 42, 44, 45, 66, 1, 8, 10, 14 and the 170.

Recreational Centers

There are many community centers that children and adults can attend to. The Roxbury YMCA was founded in 1851 in the Greater Boston which is a cause driven nonprofit organization committed to developing youth by informing them about healthy living and promoting social responsibility in the community. It is one of the largest urban YMCA's in the country and Boston s largest provider of social services for children and families. The Greater Boston YMCA offers programs in categories, including adult education, aquatics, child care, sports and health/wellness.

http://ymcaboston.org/roxbury

The John A. Shelburne community center is a non-profit recreational, educational, and cultural enrichment facility located in the heart of historic Roxbury. It has been a safe place for a large number of ethnic, cultural and economically diverse youth and adults for over twenty five years. The Hattie B Copper Community center served Leadership development for women of color for over 89 years. The Center was named after John A. Shelburne that was a native of Roxbury. He dedicated 30 years of social service to his community to help them succeed. They center will continue to create programs that will enhance opportunities for the youth to build leadership skills for themeslves.

http://www.timothysmithnetwork.org/node/990514

In 1916, the Hattie B Cooper Center opened their doors to 69 children at the Fourth Methodist Church on Shawmut Avenue. They have served in the Roxbury community for nearly 100 years that provided programs facilitate growth and development, while creating opportunities for future successes. The women noticed a need in the community to educate the youth and keep them safe, the same issues that Cooper addresses today. They currently provide high quality care for early education and care to 125 students on the daily and children that are children that are in the infants and toddler program, Preschool, and After school program.

Boston Centers for Youth and Families is located near Roxbury Crossing. It offers a range of affordable programs including preschool, school-aged & adult education, family literacy, youth employment, violence prevention & intervention, senior activities, recreation and enrichment. Their mission is to enhance Boston’s residents by partnering with various organizations to offer a wide range of comprehensive programs and activities according to neighborhood needs and interests.

The Reggie Lewis Center was opened in 1995 which was built by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This center serves as the home for the Roxbury Community College’s powerful intercollegiate and intramural athletics. Known as the “Reggie” and one of the fastest tracks in the World. The “Reggie” hosts over ninety high schools, collegiate and national track meets annually and some have included meets such as the USA Track and Field Championships, Boston Indoor Games, Northeast 10 Championships, NCAA Division II Championships and the High School National Championships. This center is a place for children and adults can attend to different sports such as basketball, track and soccer. They have community outreach programs that helps students stay out of trouble. There are after school programs to tutor students with their homework, physical activities and Arts and Crafts. Its a positive centers that changes people's lives for the better.

Housing

There are many housing resources in Roxbury that people can be able to live in. There are government housing, shelters, different organizations and Domestic Violence resources. Emergency Shelter Commission mission is to help prevent and end homelessness and hunger through proactive planning, policy analysis, program development and advocacy with our city, state, federal and community partner agencies. The Boston Fair housing helps Boston residents purchase,improve and keep their homes. They offer training and financial help first time buyers. There are different organizations such as MASS housing, Section 8 waiting list, Action For Boston Community Development and Mass Access. Mass Housing provides more than $16 billion for financing housing for home buyers and home owners. It will increase affordable housing for Massachusetts residents. Section 8 waiting list is a voucher program that that opened on January 2003 accordance with provisions contained in the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended. Action for Boston Community Development provides basic services and programs to help individuals, families and communities of Boston to overcome poverty live with dignity and achieve to their full potential.

Newspaper Articles

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/02/19/hit/wmpcYL9ngT5y5VqVQ9kNjN/story.html

http://mbta.com/about_the_mbta/history/ 

http://ymcaboston.org/roxbury

http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/Default.aspx?id=2315

http://bostonpublicschools.org/Page/941

http://www.timothysmithnetwork.org/node/990514