Academy of the Pacific Rim expands space and program

Spencer Blasdale

The Japanese word “gambatte” drives the daily interactions at The Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School (APR).

Students, teachers and families frequently say “gambatte” — which can be translated as “prepare, persist and never give up” — to one another. Preparation and effort are believed to be the keys to success, rather than saying “good luck” before a test, athletic event or interview. The entire school community is focused on college preparation.

The Academy is a fifth- through 12th-grade charter public school in Hyde Park, serving students from all neighborhoods of Boston. The student body is rich in its diversity (57 percent black, 24 percent white, 16 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian), and the school is designed to blend the best practices of Eastern and Western education in order to prepare students for college.

The school combines the high standards, discipline and character education more typically found in Asian schools with a commitment to individualism, creativity and diversity predominant in Western schools.


This means that students perform daily Asian-inspired routines and rituals — for example, they are responsible for cleaning their classroom and common areas in the school, and there are rituals of greeting and respect as students enter the building and begin a class. At the same time, students experience Western-inspired practices, including small advisory groups, instruction and support to meet the needs of all learners, an art or gym class each day, and a set of rich extracurricular offerings.

Academy students have achieved success through this approach. On the MCAS tests taken this past spring, 73 percent earned proficient or advanced status in English language arts (ELA) and 91 percent earned proficient or advanced status in math. Each senior earned at least two acceptances to a four-year college or university, and all of them matriculated into college this fall. Collectively, the 2007 senior class earned more than $2.5 million in scholarships to attend a college or university.

For the 2007-2008 school year, the Academy expanded both its physical space and its programs. After a two-year capital campaign, the school was able to purchase the building that it previously leased. Recently completed construction adds an additional eight classrooms and a “Great Room” designed for community events.

“The new space is a huge improvement over what we had before,” said sophomore Ivanna Santiago. “Overall, the new high school brings us closer and makes us feel more like a family.”

The Academy has also added a fifth grade this year. This addition of 75 new students has definitely changed the energy of the school. One can feel their excitement and curiosity about learning throughout the day — on any given day, visitors can see a variety of lessons, but more importantly visitors can see engaged students.

“You can tell the teachers are really preparing us for college. They make complicated things a lot easier,” said fifth-grader Anthony Lopez-Morales. “They really challenge me and support me.”

Fundamentally, the school puts into practice the theory that students are motivated by challenge, and that all students can reach high standards, but some students need more time or support.

“It’s like an exam school — without the exam and with more tutoring,” said Elisa Sequeira, an APR alumna currently in her senior year at Williams College in Williamstown.

This means that the academic day runs from 7:45 a.m. until 4:10 or 5 p.m., with students participating in tutoring or extracurricular activities in the late afternoon.

Since APR is a charter public school, students enter the Academy through a public lottery each March. The school will be enrolling fifth-graders, as well as sixth- and seventh-graders, as seats become available in the March 2008 lottery.

The Academy draws students from a variety of schools in Boston and, over the years of working together, each class becomes a small team. The school creates a uniquely focused community of learners over the course of their middle and high school years.

“It was my peers at APR who pushed me most,” said Chris Trammel, an Academy alumnus now in his fifth year at Northeastern University. “We were a small group and somewhat of a small team. We would often support one another and we would often compete with one another.”

For more information about the school, you can visit the Web site at www.pacrim.org or call 617-361-0050.