Success is self-reinforcing at the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School in Cambridge.
Principal Sherley Bretous said, “If I knew what the secret sauce was” then “I would give it to the whole world for free.” She is a former classroom teacher and has a doctorate degree from Boston University.
Decades of diligence are paying dividends for students today. “We are one of the top districts in both” ELA and Math MCAS scores, said Bretous, who is Haitian. “We’re looking to do the same thing for science.”
Test scores prove racial achievement gaps aren’t inevitable. 83% of Banneker students are African American, making BBCPS an outlier among districts in the top deciles. Among primary grade districts, those Black students have the state’s best ELA and MCAS scores.
The U.S. Department of Education bestowed a Blue Ribbon on the Banneker in 2023. Librarian Jennifer Gordon won national recognition in 2016.
“We’ve been chartered since 1996, but we don’t have a forever home,” she said. That’s changing.
In 2026, the school will move to new facilities. Bretous negotiated with the Archdiocese for Matignon High School’s building after it closed in 2023.
Currently, classrooms are spread across “four spaces,” she said. The relocation will bring different grades, pre-K through 6, under one roof. “The classes are smaller in the Matignon than our own classrooms.”
Committed to a tight-knight schoolhouse style, “there’s no intention to change enrollment,” Bretous said. “It’s a bigger building, a bigger campus, but we fit exactly.”
There’s work to do. The Matignon is “beautiful,” she said, “but it’s not designed for elementary kids.”
“We have to bring the building to code,” said the school leader, including elevator installation and HVAC updates.
Moving from 21 Notre Dame Avenue to Matignon Road required the Banneker to amend its state charter, now partly in Somerville. For 2026, up to 10 students from Somerville will be able to enroll.
“It will still be a lottery, but they will have preference.”
This year, families can apply through February 3.
Bretous attributed academic success to stability. “Our families know what to expect,” sheexplained.
As a charter public school, “we have an influx of kids on a regular basis,” said Bretous, citing housing instability. She estimated 60 openings annually.
A core of students attending for years, she said, make it easier for “new students to understand the culture and climate of the community.”
“We have very, very little turnover,” said Bretous. The “average span of a teacher can be 15-years,” she approximated, and administrators average 17-years. Bretous worked there 29.
Such low turnover minimizes re-teaching of the curriculum, philosophy and routines.
The Banneker methodically conducts professional learning including arts and enrichment specialists, cohorts of educators teaching the same grade-levels share resources.
“We pick a topic, and we study it for three years,” she said.
Currently, they are two years into professional development on writing across the curriculum. In the past, educators have studied differentiation and equity.
Group accountability “makes for a better educator,” she said. “Educators have to be consistent learners.”
These professional learning communities are distinct from school-wide PD, which tends towards procedures and philosophy. Teacher associates participate too.
Classroom teachers are often former teacher associates. “We hire from within primarily,” Bretous explained. These entry-level positions are typically credentialled educators beginning their careers.
“It’s not comparable to some paraprofessionals,” she said, because each teacher associate “really is a teacher.” TA’s write report cards and meet with families.
“We do have two teachers in every classroom,” said Bretous. “Ideally, it looks like a co-teaching model.” Visitors may not know the teacher from their associate.
“Our teacher associates teach social studies to the whole group, and they do small-group instruction,” she said. Other lessons “depend on what their passion is.”
“When one person is giving instruction, the other person is monitoring and giving feedback,” the former teacher said. “You’re able to do two sets of group work.”
Co-teaching benefits students who need attention the most. It contributes to better outcomes even with above-average class sizes. The Banneker averages 22.9 students per class, well-over the state average of 17.2.
“There’s a built-in sub,” she said, “There’s always a continuity of instruction.”
Such consistency across subjects, grades, months and years is a hallmark of the Banneker.
“We spend six weeks at school really talking about how we are scientists” and “why we are mathematicians,” Bretous said. One lesson is mathematicians make mistakes.
“Our school is based on so much routine,” she said. A “K-1 classroom has a lot of similarities to a sixth-grade classroom. So, the kids are not relearning routines.”
Teachers and parents are also oriented to annual priorities as early as August.
“Those kinds of things really set the expectations for when something goes awry,” she explained. Even students help manage misbehavior, offering “at The Banneker, that’s not what we do.”
Bretous described lessons building toward culminating academic or outdoor experiences. Each is a topic for student writing. She said, “everything is connected.”
“Our second graders do an in-depth study of Benjamin Banneker,” said Bretous. She described him as “a scientist, mathematician, thinker and problem-solver.”
A classroom visitor portrays the historical figure, answering students’ questions. They then write and illustrate a page about him. Compiled into a book, the library stores the student-histories.
All that “culminates at his birthday celebration,” Bretous said. There’s a cake.
In third grade, classwork on culture leads to a year-end passport event where families are experts. “They share their food, their culture, their music,” she said.
A STEAM Expo across grades also employs three-year cycles of study. “We are in our second year of water cycles.”
Fifth graders have a “nature’s classroom” excursion to Groton, Mass. Sixth grade culminates in a trip to Washington D.C.
“We have a guided tour,” she said. “We take them to the monuments; we take them to the museums.”
In advance, students study historical figures or landmarks in groups. Using a 3D printer, they create miniature replicas. Then, they present their research.
“They get to study something in-depth, but they also get to hear about lots of different monuments,” she said.
Televisions throughout the school feature activities in the Capitol. “We are always sharing what we’re doing,” said Bretous, “so kids at school can see. That gets them hyped up.”
Last year, Banneker students met U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, who represents Boston and Cambridge. Prior, they met their U.S. Senators.
“Our goal is to always take all our kids there,” Bretous said. “Families help mitigate the cost, because it can be very expensive.”
“We are a family at the Banneker,” said Bretous. “This is an extension of home.”
Students approaching her in the hallway take precedent over other obligations. “They know they have access to me,” the principal said.
Each layer of the organization supports another, from board to administrators, coaches to teachers; ultimately, it’s all for the benefit of students and their families.
“We work a longer school year than our counterparts, we work a longer school day than our counterparts,” Bretous said. “Teachers get paid significantly less, yet they stay.”
“I think it’s the feeling of success,” she supposed.
The Benjamin Banneker welcomes visitors, provided they can spend half a day observing.
“Our school is always open,” emphasized Bretous. “As a charter school, one of our charges is to really share best practices.”
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