Our Mission & Vision
The mission of the King Open School is to build an inclusive learning community that supports academic achievement and addresses learning gaps through culturally responsive learning experiences in our monolingual, dual language, and specialized classrooms. The principles of social justice guide our work. To advance diversity, equality, and fairness, we confront our varying perspectives of social justice to allow these principles to guide decisions, practices, curriculum, and relationships.
Toward this mission, we use the knowledge and expertise of staff, students, and families to create curriculum informed by the Massachusetts State Standards. We co-plan differentiated instruction. We include in-depth themes and projects that integrate subject areas and culminate in community events. We strive for the social and emotional growth of each student. Above all, we seek to empower students as active change agents in their communities while developing a lifelong love of learning.
Background
The Martin Luther King Open School was founded over 30 years ago as a K-8 Cambridge public school by a group of parents and staff who sought to create a vibrant learning community dedicated to social justice that would be economically, socially and culturally diverse. When the school first started, such innovative learning communities were hard to find. Over time, the staff and families of King Open have worked hard to refine the curriculum and approaches to learning that guide the school. It is a community committed to ongoing reflection and improvement of practice.
In 2002 King Open moved to the Harrington School building near Inman Square on Cambridge Street, its current building.With the relocation and growth, King Open has been enriched through the school’s greater diversity and its strong connections to the many communities of Cambridge. In 2012 King Open became a K-5 as part of a citywide initiative that converted all elementary schools to K-5 and created four new upper schools serving grades 6-8. The school’s essential mission and philosophy remains a motivating and unifying force as we now focus on grades K through 5th.
The Building
King Open is at 850 Cambridge Street. After 5th grade, King Open students join 6th graders from the Cambridgeport School and the Fletcher Maynard Academy for middle school at Cambridge Street Upper School.
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