A Partner for School Transformation
Massachusetts ranks #1 in the nation for education, but that average hides wide gaps in opportunity. At least 75,000 students, disproportionately Black, Latine, and low-income, attend a school ranked in the bottom 10% of the state.
Every year counts. When a school doesn't have what it needs to improve, another group of students moves through without the full support they deserve, and that year doesn't come back.
This isn't about effort. Schools work hard for their students every day. What they often don't have is the time, resources, and support to step back, figure out what's really needed, and rebuild toward it while still showing up for kids. That's a challenge built into the system, and solving it takes a different kind of partnership.
We've spent over 15 years proving there's another way.
Take a look inside a partner classroom that outpaced the district and state in math growth.
Partner with Us
Why we’re the right partner
Here’s why school and district leaders trust us to lead this work.
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We've done the actual work.
UP has 15+ years of experience transforming schools, working in 4 districts, reaching over 11,000 students.
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We have the results to prove it.
Across our partnerships, we've taken schools from the 1st to 30th+ percentile in state accountability.
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We're on the ground with you.
In the building, in classrooms, in coaching meetings, helping leaders build the muscle to lead the work themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Don't see the right fit, or still have questions? Let's talk. We'll start by understanding what your school or district needs and shape the support from there.
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No. UP has managed schools directly in the past, and that experience taught us what it really takes to transform a school. It's also why we've changed how we work. Today, UP directly operates one school: our flagship, UP Academy Dorchester (UAD).
Every other school we work with is a partnership. Your school keeps its name, its leadership, and its identity. We work alongside your team and meet you where you are.
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We work directly with school and district leaders to align on a plan, then build the capacity to carry it forward. You stay in the lead. We build alongside you.
Partnerships can take three forms:
School-level partnership: intensive support for an individual school
Cluster-level partnership: intensive support for multiple schools
District-level partnership: support to build long-term internal capacity so the district can sustain and expand school improvement work
Every partnership follows the same streamlined process:
Assess: a comprehensive needs assessment, done together with the school(s) and/or district
Analyze and prioritize: identify what matters most based on that assessment
Plan: develop a plan in partnership with the school(s) and/or district
Don't see the right fit? We can work with you to build a custom package around your needs.
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Pricing depends on the scope, needs, and design of each partnership. Any estimates we share are a starting point and can be adjusted as we learn more together.
Scope of work, timelines, and support structures are all flexible too. We believe strong partnerships are co-designed, so we work closely with each district to shape the model around its priorities, its real needs, and its available resources.
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Along with 15+ years of transforming schools, our team is made up of experienced educators who put this approach to work in schools every day. We know the model works because we see it working at UAD, where we keep testing and refining it alongside teachers and students. That gives partners something a consultant can't: practices that have been proven in a real school, by people doing the actual work.