King Open K-8 School
King Open K-8 School
850 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 349-6540
Tim Groves, Principal
A group of Cambridge parents and teachers started King Open as a public magnet school more than 25 years ago as an alternative to the then-standard model of public education. Their alternative is open to different learning styles, different personalities, different cultures and family backgrounds, and varied teaching methods, and the front door and the classroom doors are always open to parents and other family members.
In practice, this means that the teachers engage in active conversation with the students rather than simply deliver instruction. They focus on helping every child develop his or her skills. And they keep working on a curriculum that allows students to grapple with new material in a number of different ways and that encourages them to ask probing questions. This way of teaching is no longer really alternative. Most good schools, even those called traditional schools, have adopted many of these once-alternative methods. And King Open and many other alternative schools have readopted some traditional methods of teaching. Still, King Open maintains a remarkable degree of openness to parent involvement and especially to the individuality of every child.
King Open seeks to meet its educational goals by providing a thoughtfully planned, yet informal learning environment--rich in academic content. One of its objectives is to demonstrate to its students that there are many approaches for reaching similar goals; that all approaches should be respected and encouraged. King Open provides a variety of learning activities; children learn to take responsibility for their own learning with guidance from teachers.
As of June 2008, the racial breakdown was as follows: 6.4% Asian, 26.9% Black, 13.3% Hispanic, 49.9% White; 0.2% Native American; and 2.5% Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic. 46% of students were eligible for free or reduced lunch.
(Adapted from the school website http://www.cpsd.us/KOP/ and from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education)
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