The Hurley School takes full advantage of Boston’s rich resources in the arts. Our students take many field trips to visit the city’s museums and performing arts venues. These include programs like the Boston Ballet School’s CityDance, where students who might have never been exposed to ballet to participate in dance classes. At the Museum of Fine Arts several of our classes participate in bilingual classes in the galleries of this world class museum. The Hurley hosts local performances, including presentations offered by Young Audiences, a non-profit organization that brings professional theater performances directly to the school, and the New England Conservatory opera program, which stages an opera production for our students every year. Hispanic arts play a critical role in our programming, of course. Students learn from renowned Hispanic artists at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center – located just around the corner from the school – and from Hispanic writers-in-residence every year who are sponsored by the University of Massachusetts.
Choosing the Hurley
The Benefits of Bilingualism
- Academic: Our students, whether native speakers of English or Spanish, achieve high levels of success in both languages.
- Cognitive: Bilingual students perform better on tasks that call for creative thinking, pattern recognition, and problem-solving. Bilingual students also have greater linguistic awareness and a more complex understanding of their native language.
- Socio-Cultural: Proficiency in two languages also permits students to broaden their horizons by engaging with folk tales, songs, idioms, expressions, historical documents and other primary sources without the mediation of translation. Because our students are bilingual, they deepen their understanding of the world by communicating with people from other cultural groups.
- Economic: There is an increasing demand for bilingual employees. By the time Hurley’s students enter the workforce, this will be even more important.
The Bilingual Advantage
By 5th grade, students who have studied at the Hurley since kindergarten can read, write and speak both Spanish and English with a high level of proficiency. Unlike traditional elementary school language programs that expose children to a foreign language for 40 minutes once a week, the Hurley School immerses its students daily in a stimulating bilingual and multicultural environment. Because Hurley students hear and read Spanish as often as English, they acquire a second language in much the same way that they learned their first.
Academic excellence goes hand in hand with language acquisition at the Hurley. All our teachers have extensive training in implementing a dual-language program as integral part of an academically rigorous education. As a result, the Hurley’s tested dual-language approach graduates well-educated students who are not only bilingual but also biliterate.
The Hurley academic and social emotional experience is based on five core values DOMINA! Ms.Verano's morning announcement features Hurley students reciting the values over the school intercom in both Spanish and English on alternating weeks. We expect every member of the Hurley community to understand, explain, and embrace these values.
Building Respect Through Open Circle
In grades K–5, we work to reinforce our core values by using Open Circle, an anti-bullying curriculum developed at Wellesley College. The Open Circle curriculum is designed specifically to support a respectful learning community and create ethical people, contributing citizens, and successful learners. Twice a week, teachers trained in the curriculum lead interactive workshops around topics such as respectful peer and adult relationships, and the power of positive classroom behavior.
Promoting Excellence Through Hurley High Flyer Awards
To recognize those students who exemplify the Hurley values, the Hurley School awards a monthly Hurley High Flyer Award in each grade. Nominated by classmates and/or teachers, Hurley High Fliers are those students that exhibit exemplary kindness, helpfulness, and an eagerness to learn. In addition to the accolades, Hurley High Fliers are treated to a pizza lunch with Principal Soto in her office. The Hurley High Flyer Lifetime Award, a new tradition at the Hurley School, is granted at graduation to that student which best exemplifies the Hurley values throughout his/her entire school career.
Field Trips and Performances
Bodega de Arte Afterschool Program
The mission of Bodega de Arte (BDA) is to create a supportive bilingual environment where our students have opportunities for expanded academic support and unique enrichment programs. Here is a quick glimpse of our program
- A typical schedule for full-time Bodega de Arte includes:
- 2:30–2:45: Community Meeting
- 2:45–3:45: Enrichment Clubs
- 3:45–4:00: Snack
- 4:00–5:15: ¡Progresa! (Academics)
- 5:15–5:45: ¡Actívate! (Health and Fitness)
- 5:45–6:00: Clean up and ready for Pick up
- Program Costs
- $135/5 days
- $110/4 days
- $95/3 days
- Unfortunately, BDA does not accept EEC vouchers
- BDA runs Monday through Friday from 3:10 pm-6 pm. (Our program is not open when BPS has vacation or snow days)
- We work with many outside partnerships to strengthen our community including:
- Strong Women, Strong Girls, Peace Through Play, Sole Train, and BUILD Tutors from Boston University.
Please contact Bodega Coordinator, Paola Cruz, pcruzvelasquez@bostonpublicschools.org for more information.
After School Enrichment Workshops
- Swimming Lessons
- Chess
- Coding
- Robotics
- Musical Theater
- Chorus
- Painting
- General Art
- Soccer
- Basketball
Boston Music Project String Orchestra
Each year, parents across the North Zone choose the Hurley for its outstanding commitment to academics, its unique Spanish-English dual immersion program, its small size and its impressive array of enrichment classes. At the Hurley School, parents also find a welcoming environment, fostered by our active parent groups, our energetic and dedicated teaching staff and our helpful bilingual administration.
Choosing the right school for your child requires having access to as much information as possible. If you can’t find the answers to your questions on our website, please contact us at 617-635-8489.
Academic Excellence
The Hurley School is dedicated to providing each child with an excellent education and the critical thinking skills necessary to excel in high school and beyond. We strive for academic excellence from kindergarten through 8th grade. At each step, our teachers ensure that every child receives tailored instruction and homework to challenge, support and promote confidence. Because we are a small school, each student receives individualized attention.
The Hurley School’s rigorous bilingual education provides each student with daily academic challenges which our students meet successfully. For instance, in 2012-2013 our third grade students achieved the highest MCAS scores in our district. Also, in 2010–2011, 65% of our 3rd graders tested into the Boston Public Schools’ Advanced Work Class(link is external) (AWC); all but one chose to stay at the Hurley to continue their bilingual education. And since the creation of our middle school in 2009, our students have gone on to succeed at high schools across the city, with an increasing number admitted to Boston exam schools in both 7th and 9th grades. Our excellent middle school teaching staff help our students thrive during this transitional time. Each year, our middle schoolers outperform their peers. In 2009, two Hurley 6th graders achieved the two highest scores in the city on the district-wide History Alive exam.