Colleges pledge $10m boost to 10 Boston schools

Five Boston-area universities said they will pump $10 million in funds and services into 10 of the city's underperforming public schools to improve test scores and increase the number of students going to college.

``I won't be satisfied until 100 percent of our students pass the MCAS, and every student has the opportunity to go on to higher education," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino , who announced the program yesterday.

In the effort -- a five-year plan dubbed ``Step Up" -- the universities will provide teacher training, lend teaching assistance such as tutoring, and may advise schools on their curriculum design. They also will help with student issues, including dental and general-health screenings.

Universities have long played a role in public schools, officials said, but rarely have they collaborated on a concentrated program at specific schools.

``Boston is a different system than it was 10 or 11 years ago," said Michael G. Contompasis , interim superintendent of the Boston public schools. ``This collaboration will provide added incentives to all of those young people who may feel they don't have a chance."

Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, and Tufts University will provide expertise and services to the schools, which are yet to be selected. The universities pledged to provide $5 million in funds and another $5 million in direct services. The colleges plan to meet to determine which schools would benefit the most.

Speaking on behalf of all the university partners, Robert A. Brown , the president of BU, said colleges have an ``important role to play" when it comes to helping improve the city's public school system and ``preparing the next generation of the Massachusetts workforce."

At Samuel W. Mason Elementary School in Roxbury, Boston-area colleges have been contributing in numerous ways, including community service and counseling and mental health support programs for families.

``We have found that the university presence is critical in helping students maintain and reach their full academic potential," said Janet Palmer-Owens , the school's principal.

Richard Stutman , president of the Boston Teachers Union, said many universities have established individual partnerships with schools. The most important thing, he said, would be for the universities to listen to the needs of the schools.

The initiative comes on the heels of an analysis this week by The Boston Globe showing that at least half of the 10th-graders in Boston, Brockton, and Lowell -- three of the state's poorest communities -- scored in the top two of the MCAS test's four categories , a sharp improvement.

Russell Nichols can be reached at rnichols@globe.com.