Original Research by School Decision on Higginson Inclusion K-2 School
Higginson Inclusion K-2 School sits in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston as a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through second grade. The school is a regular public school and is part of Boston Public Schools. Because it serves only the earliest grades, the school does not participate in the state’s testing program, and it has no graduation rate. A parent looking at typical academic performance metrics will not find them here they are not applicable to this grade band.
The student body is small. The enrollment is split across four grade levels, with a pre-kindergarten program and then kindergarten through second grade. In terms of composition, the largest share of students is Hispanic, followed by Black students. There are small numbers of students who are Asian, white, or of two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners were not available in the school’s reporting. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these support populations to understand what services are in place.
The school’s name includes “Inclusion,” which likely signals a focus on including students with diverse learning needs in general education classrooms, though the data provided does not elaborate on the specific model. No information was available about course offerings, enrichment programs, or staffing ratios. A parent would need to contact the school to learn about what enrichment, arts, or early childhood supports are offered beyond the core classroom.
Roxbury is a dense, urban neighborhood that serves as the city’s historic and cultural center for Black life. It is a mix of residential blocks with brick row houses and triple-deckers, along with active commercial corridors in Nubian Square, Crosstown, and Grove Hall. The neighborhood is diverse, home to African American, Hispanic, and Asian families, as well as young professionals. It has the most park acreage of any Boston neighborhood, headlined by Franklin Park, part of the Emerald Necklace. Nubian Square operates as a major transit hub for MBTA buses and the Silver Line, and a meaningful share of residents walk, bike, or take public transit to work. The area is described as being in the midst of a renaissance, with renewed commercial districts and new housing, driven partly by property values that are relatively affordable by Boston standards and by proximity to downtown. The Boston Public Schools district headquarters itself is located in Roxbury’s historic Ferdinand building in Nubian Square, alongside Roxbury Community College and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science.
Because the school covers only pre-K through second grade, the students who attend here will eventually need to move to another school for third grade onward. For a family considering this school, the decision is largely about fit for the early years the school’s small size, its urban Roxbury setting, and the inclusion model are the central characteristics. No comparison data relative to other Suffolk County districts was available since the school does not have the metrics that typically feed those comparisons, such as proficiency rates or chronic absenteeism. A parent visiting would want to look at the classroom environment and ask about how the school prepares its young students for the transition to the upper elementary grades in the Boston system.
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