Codman Academy Charter School received its charter from the Massachusetts Department of Education on February 27, 2001, and opened on the site of its partner, the Codman Square Health Center, in September 2001. In June 2008, the school, which has 120 students, graduated its fourth class. This year, as in the previous three years, 100% of its graduates were accepted to four-year colleges and universities. Many of Codman’s students, who are drawn by lottery mainly from the surrounding neighborhoods, begin 9^th grade with significant academic deficits. Codman addresses their needs through an extended hours, six day a week program that combines rigorous academics with a strong liberal arts curriculum rooted in social justice and wide array of wellness and nutrition courses.

The Codman Square Health Center - Codman Academy partnership, the only one of its kind in the country, addresses the mental and physical needs of Codman’s students in a holistic fashion. Codman’s students have access to the medical, dental and mental services of the Health center and the Academy’s full time social worker is supervised by Health Center staff. The school’s nutrition course, mandatory for all 9^th graders, emphasizes prevention of “life style” diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, coinciding with the approach of the Health Center.

The proximity of the school and the Health Center yields other benefits. Throughout the school day, Codman’s students have contact with Health Center medical and support personnel, who serve as role models for the students. The school and the Health Center have initiated a student internship program. One goal of this program is to educate Codman students to become health care advocates for their families and communities. Another is to introduce them to career possibilities in the health care field, which is responsible for 40% of Boston area jobs, many of which are well paying.

The Health Center and the school are in the process of planning a 27,000 square foot addition to the existing Health Center building, which will contain a shared cafeteria, and teaching kitchen, theatre and meeting spaces.