East Boston school honored with Payzant prize for academic achievement

Six years ago, the Donald McKay K-8 School in East Boston was ranked in the bottom 6 percent of Massachusetts schools.

So staff and students put their heads together. They developed a plan to improve learning and empower students at McKay, where 90 percent of the 800 students are Latino, officials said.

Now the school’s academic performance has improved to the point where McKay has surpassed the district average in literacy and math.