The meeting opened with an executive session to discuss a tentative agreement with the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASAS), which the Committee will vote on at its next meeting on December 17th. Additionally, the Committee recognized Taylor McCoy, an Inclusion Specialist at Mattahunt Elementary School, as the 2025 Shattuck Award recipient. Members celebrated her dedication as well as the work of countless educators who serve students every day.

Public Comment: 

Public comment was emotional and dominated by strong opposition to the proposed school closures, including Another Course to College (ACC), the Community Academy of Science and Health (C.A.S.H.), the Henderson Inclusion School, and Lee Academy. There were 60 speakers scheduled to comment at the meeting, though the actual number of speakers was closer to 50. Students, parents, teachers, and community members emphasized the importance of each school community and the lack of clear transition plans for impacted students. Speakers also pointed to the contrast between the district’s update on inclusive practices and the forthcoming vote to close many schools with high-needs students. Additionally, in response to requests from the public, Committee Members Skarrett and Cardet-Hernandez requested that the district present detailed transition plans for students.

For the fourth meeting in a row, public speakers also raised concerns about the lack of citywide bilingual education programming and urged the district to expand multilingual learner support. The district released a memo to the public about proposed expansion prior to the meeting. Notably, the findings from the district underscored the cost of transportation for students as a major challenge in developing citywide programming. In a separate memo released earlier in the day, the district announced that a system-wide cell phone policy will be released in 2026. We will continue to monitor how this situation plays out.  

Inclusive Education Plan Update: 

The only report of the evening focused on the district’s progress toward implementing inclusive education. Superintendent Skipper framed the update as a continuation of the district’s 2022 strategy to move all schools toward inclusive classroom models. BPS previously submitted its Inclusive Education Plan to DESE in October 2023 as part of the Systemic Improvement Plan. District staff described improvements over the past three years and highlighted tools and practices they believe are beginning to show positive student outcomes.

Committee members raised multiple concerns about implementation, clarity, and outcomes. Member Cardet-Hernandez questioned why some schools’ student populations still do not reflect district demographics and pushed the district on protections against over-identification of Black boys and multilingual learners for substantially separate placements. District staff acknowledged ongoing concerns, noting that although the rate of substantially separate placements has decreased to 30.7%, it remains unacceptable.

Member Alkins asked directly about the challenges the district still faces in implementing inclusive practices. The response focused on professional development and cross-functional collaboration rather than on student outcomes or systemwide effectiveness. Member Skerrett pressed for clear benchmarks and targets to measure whether inclusion efforts are actually improving student progress. The presentation offered few concrete indicators, raising lingering questions about outcomes as well as how the district will measure success during upcoming budget discussions.

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District leaders then presented to the School Committee on the details within the newly agreed upon BTU contract. More specifically, the Superintendent and her team outlined updates to an increase in wages for paraprofessionals as well as a new model for serving students with disabilities. The district’s explanation of the revisions to the model for special education were convoluted, at best. 

Another area of concern that emerged from the district’s presentation was the financial implications of the new contract, with the Superintendent’s team stating they felt “uncomfortable” with the cost of the contract. The contract, as well as the supplemental appropriations necessary to fund the contract, passed the school committee vote unanimously. 

After a short public comment period and a few votes on small grants, the meeting moved on to a discussion of transformation schools. As mandated by the Systemic Improvement Plan (SIP), these quarterly updates provide a glimpse into the progress, or lack thereof, of the district’s most underperforming schools. While two principals from these schools shed some light on some positive news, the majority of the presentation touched on many of the same points we have been hearing, mainly, continued concerns about student achievement and chronic absenteeism. School Committee members asked pointed questions about potential alternatives to transformation schools and whether we are using the best data practices to monitor their growth. Due to the district moving out of the SIP, there was uncertainty about how this information will continue to be shared moving forward, but we will continue to keep an eye out for updates on them in the future. 

Finally, the meeting wrapped up with a discussion on the Massachusetts School Choice Plan for SY 2025-2026. In the past, and last night, the district has opposed having the district opt-in to school choice, which would allow students from other cities and towns to enroll in BPS. Member Cardet-Hernandez proposed to allow municipal employees, including teachers, who live outside of Boston, to enroll their kids in BPS. This potential pilot program received significant pushback from the Superintendent and her team and was shut down without any further conversation. 

The School Committee will next meet at 6pm on Wednesday, May 14th. We are looking forward to hearing more from our district’s leaders. 

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After a short public comment period that hit on major pain points from the community, the meeting moved on to the vote on the FY26 budget. While there was not much suspense as to whether the budget would pass or not, School Committee members did raise certain concerns about its scope and priorities. More specifically, members questioned, once again, how the budget fits into the district’s long-term plan, the presence of school accountability measures, and the needs in the district that still need to be addressed. Though one member voted no, the budget ultimately passed, with six yea votes.

The School Committee meeting ended with a presentation on an amendment to the code of conduct. In short, due to a change in state law, the district had to adjust their use of discipline, and they are moving more towards a system of “progressive discipline.” There will be a vote at the next School Committee meeting on the amendment. 

Finally, as mentioned during this week’s podcast, we will be tracking the questions and requests made by School Committee members during the meetings. As we have seen, oftentimes, inquiries about the state of affairs, data, and other relevant matters are asked, but questions are left unanswered. As part of each blog post, we will be monitoring these questions and whether they have been answered. Here are some from last night: 

• Can we create a task for achievement and opportunity gaps? - Dr. Stephen Alkins 
• In the district, how many psychologists are there per student? - Chair Jeri Robinson 
• Where are we now [in terms of priorities in the budget]? - Chair Jeri Robinson?

The School Committee will next meet at 6pm on Wednesday, April 16th. We are looking forward to hearing from the Superintendent about the district’s new contract with teachers. 

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Following the conclusion of the budget meeting, the regular School Committee meeting began. Chair Robinson announced that the district had reached a tentative agreement with the Boston Teachers Union following months of negotiation. While main details were not discussed, the Superintendent and her team said that they would provide an update at a future meeting. Following this, the meeting moved into public comment, where nearly every speaker was a community member representing schools on the proposed closure and merger list voicing their pleas to keep their school communities open.

After public comment and quick votes on grants and the renaming of the Sumner/Philbrick school, the School Committee voted on the Core Program Statement of Interest to the MSBA for Madison Park Vocational High School. Last month, during a City Council hearing, the Mayor’s team announced plans to seek MSBA funding for a new Madison Park facility, with the estimated cost rising to nearly $700 million—up from the originally earmarked $500 million. While there was not much further discussion after last meeting’s comprehensive discussion, School Committee members did question what alternative plans were in place if the district did not receive the money. Once again, the O’Bryant School was only tangentially mentioned and there was minimal discussion about what the future will hold for that community. In the end, the School Committee unanimously voted to approve the Statement of Interest.

Finally, the School Committee meeting ended with a vote on the aforementioned school closures and mergers. The public comment during the evening was filled with tangible emotion from community members, and it was clear that this carried over to School Committee members as well. Multiple School Committee members harped on the difficulty of these decisions and the necessity of making hard choices for the benefit of long term district health. The Superintendent and her team responded to questions about how educators will be supported during the transition as well as the assistance BPS is offering to families that will be forced to change schools. Moreover, the Superintendent stated that no child reassigned during this process would be forced to leave their current school again. However, due to the lack of a long-term facilities plan, there is no way to track this across the district; hence, it is unclear how this process will occur. Nevertheless, their answers seemed to satisfy the School Committee as the closure and merger plan passed by a vote of five to one. The shift in facilities will take place in June 2026. 

Next week, the School Committee will vote on the revised budget. The meeting will take place on March 26th at 6:30pm. Looking forward, the Superintendent noted that we will hear about the new contract with the BTU in April.

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Following a public comment period that raised issues regarding topics such as facilities and exam schools, and quick votes on grants and approval of the accelerated repair project submissions to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the School Committee voted on the competency determination requirement for the class of 2025. As the state continues to lack a revised, temporary policy for the state’s competency determination, schools districts across the state are creating their own revised policy. The Superintendent and her team proposed a policy that requires current seniors to earn a passing grade from a list of coursework if they did not previously pass the MCAS. Last night’s vote was preceded by conversation about the usage of the MCAS as a graduation requirement, which the district is allowed to utilize. While the School Committee engaged in a conversation that explored this and how the competency determination connects to its graduation requirements, the conversation was cut short after the Superintendent’s team noted they needed to act on only the competency determination, and the School Committee voted in favor of the policy unanimously. The committee then heard two quick reports on an update from the Boston Student Advisory Council and the naming of the Sumner/Philbrick school to the Sarah Roberts Elementary School.

The final discussion focused on a Core Program Statement of Interest to the MSBA for Madison Park Vocational High School. Last month, during a City Council hearing, the Mayor’s team announced plans to seek MSBA funding for a new Madison Park facility, with the estimated cost rising to nearly $700 million—up from the originally earmarked $500 million. Committee members raised concerns about the absence of the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, which shares the same building, in the proposal. They also questioned the city’s backup plan if MSBA funding is not secured and how the district plans to increase Madison Park’s enrollment by 1,000 students. As these concerns remain unresolved, a vote is scheduled for the next meeting on March 20.

Over the next several weeks, the School Committee will hold several public budget hearings (March 5th @ 5:30pm, March 19th @ 5:30pm) and will vote on the final budget on March 26th. The next School Committee meeting will be on March 20th at 6:30pm on Zoom, which will be preceded by a budget hearing at 5:30pm.

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The School Committee heard three reports last night. The first report was a proposal for accelerated repair funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). While the district typically presents proposals every year for funding from the MSBA, School Committee members raised major concerns about funding these projects without a long-term facilities plan to guide the work. Missing from the report was the news that the City would be seeking funding from the MSBA to renovate Madison Park, which is a reversal from the City’s promise last year to fund a renovation of Madison Park quickly using funds from the City of Boston.

The second report of the night was an update on the competency determination– or graduation requirement– for the Class of 2025. Following the passage of Question 2 on the November ballot to remove the MCAS as a graduation requirement, the district and state have yet to come up with updated graduation requirements. Last night, the district announced that students who did not pass the MCAS would need to pass certain approved courses in English, Math, and Science. There was much discussion over the lack of guidance and support from the state in defining graduation standards. The School Committee did not discuss the implications of the district’s alignment to MassCore as their graduation requirement starting next year when only 51% of students completed the requirement last year.

The final report of the evening was the Superintendent’s FY26 preliminary budget. This report kicked off the FY26 budget process, which will culminate in a final proposal that will be voted on in March. This year’s budget is $1.58 billion, which is a $53 million increase from last year. While the report discussed investments in certain areas, School Committee members raised major concerns over the goals and impact of these investments. These concerns were compounded by the recent release of NAEP results, which show that only 31% of 4th graders scored proficient in reading, and only 26% of 8th graders scored proficient. As the results show widening achievement gaps and increased spending, there was no discussion as to how the budget would address these gaps.

Over the next several weeks, the School Committee will hold several public budget hearings (February 13th @ 5:30pm, March 5th @ 5:30pm, March 19th @ 5:30pm) and will vote on the final budget on March 26th. The next School Committee meeting will be on February 26th at 5:30pm on Zoom.

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The main report of the evening on an update on capital planning and long-term facilities plan proposals. Two weeks ago, Mayor Wu and Superintendent Skipper announced plans to close or merge multiple schools as part of the district’s facilities strategy, and last night, the Superintendent’s team shared these proposals along with plans to support the students and families affected. The report highlighted that the district intends to close about 17% of its school buildings by 2030 and anticipates at least a 3% decline in enrollment. These projections come after repeated requests from the School Committee for future enrollment data. However, there was no implementation or discussion of a comprehensive master facilities plan to guide these decisions (click here to hear more about implementing successful long term facilities plans), prompting the School Committee to raise concerns over the implications of not having a plan on families and on the budget. The committee is expected to vote on the proposals in March.

The next School Committee meeting will be held via Zoom at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5th, where the Superintendent will present her preliminary FY26 budget proposal.

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The School Committee heard two reports last night, with the first report being a finance update for FY24-26. This is a yearly report that precedes and previews the budget season, which will kick off in February. The Superintendent and her team described it as a traditional budget, with plans to fully fund every school despite an ongoing enrollment decline and major revenue challenges noted by the Mayor. School Committee members did not ask any questions regarding the impact of enrollment decline, and there was no conversation about the lack of school closures or mergers in the update.

The final report of the evening was a recommended exam school admissions policy. The recommendation comes after numerous years of changes to the exam school admissions policy, which you can hear more about here. Last year, the School Committee passed an amendment to adjust the number of bonus points a student who attends a Title 1 school (40% or more low-income) receives based on the tier where they live. This year, the Superintendent and her team proposed reducing the number of tiers from eight to four under the current policy, with each tier receiving an equal allocation of invitations. They also plan to continue reviewing the policy's impacts this spring. However, the proposal did not address how this shift would affect the number of bonus points students receive and did not include simulations to show the potential impact on student assignment. School Committee members did not raise questions or concerns regarding these omissions and will vote on this matter in January.

The School Committee will reconvene on Wednesday, January 6 at 5pm for their annual organizational meeting, and it will be held on Zoom.

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Ross is joined by Annie Weinberg, the founder and school leader of Twilight Academy, and two of her remarkable students, who share the history and impact of Twilight Academy, their personal journeys, and how ATA has supported their academic and leadership growth.

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began with public comment, after Chair Robinson announced that there would be no

Superintendent’s Report. Public comment featured a little less than 50 testimonies, with the

majority of speakers members of the Boston Teachers Union advocating for a fair contract and

working conditions. Over the past few months, BTU members have continued to testify at the

School Committee about the need for a two-teacher model as part of the district’s inclusion plan

and other important considerations. Last night’s public comment emphasized the BTU’s clear

message to the district, which comes as other towns in Massachusetts have dealt with teacher

strikes.

The School Committee heard two reports last night. The first report was regarding a tentative

bargaining agreement between Transdev, the district’s transportation provider, and the bus

drivers union. Prior to the meeting, the School Committee went into executive session to

discuss the negotiations, and last night’s meeting did not feature a robust conversation about

the contract. While the contract includes agreements to increase drivers’ pay and hours and

ensure students get to athletic competitions, as well as continuing previous agreements that

ensures the drivers will be employed regardless of the contractor, there was no discussion as to

whether this new contract would address transportation issues plaguing the district and the cost

implications of a contract, when 10,000 less students are riding the bus.

The last report of the evening was an update on hiring and workforce diversity. Every year, the

district provides the School Committee with an update on hiring practices and initiatives to have

a diverse workforce. Similar to previous years, the report did not include any data or discussion

regarding teacher vacancies, the number of positions added, professional development, and

evaluation. The report left key questions unanswered about whether the district staff is truly

representative of the students they serve, and continued to show the disconnect between the

district and the Boston Teachers Union as it relates to its ongoing contract negotiations and the

looming budget season.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on

Wednesday, December 18th.

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The School Committee then heard a report on MassCore and graduation requirements. In 2019, following a Boston Globe report, “The Valedictorian Project,” it became clear that graduation standards varied widely across schools, leading to inconsistent outcomes for top students. Since then, the district has worked to ensure all students are equally prepared, as highlighted in one of our earliest podcasts from 2019. In line with state recommendations, MassCore requirements were adopted district-wide in 2021. Last night’s report revealed that while more students now have access to MassCore, only 50% of students complete the requirements. As MassCore becomes the sole graduation requirement in Boston for the class of 2026, there are still challenges in scheduling and support for students with disabilities and multilingual learners. As the district awaits further guidance from DESE, this issue remains a top priority.

On Wednesday, November 20th, the School Committee will have a retreat at 6pm, which will be held in-person at the Bolling Building. The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4th.

Applications are now open for an opening on the Boston School Committee! If you would like to be considered, submit a completed application  and email it to scnominatingpanel@boston.gov by Friday, November 15th at 11:59pm.

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There were about a dozen public commenters, with the majority of commenters testifying about the district’s ongoing negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union. As the district continues to negotiate with the BTU, teachers and BTU members testified with a new strategy in place: teachers are pointing out the district is relying on dual licensure, and they are advocating for removing this requirement.

The sole report of the evening was on transformation schools, identified by the state as requiring intervention. The report, mandated by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, showed low growth and performance across the 39 schools, which are in the bottom 10% statewide, as well as high rates of chronic absenteeism. School Committee members voiced concerns about these trends and emphasized the need for systemic improvements, though it was unclear how actively the state or city has been involved in addressing these continued issues. To hear more about the concerns and thoughts of the School Committee on this issue, tune in to the episode.

On Monday, October 28th, the School Committee will have a retreat at 6pm, which will be held in-person at the Bolling Building. The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6th.

Applications are now open for an opening on the Boston School Committee! If you would like to be considered, submit a completed application  and email it to scnominatingpanel@boston.gov by Friday, November 15th at 11:59pm.

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Following the report, the School Committee discussed the upcoming ballot question on removing the MCAS as a graduation requirement. With other school boards across the state taking stances on this measure, one school committee member expressed his views on the ballot initiative while others chose not to weigh in on this important conversation. Tune into the episode to hear this view, as well as the perspectives of other stakeholders, on this important matter. 

The meeting then moved on to public comment, which featured numerous teachers raising concerns over the district’s inclusion plan and MCAS results, as well as a report on tentative collective bargaining agreements with the lunch monitors and food service workers, which will be voted on at the next meeting. 

The main report of the night was an update on MCAS achievement and accountability results from this past year. The Superintendent opened the report by emphasizing that the district’s results are on par with other urban districts and the state’s performance, and that the district is not in need of assistance or intervention by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. However, the report indicated continued low performance across the district and further lack of growth and recovery, with only 27% of students in 3rd-8th grade proficient in ELA. While the report provided some data on student achievement, tune in to the episode to hear further analysis on concerning data trends for students in Boston that was not covered in last night’s report. 

The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23rd.

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The Superintendent also provided an update on transportation. The Superintendent noted that on-time arrivals for AM bus routes had improved to 84%, and emphasized that the district’s new transportation app, Zum, is continuing to be implemented and adjusting routes to improve these low arrival rates. This is in contrast to the numerous articles and reports of families continuing to share their struggles and delays with the buses.

There were about a dozen teachers who testified during public comment last night, speaking about the district’s inclusion plan. Their testimonies included current struggles and their reasoning as to why so many are against the implementation of this plan. These testimonies come as the district continues to lack a new contract agreement with the Boston Teachers Union, which the Superintendent and her team were hoping to have settled before the end of the summer.

The School Committee voted to double the enrollment at the Edward M. Kennedy Health Careers Academy. While some members continued to ask about the impact of this expansion on other schools and the need for a new facility, the School Committee unanimously approved the expansion. The meeting ended with the sole report of the evening on summer learning. The Superintendent’s Team discussed the numerous opportunities provided this past summer and initial enrollment numbers, but did not provide any data on student outcomes or achievement.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9th.

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Following the Superintendent’s report, the School Committee reviewed a proposal to expand enrollment at the Edward M. Kennedy Academy of Health Careers. Earlier this year, the city announced a $38 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to increase enrollment and create new pathways with Mass General-Brigham. Last night’s request sought formal approval to grow the school’s enrollment to 800 students over the next few years. Committee members raised concerns about the need for a new facility, given the school’s past challenges securing a permanent space, and stressed the importance of a comprehensive facilities plan to assess the broader impact of this expansion on other high schools.

The Committee also voted on two items, including a proposal related to White Stadium. At the previous meeting, the Mayor’s office asked the Committee to authorize the Superintendent to enter negotiations with a women’s soccer team for a lease agreement. Public comments focused heavily on White Stadium, with speakers unanimously supporting the need for revitalization and improved athletic facilities for BPS students. The vote passed unanimously.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday September 25th.

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The School Committee’s main vote of the evening was approving the Superintendent’s evaluation and performance rating. There was not any public comment on the Superintendent per se, but public comments about the Superintendent’s evaluation focused more on the process and criteria that the School Committee used to evaluate progress in the district and the superintendent herself. The School Committee unanimously approved the Superintendent’s evaluation and performance rating. Following this vote, there was a quick report on policy revision recommendations for the student information policy and the school naming policy. 

The final report of the evening was about White Stadium. Over the past year, Mayor Michelle Wu and the city have been fighting legal battles over a proposed plan to renovate White Stadium in partnership with a new professional women’s soccer team. This proposed $50 million commitment from the city to renovate the stadium has been criticized for its lack of community engagement and concerns about limiting access for BPS students, even as the Mayor has said that they will not fund the project without private partnership. As the plan has gone through approval rounds by the Boston Planning and Development Agency and Parks Commission, representatives from the Mayor’s office asked the School Committee last night to allow the Superintendent and district to enter into lease negotiations with the soccer team. The report last night raised many questions about access to BPS students, transportation, and long-term cost commitments from the soccer team, but these concerns were left unanswered. The School Committee will vote on this at a future meeting soon.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 11th.

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As we head into a new school year, schools and families across the country are grappling with significant challenges, from teacher shortages to enrollment fluctuations and the integration of new technologies. Today, we're focusing on these key issues by taking a close look at the largest school district in the nation: New York City.

In today’s episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Dan Weisberg, the First Deputy Chancellor for the NYC Department of Education. Dan plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategies under Chancellor David Banks' leadership, overseeing areas like postsecondary readiness, human resources, policy, and enrollment. With his extensive background in labor policy, talent management, and academic strategy, Dan brings a unique perspective to the pressing issues facing schools today. 

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Last night’s meeting was a special scheduled meeting, with the School Committee sharing their summative evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance. The meeting began with the Superintendent presenting her self-evaluation. The Superintendent’s evaluation consisted of many topics and moves that had previously been discussed at School Committee meetings, and lacked specific reference to student data or expectations for schools and students. 

Member Stephen Alkins then continued by presenting the committee’s summative evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance, broken down by four standards: instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture. While the summative evaluation included goals and metrics, many of the data points driving the evaluation will not be available until later this year. The summative evaluation rated the Superintendent as “proficient”; however, members varied significantly on the Superintendent’s performance across the board on areas like instructional leadership and management and operations, and there was disagreement over the amount of time needed to see improvements in student outcomes. This lack of consensus among members was also present in public comment, where the majority of public commenters expressed frustration and concerns as the district prepares for the new school year. The School Committee will vote on their evaluation of the Superintendent at the next meeting.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, August 28th.

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Absent from the Superintendent's report was any mention of contract negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union or discussion of the article in the Boston Globe about the district hiring an external consultant to support the master facilities plan for next year, possibly further delaying the release and implementation of a clear facilities plan.

The main report of the night was a brief overview of the Superintendent’s evaluation process for the 2023-2024 year. Last year, the Superintendent provided a full self-reflection of her performance at the school committee meeting. This year, the Superintendent did not release her self-evaluation publicly, instead stating that it will be provided in writing to committee members next week. Another change this year is that the Mayor's office has assigned a staff member to support the evaluation of the Superintendent. A vote on the Superintendent’s evaluation will take place on August 28, 2024.

The next School Committee meeting, which will focus on the Superintendent’s evaluation, is a recently scheduled meeting to be held on Zoom at 6 p.m. on August 19th.

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There were around 40 speakers who came to testify at public comment, with the majority of speakers testifying against the merger of the West Zone Early Learning Center into the Hennigan. There were a few speakers who testified about a new report that was submitted to the record, which highlights discrimination and mistreatment of former administrators in the district. 

The main vote of the night was a proposal to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan. This vote came after months of discussion about the district’s Green New Deal and the need to make important decisions surrounding mergers and closures. There has recently been a lot of discussion by the public about facilities, discussing the slow down of the plan by the Mayor, a deep dive into the district’s declining enrollment and future city revenue projections, and continued questions about the $50 million commitment to White Stadium. Last night, none of these topics were discussed by the School Committee, and members unanimously voted to close both the Frederick and the West Zone.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, July 17th.

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Jill and Dr. Walsh discuss how schools are addressing student relationships with social media and technology and how parents can help students establish healthy relationships with the digital world and set healthy boundaries.

If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Walsh’s work, check out the resources below.

Dr. Jill Walsh’s Bio

Dr. Jill Walsh’s Research

Digital Aged

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The School Committee heard three reports last night. The first report was on Interim Salary and Non-Personnel Payments on External Funds, which was a short presentation. The second report was a proposal to rename the Jeremiah E. Burke High School to the Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology. Dr. Holland has been a revered school administrator and community leader for nearly 40 years, and the majority of public commenters came to support the renaming.

The third report of the evening was an update on equitable literacy. Equitable literacy has been a priority for the district for the past few years, and the School Committee has heard numerous updates from the Superintendent and her team about it. Last night’s report covered updates around implementation and a centralized strategy, but there was little to no data on student outcomes nor accountability measures being taken to ensure every student in Boston is reading at grade level. 

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Monday, June 17th.

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In today’s episode, Jill and Ross are joined by two experts to explore this topic. Harry Feder is the Executive Director of Fair Test, a national organization that advocates for fair and equitable testing practices. Harry brings a wealth of experience in challenging the way tests are used and proposing alternatives. 

Dr. Martin West is a professor and academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a board member of the National Assessment Governing Board. Dr. West offers a unique perspective with his extensive research on education policy and his involvement in shaping how assessments are created and implemented. 

To learn more about Dr West’s research and Harry’s work with Fair Test, check out the resources below.

Harry Feder Bio

Dr. Martin West Bio

Fair Test

Research on MCAS in Massachusetts

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The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where she discussed a recent update she gave to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on the district’s systemic improvement plan, where BESE did not raise any concern or alarm.

The School Committee took action on three items, with unanimous approval of grants and a renewed charter memorandum of understanding for UP Academy Boston and Dorchester. The third vote of the evening was on opting out of the state’s school choice program. Typically a routine decision to opt out of the state’s school choice program, the vote sparked a lively discussion. Committee members debated the benefits of participating in the program, suggesting it could potentially boost enrollment in under-enrolled schools and help retain students forced to move out of the city due to rising housing costs. Despite these arguments and pleas to have these conversations earlier in the year, the Committee voted to opt out of the program, with one member voting to opt in and another abstaining.

The only report of the evening was a report on the long-term facilities plan, where the Superintendent insisted that this is the most action taken in the last 40 years combined. Contrary to expectations of numerous school mergers and closures, the Superintendent announced only one school closure which had already been disclosed earlier this year, and a merger of two schools that share the same building. The report focused on programmatic and design changes, emphasizing the challenges of implementing a long-term plan due to secondary programming issues. Committee members pushed for a comprehensive master plan and raised concerns about budgetary implications without long-term projections.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on June 5th.

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To listen to College Uncovered and read more of Jon and Kirk’s work, check out the resources below.

College Uncovered

Jon Marcus’s Bio

Kirk Carapezza’s Bio

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The first report of the evening was an amendment to the charter memorandum of understanding for UP Academy Dorchester and Boston, slated for a vote at the next meeting. The second report addressed the Massachusetts School Choice Program for the 2024-25 school year. Annually, the School Committee decides whether to participate in this state program, and traditionally, the district has opted out. More than half of the districts in Massachusetts allow School Choice, meaning students from other districts can enroll in their schools and vice versa, while Boston and its surrounding communities do not (this map from 2017 shows interesting geographic trends across the state on school choice). Last night, the Superintendent and her team advocated against participation, citing several reasons but omitting many benefits of the program. School Committee members highlighted potential advantages like allowing families displaced by rising housing costs to remain within the district and increasing diversity in Greater Boston schools through a pilot initiative. Nevertheless, the Superintendent emphasized the program's perceived negative impacts.

The final report of the evening was an update on the district’s facilities planning. At the last meeting, the Superintendent announced that her team would come to the Committee on May 22nd with a list of recommendations for mergers, closures, and reconfigurations. Last night, the Superintendent’s team provided updates on current projects and gave historical context, noting that they would be investing in and creating thousands of high quality seats. However, the report did not include a long-term strategy nor any budget, enrollment projections, and timeline. School Committee members continued to point out the need for a long-term plan and strategy. The Superintendent will bring forward proposals at the next School Committee meeting.

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In today’s episode, Jill and Ross dive into the teaching shortage issue and how to keep teachers in the classroom with two experts: Dr. Tequilla Brownie and Dr. Carole Basile. Dr Tequilla Brownie is the CEO of TNTP, a national organization that works with schools and teachers across the country to advance high quality education for all students by ensuring an effective teacher in every classroom. Dr. Carole Basile is the Dean of the Arizona State Mary Lou Fulton Teachers’ College. Dr Basile is leading efforts at Arizona State focused on redesigning the education workforce and changing practices in teacher and leadership preparation. 

To learn more about Dr. Brownie’s work with TNTP and Dr. Basile’s work at ASU, check out the resources below.

Dr. Tequilla Brownie’s Bio

Dr. Carole Basile’s Bio

About ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

About TNTP

The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness

The Irreplaceables: Understanding The Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools

A Broken Pipeline: Teacher Preparation's Diversity Problem

One Million Teachers of Color (1MToC)

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The only report of the night was an update on summer learning. As the Superintendent’s team provided an update on the increase in the number of offerings and opportunities for students, School Committee members raised some concerns, including the difficulty for parents to sign up for summer school on the website. There were also questions about the impact of ESSER funding on summer programming and future funding, as well as the usage of pools across the city and whether students would actually be able to use them this summer.

Despite the light agenda, the Committee is gearing up for significant discussions in the coming weeks and months.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on May 8th.

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In today’s episode of “Deep Dives," Jill and Ross are joined by two experts to explore this topic: Maria Brisk and Angélica Infante-Green. Professor Maria Brisk is a renowned expert in bilingual education and language development. Professor Brisk’s research and work have been instrumental in understanding how bilingual students acquire language and how educators can best support a student’s learning journey. Angélica Infante-Green is the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education for the State of Rhode Island. Commissioner Infante-Green has spent her career supporting English Language Learners by implementing nationally recognized programs and initiatives to support bilingual learning in New York and Rhode Island. 

If you’d like to learn more about Professor Brisk and Commissioner Infante-Green’s work, check out the resources below:

Commissioner Infante-Green’s Bio

Professor Brisk’s Bio

Professor Brisk’s Research

Rhode Island Blueprint for Multilingual Learners’ Success

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The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where the majority of the discussion centered around the exam school admissions process. The Superintendent announced that the district had released decisions to applicants at 4:30pm and applauded the BPS team for releasing the decision earlier than last year. However, this timing was not early enough, as many families were required to put down a deposit for private schools by 12 pm the same day. Given the focus on enrollment, it was surprising BPS could not move their notification a few hours earlier.

The sole agenda item that evening was the district's quarterly report on transformation schools, as required by the state department of education. This report, while echoing the troubling patterns noted in previous updates, prompted School Committee members to voice their concerns and frustrations with the district's approach to addressing chronically underperforming schools. Members debated the ongoing support for these failing schools and questioned the timing for decisive interventions, including potential closures. The discussion underscored a deeper concern among committee members: the lack of urgency of district leadership in improving outcomes for all students.

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The School Committee then held a discussion and vote on the Superintendent’s FY25 budget. For the past two months, the School Committee has held numerous discussions and budget hearings about the FY25 budget, which totals $1.52 billion. While the budget represents an increased contribution from the city, the end of federal relief money and declining enrollment has led to many schools receiving budget cuts. Multiple members expressed concerns about the budget and frustration that their questions about the budget remain unanswered, which have been highlighted over the past few weeks in policy briefs. This prompted Chair Robinson to request frequent updates about the implementation of the budget and its impacts moving forward. The Committee voted and approved the budget, with two members voting no.

The budget will now move on to the City Council, where the Mayor will look to get approval from the Council as part of the city’s budget.

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Following the hearing, the School Committee meeting commenced, where the Superintendent’s Report highlighted some positive news regarding athletics, facilities, and an increase in mental health funding for schools from a federal grant. Additional public comments further highlighted confusion and concern about the district's plan for full inclusion models.

The School Committee then voted on a few items. They unanimously voted in favor to submit a statement of interest to the MSBA for a new building for the BCLA-McCormack. Members again raised questions about how this initiative fits within the district's broader capital planning strategy and the contingency plans if MSBA funding is not secured. The Committee also then voted in favor of the submission of renewal for the Student Opportunity Act, a requirement by the state.

The evening concluded with a final discussion on the Superintendent’s FY25 budget. This conversation was significantly influenced by the district's decision to move away from the Weighted Student Funding (WSF) model, which had allocated funds based on individual student needs. This strategic pivot, aimed at sustaining schools experiencing enrollment declines, prompted Committee members to express concerns about the future of funding and the usage of soft landings to continue to fund schools. Specifically, they highlighted the trend of declining enrollment, and the potential challenges of reduced tax revenue and the pressure to make effective financial decisions in the face of these changes.

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In today’s special episode, Jill talks with Dr. Stuart Ablon, award-winning psychologist, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Founder and Director of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jill talks to Dr. Ablon about his approach and how it can be used to have a productive conversation with your kids to talk about social media.

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The meeting began with the Superintendent's Report, in which Superintendent Skipper revealed that the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science will stay in Roxbury, reversing the previously suggested move to West Roxbury. This decision came after months of public testimony supporting its retention in Roxbury. Additionally, Superintendent Skipper reiterated plans to renovate Madison Park Technical Vocational High School but did not provide essential details such as the project's budget, enrollment projections, or an overarching vision. 

The Superintendent then discussed transformation schools as part of her state-mandated quarterly update to the School Committee. She shared data highlighting troubling trends, including low student growth and literacy rates, coupled with high levels of chronic absenteeism at the high school level. These findings led School Committee members to voice their concerns and call for substantial improvements.

The evening's first report concerned an application to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for a new building for the BCLA/McCormack. In last month's State of the City address, Mayor Wu announced a partnership between the BCLA/McCormack and UMass Boston to create a community hub school. The report outlined the district's request for MSBA funding for a new facility but lacked crucial details such as the budget, curriculum strategy, partnership dynamics with UMass Boston, community demand data, and potential impacts on other school communities. The absence of these details prompted numerous questions from School Committee members about the strategy and broader vision, especially given the lack of a comprehensive master facilities plan.

The second report addressed the Student Opportunity Act, a legislative initiative aimed at providing additional funding to Massachusetts districts to close achievement gaps and enhance educational quality. It covered initiatives and data points that seem to have a limited impact on student outcomes, leading some Committee members to reserve their support pending further clarification of their questions and concerns.

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In today's episode, Jill and Ross are joined by two leading experts to explore this topic: Valerie Williams and Bill Henderson. Valerie Williams serves as the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. With an extensive background in policy and advocacy for children with disabilities, Valerie brings a wealth of experience in supporting states and districts across the country to help students with disabilities. Bill Henderson is a former school leader in Boston who led one of the most successful inclusive schools in the country, the O'Hearn School. His work in inclusion is nationally recognized. Valerie and Bill join Jill and Ross to discuss the state of special education across the country and how schools can better support students of all abilities.

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The night's main report was Superintendent Skipper’s presentation of the FY25 preliminary budget proposal, which outlines a $1.6 billion budget. This amount represents a $200 million increase from last year's budget, despite the district's declining enrollment and a per pupil expenditure now exceeding $33k. However, the presentation offered limited details on the impact this budget would have on individual school budgets, even as several school communities testified about the detrimental effects of budget cuts on their school. When committee members sought to ask clarifying questions, Chair Jeri Robinson urged them to limit their questions to only the most crucial ones and to submit any additional questions in writing. This approach frustrated members and left many questions unanswered.

Over the next several weeks, the School Committee will hold several public budget hearings (February 15th @ 5pm, March 4th @ 5pm, March 20th @ 5pm) and will vote on the final budget on March 27th. The next School Committee meeting will be on February 28th at 5pm on Zoom.

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The meeting then moved onto public comment. The majority of speakers testified against the proposal to move the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science to the former West Roxbury Academy building The remainder of public commenters spoke on different topics, including ongoing issues at the Gardner Pilot Academy, the exam school admissions policy, and the potential impact of budget proposals on school communities. 

The only report of the evening was a mid-year update, given by the Superintendent and her team. The report covered updates on transportation, health and safety, access to grade level learning, and other areas the district is focusing on. However, the contents of the report did not include any data on student outcomes or school performance, leaving School Committee members asking for more clarification and actual outcome data to help understand the impact of the work the district is doing. With no discussion on performance data or outcomes, the Committee was left with outstanding questions going into the budget process regarding which investments are impacting student outcomes.

The School Committee was originally supposed to have a discussion on task forces, but after discussing further with members, Chair Robinson announced that this discussion would be tabled to a future meeting.

The meeting ended with new business from Committee members asking to continue discussion on a few key topics, including concerns raised in public comment about the Gardner, further conversation about the SQF, and revisiting areas from the Superintendent’s evaluation.

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In today’s episode, Jill and Ross dig into this topic with two leading experts: John Papay and Brian Eschbacher. Professor John Papay, Director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, has conducted extensive research on the trends leading to declining enrollment and where students are going. Brian Eschbacher, currently an enrollment consultant for school districts across the country, oversaw enrollment for Denver Public Schools during a period of record growth. John and Brian discuss what’s driving this issue and how school districts can pivot in the face of declining enrollment.

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The Superintendent also discussed the announcement of a new partnership between the Boston Community Leadership Academy, McCormack School, and UMass Boston, which was announced by Mayor Michelle Wu in her State of the City address earlier this week. The announcement lacked specificity on details or timeline, and Vice Chair Michael O’Neill reminded the Superintendent that the facility is in need of immediate repairs, including basic needs, like toilets and lockers.

The School Committee’s only action item of the evening was a vote on modifications to the exam school admissions policy. At the last meeting, the Superintendent proposed modifying the number of bonus points a student who attends a Title 1 school (40% or more students living below the poverty line) receives based on the tier they live in. Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, who has consistently pushed for a different remedy involving the allocation of bonus points directly to students rather than schools, continued to express his frustration at the lack of consideration of this alternative, highlighting concerns about the timing of this change in the midst of school choice season and calling for a reevaluation of the current tiers. Many parents and students echoed these concerns during public comment. The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the modifications to the policy, which will be implemented for the current enrollment cycle.

There were two other brief reports last night. The first was on a proposed merger between UP Academy Dorchester and UP Academy Boston due to a dramatic drop in enrollment in the last three years. The second was a discussion on School Committee task forces. Chair Jeri Robinson proposed that Task Forces will no longer report to the School Committee and instead will work under the purview of the Superintendent. While there was little discussion about this change, this would remove power from the School Committee and limit the public’s ability to hear from these task force leaders at Committee meetings.

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The Superintendent also revisited last week’s memo about updates to the School Quality Framework, saying her team has received questions from members about the underlying data and will come back with a further analysis at the next meeting. The School Quality Framework is a key component to school choice, dictating which schools students can access based on the quality of schools in their neighborhoods. The updated scores released last week included troubling discrepancies between statewide accountability scores and BPS tier rankings, leading members to question the data’s accuracy and intent, with several members noting that parents should not rely on these rankings to make school decisions (despite the fact that they are required to do so). 

There were two reports last night, one on a new proposal to amend the exam school admissions policy, and the second a finance update. The finance update is a yearly presentation that precedes the annual budget process. While the key budgetary information will be presented in the coming months, this presentation did note that more than $125 million in school and Central Office positions is currently funded by federal relief money set to expire next year, and this will have consequences for school budgets.

The second report was a proposal from Superintendent Skipper to amend the exam school admission policy. Superintendent Skipper announced that, after considering five potential alterations to the current policy, BPS is proposing adjusting the number of bonus points a student who attends a Title 1 school (40% or more low-income) receives based on the tier where they live. In the current policy, students who attend a Title 1 school in any tier school receive 10 bonus points, creating a scenario in which some students in higher tiers were mathematically excluded from getting into their first choice exam school. To address this issue, under this new proposal, students in Title 1 schools will receive a different number of bonus points based on their socioeconomic tier, with the point value calculated using the point differential between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools in that tier the previous year. This means that, for next year, students in Title 1 schools in Tier 1 would receive 9 bonus points and those in Tier 2 would receive 11, while those students in Tiers 7 and 8 would receive 4 and 2 points, respectively. Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, who has been pushing the Committee to reopen this policy and advocating for the points to be allocated to individuals rather than whole schools, expressed his frustration with the lack of consideration of his suggestion. Members acknowledged that this is a step in the right direction and they are pleased to see the district’s new willingness to address this current policy’s flaws, and Chair Jeri Robinson noted that the underlying issue is the lack of strong schools across the district to prepare more Boston students for success in high school and beyond.

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The second memo discussed during the Superintendent’s report was an update to the school quality framework scores - the first update since 2019. Each school is given a composite score out of 100 based on 75% student performance and 25% survey responses from students, faculty, and families, and schools are then ranked from tier 1 to tier 4, with the highest quality schools in tier 1. The memo did not provide individual school scores nor any underlying data for the calculations, and the data included in the memo was surprising. For example, the Sarah Greenwood School has a 7% accountability score from DESE and is tier 1. The Blackstone School has a 6% accountability score and is tier 2. English High School has a 3% accountability score and is in tier 2, while Boston Latin School, which has a 96% accountability score, is also in tier 2, having moved down from tier 1 in this new ranking. While annual updates to the school quality framework are typically presented as a standalone report to the School Committee, last night it was only mentioned during the Superintendent’s remarks, and no questions were asked about this data by members of the School Committee.

The Superintendent ended her remarks by announcing that she will propose changes to the exam school policy at next week’s School Committee meeting.

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Lauren Baker, Former First Lady of Massachusetts, is the Founder and CEO of the Wonderfund, a nonprofit that supports youth engaged with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Shaheer Mustafa is the President and CEO of Hopewell, the Commonwealth’s largest nonprofit provider of comprehensive foster care and wraparound support. Lauren and Shaheer join us to discuss the challenges these students face and how schools and communities can best support their most vulnerable students.

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This exam school issue was raised multiple times during last night’s public comment session, with parents sharing frustrations with BPS leaders’ unwillingness to amend the policy in spite of consensus on the current policy’s flaws. Additional commenters testified about a concerning lack of data in the BPS facility rubric, a topic which dominated the remainder of the meeting.

Following public comment, the Superintendent's team presented the facilities rubric. This rubric comes as the district is required to submit a master facilities plan to the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by next month - a requirement included in the district’s Systemic Improvement Plan. However, the presentation last night did not include data on enrollment trends, family demand, budget, or timeline, leading School Committee members to press the Superintendent for further details and question whether this will satisfy the DESE requirement for a master plan.

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Today, in the second episode of “Deep Dives,” Jill and Ross dive into this topic with two leaders at the forefront of understanding and addressing it: Tim Daly and Alison Hramiec. Tim Daly is the CEO of EdNavigator, a national organization that empowers families to access high-quality education. Tim recently authored a brilliant three-part series on what’s behind the rise in absenteeism and how to address it. Alison Hramiec is the Head of School at the Boston Day and Evening Academy, which supports chronically absent students across Boston and helps them re-engage through competency-based learning, mentorship, and support. We discuss the driving forces behind rising absenteeism, the trends in Boston and around the country, and how school leaders and policymakers can help get kids back in school.

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The Superintendent then discussed a memo released by BPS as the meeting was beginning on the new exam school admissions policy – outlining the 2021 process that led to the new policy, data from the first full year of implementation, and recommendations for further study. (For a full recap of the 2021 exam school process, check out yesterday’s special episode of “Last Night at School Committee.”) The memo highlighted outcome disparities among students who received bonus points despite not being economically disadvantaged and students who are economically disadvantaged but did not receive bonus points, calling into question whether the bonus points are necessary or are accomplishing their intended goal. Among the recommendations in the memo is further consideration of allocating these points to individuals rather than whole schools, a change that has been recommended by School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez.

The only report of the night was a presentation from the Office of Human Capital – an annual update on hiring and workforce diversity. This presentation mirrored the presentation that is given every year at this time, and it lacked key data on teacher performance, evaluation, metrics, or goals.

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School Committee members and the public have called for changes to be made to this policy to address these unintended consequences, and at the last School Committee meeting, Superintendent Mary Skipper promised to prepare a memo for tonight’s meeting outlining the historical context and rationale for the policy change.

In anticipation of that discussion tonight, we thought it might be helpful for our listeners to hear excerpts directly from the 2021 Exam School Admissions Task Force meetings and School Committee meetings where the new policy was conceived, proposed, and approved. Today, we recap those events in a special bonus episode of “Last Night at School Committee.”

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Today, in the first episode of “Deep Dives,” Jill and Ross are joined by John Deasy, President of the Bezos Family Foundation and a former superintendent of several large school districts - including Los Angeles and Prince George’s County. John has spent four decades as an educator, school leader, superintendent, and education policy expert, and we talk with John about the current state of public education, the biggest issues facing school districts, and what it will take to reimagine the status quo and improve public schools nationwide.

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Concern around the exam school admissions policy was also a major focus of public comment last night, with many students testifying that they feel they are “unintended consequences” of the new policy as it is mathematically impossible for them to gain admission to their first choice school. Public comment also featured testimony from numerous students and community members at the O’Bryant who expressed frustration with the proposed relocation of the school to West Roxbury.

The School Committee heard two reports last night, beginning with a state-mandated quarterly report on transformation schools, which are schools labeled by the State as requiring intervention. The Superintendent’s team highlighted concerning trends regarding certain student subgroups and showed data demonstrating low growth among students at transformation schools, leading members to question why the district is doubling down with more resources to its existing transformation schools approach.

The second and final report of the evening was on inclusive education in the district.The Superintendent’s team outlined a vision for every classroom to be fully inclusive, with special education students and multilingual learners all learning in general education classrooms alongside their peers. Concerning data was presented regarding students in certain subgroups who are disproportionately deemed to need special education services, but there was no discussion of the root causes of this issue or how it will be addressed. There was also no clear plan for moving to a full inclusion model, nor was there information about budget, staffing, or process for engaging families.

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The Superintendent went on to talk about the exam school admissions policy, saying she understands concerns regarding flaws in the policy but cannot change the policy at this time. She cited several reasons why BPS is unable to make any changes, including a five year waiting period included in the policy; lack of available data; complexity of applying data on an individual level; and respect for the task force that developed this new policy. Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez pushed back on each of these justifications, pointing out that nothing requires them to wait five years; the task force changed their proposed policy at the eleventh hour; the individual-level data already exists at the state level; the current policy makes it mathematically impossible for students in certain schools to get into their first choice exam school; and allocating the bonus points to individuals rather than whole schools would better meet their original intention of providing opportunity to economically disadvantaged students. These arguments were echoed by public commenters who expressed frustration with the district’s unwillingness to address the flaws in this policy.

After votes on new union agreements and a charter amendment for Boston Green Academy, the remainder of the meeting was spent discussing the district’s 2023 MCAS results. The Superintendent’s team indicated that the district made improvements from last year, noting they are no longer performing in the bottom 10% of districts statewide and are now labeled as “not requiring assistance or intervention.” Many schools showed year-over-year growth, though BPS leaders acknowledged the need for further improvement, particularly among multilingual learners. While BPS named the schools who showed substantial improvement in their scores, we did not hear what those schools are doing that contributed to their improvement.

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The meeting continued with the Superintendent’s Report, which included brief updates on MCAS results, transportation, and enrollment, all of which will be covered in greater detail at next week’s meeting. The School Committee then heard a number of standard reports on collective bargaining agreements and a charter amendment for Boston Green Academy. The final report of the night was an annual report from the Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC). The SpEdPAC Chair and Vice Chair presented on their strategic initiatives for the coming year and outlined key priorities, noting that all 12,000 BPS students with special learning needs are unique and there cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach to special education.

The meeting concluded with new business, which began with remarks from Dr. Stephen Alkins applauding the special education presentation and requesting that future School Committee conversations be similarly structured with deep dives on key topics. School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez concluded the meeting by raising several additional items. First, he asked follow-up questions on last week’s discussion of the Green New Deal, pressing on when a master facility plan will be released and how the facility assessment rubric will be structured. The Superintendent responded by saying that there will be small facility improvements this spring, with more decisions to be made in conjunction with budget cycles over the next two years. Mr. Cardet-Hernandez then reiterated a request made in previous meetings that the School Committee amend the exam school admissions policy to award the ten bonus points based on an individual’s socioeconomic status rather than that of an entire school, and the Superintendent said this will be discussed at next week’s meeting.

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The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper discussed student safety, transportation, and rising COVID-19 cases in Boston – an issue raised by several public commenters last night. The main report of the night was a financial update from BPS CFO Nate Kuder. The report showed that schools have only spent half of their federal ESSER relief allocations. In addition, the report showed that priority positions and other priorities funded by ESSER would move into general funding to avoid a “fiscal cliff” when that funding expires. At the same time, that ESSER money will be reallocated to cover “soft landings” for the following two years – funding to under-enrolled schools that allows them to maintain their current staffing levels. While this trade-off avoids a “fiscal cliff,” it will lead to difficult conversations two years down the road when relief money runs out for dozens of schools. With projected enrollment declines and the coming expiration of ESSER funds, paired with BPS leaders’ interest in new investments in areas like multilingual education, special education, and school construction, it is clear that there will be tough, consequential budget decisions ahead in the new year.

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The first Committee report last night was on union contracts for food service workers, police patrolmen, and custodians. All three contracts were approved. The second report was a presentation on school and spaces renaming projects, including the renaming of the McKinley School to the Melvin H. King South End Academy. The third and final report of the evening was an annual presentation from the Office of Equity, which focused primarily on significant increases in bullying and sexual misconduct complaints. While there was information in the report about proactive trainings held this year, the report did not go into detail on what steps are being taken to address the concerning rise in misconduct. Several key topics in the news and on parents’ minds were not discussed at last night’s meeting, including continued issues with on-time arrival of school buses, steep declines in enrollment, insufficient support systems for addressing the impacts of the pandemic on student learning, and continued teacher staffing shortages.

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There were two reports presented to the School Committee. The first was a report on special education in the district, which was given by the Council of Great City Schools in response to a requirement in the State-mandated improvement plan. The report echoed prior reports on this issue and underlined significant gaps in the success of special education students in BPS. School Committee members highlighted the need to address these issues immediately and discussed moving toward fully-inclusive schools, but the report did not include goals, targets, or timelines for addressing these much-needed reforms. The last report of the evening was an update on the collective bargaining agreements with the cafeteria workers and bus monitors unions, which featured increased pay and other clauses aimed at driving interest in these key positions that still face hundreds of vacancies.

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Following public comment, there were two presentations made to the School Committee. The first was a presentation from the Superintendent’s team on Transformation Schools, which are some of the lowest performing schools in the district and are labeled by the State as needing intervention. The Superintendent’s team discussed the current status of the 28 transformation schools and highlighted two schools that have improved test scores. However, the presentation lacked clarity on what action steps will be taken to improve outcomes across the district, especially given critical disparities in student performance at different schools, as shown in this tool from the Boston Schools Fund. 

These issues were echoed in the last report of the evening: the annual BPS hiring and workforce diversity report. The report provided updates on the 800 vacancies in the district and a breakdown of the district staff’s racial diversity as it relates to the requirements of the 1974 order by Judge Garrity. Still, the report left key questions unanswered about how the district plans to fill these vacancies and whether the district staff is truly representative of the students they serve.

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The only presentation of the night was an update on the BPS “Green New Deal.” Announced last year by Mayor Wu, the “Green New Deal” is a vision for improving BPS infrastructure and building modern, climate-resilient facilities. However, last night’s presentation did not go into detail beyond that vision and left many unanswered questions about the possibility of future school closures and mergers.

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There were two reports presented to the School Committee last night, the first of which was a report on the past year’s MCAS results. The results showed that, while BPS is trending slightly better than the state and other urban districts, achievement gaps persist among certain student groups. There was no discussion about trends at the school level, nor did the School Committee hear from teachers or school leaders to understand what is working. The last report of the night was a presentation of a strategic plan for the Office of Multilingual and Multicultural Education. The report outlined an ambitious goal of providing multilingual education to every student for whom English is not their primary language, but it lacked clarity on strategies or action steps for achieving this vision.

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The meeting continued with unanimous votes to approve a new contract with the Boston Teachers Union as well as an additional one-year appropriation from the City to cover the added costs of the new contract. Questions were raised by School Committee members both about the strategy driving this new contract and about how these costs will be covered in future years. The meeting concluded with an update on the Mission Hill School investigation, involving publication of the long-awaited third report into the failures of school leaders and Central Office staff to protect student safety.

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The rest of the meeting featured discussions on transportation, special education, school safety, and teacher vacancies. Dr. Echelson and his team spoke optimistically about the district’s work in these areas while downplaying key issues that have been publicly raised by community members, the press, and even the School Committee members themselves. Members were left without answers as to how the district will address uncovered bus routes, the plan to fill hundreds of remaining vacancies in schools, where those vacancies are concentrated, and what the district is doing to proactively prevent safety incidents. Later in the meeting, members heard a report on a new bargaining agreement with the Boston Teachers Union. However, when prompted with questions about specific details of the agreement, there was a lack of clarity in implementation and implications for students and schools.

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The majority of the meeting was spent discussing back-to-school updates for students, families and community members. As the district prepares for students to return to school, Acting Superintendent Drew Echelson and his team discussed transportation, staff vacancies, COVID-19 safety and more. With the continued shutdown of the Orange Line, Dr. Echelson emphasized that students would not be penalized for being late due to transportation issues and mentioned alternative transportation options for students, including free access to the Commuter Rail and additional bus routes. He also shared that the district is still facing 400 key vacancies in advance of reopening next week, more than half of which are educators as well as key roles like safety officers and bus monitors. With the majority of the Committee absent for these presentations, there were few questions and the meeting was adjourned.

School begins next Thursday, September 8 for students in grades 1-12, and Monday, September 12 for students in pre-k and kindergarten. The next School Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 14.

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Following these votes, the meeting continued with the Acting Superintendent’s Report, in which Dr. Echelson discussed preparedness efforts for the start of school in just a few weeks, the district’s work to address school transportation in light of the MBTA’s recent Orange Line closure, and COVID-19 safety protocols for the new school year. After a brief public comment period, the meeting concluded with a presentation on BPS’ work to meet the August 15 deadlines in its improvement agreement with the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), noting that it is on track to meet all nine of the process-oriented mandates required by Monday. 

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Last night was a short meeting and the first featuring Acting Superintendent Drew Echelson. Chair Jeri Robinson began by noting that discussions are still underway regarding contracts for Dr. Echelson and new superintendent Mary Skipper, and that more information will be shared at a future meeting. 

Dr. Echelson next shared his Acting Superintendent’s Report, which included an update on how the district is preparing for the mandates laid out in its agreement with the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in areas including transportation, special education, and more. He announced that he will be creating several new positions within the Central Office, including the promotion of the current Senior Executive Director of Data and Accountability to the newly-created position of Assistant Superintendent of Data, Strategy, and Implementation.

The meeting continued with just eight public comments, followed by unanimous votes approving charter renewals for three Horace Mann Charter Schools and athletics association membership for eight Boston schools. The meeting concluded with a free-flowing discussion of School Committee processes and procedures – a discussion that did not reach a clear resolution on reforms or next steps.

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The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included a discussion of the agreement reached earlier this week between BPS and the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to avert a takeover. The agreement includes key provisions for students and families, including a redesign of special education and ELL services, a guarantee of at least 95% on-time bus arrival, and a new data auditor appointed by the State who will have full access to BPS data. Superintendent Cassellius also discussed the report on the Mission Hill investigation, which she said would be released in the coming weeks despite a deadline of June 30, and she shared that the “Green New Deal” for BPS facilities would be beginning its 18-month development process. In response to a question about what environmental targets are being set that make this initiative “green,” the Superintendent shared that the third-party vendor the district will hire to oversee this plan will make those determinations.

After a public comment period in which dozens of community members shared their preference for who should be the next superintendent, the meeting moved on to two votes. The first vote was to appoint Dr. Drew Echelson as Acting Superintendent. Despite an objection to the 11th-hour nature of this vote – just one day before Superintendent Cassellius’ last day – Dr. Echelson was approved unanimously. The main event last night was a discussion and vote on the next permanent superintendent of BPS. Each School Committee member discussed the merits of the candidates and the reasoning behind their choice, with the ultimate result being a close 4-3 vote in favor of Mary Skipper over Dr. Tommy Welch.

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The meeting continued with an update on the superintendent search, in which Search Committee Co-Chair Pam Eddinger shared that two of the four finalists recently withdrew from consideration, resulting in the announcement of Mary Skipper and Dr. Tommy Welch as the two finalists. The reasons for these withdrawals were not given, and members of the School Committee expressed disappointment with the outcome of this process but pledged to continue forward.

Following a public comment period with numerous comments about the merger of the Russell and Clap Elementary Schools, there was a vote to approve two side letters of agreement with the bus drivers union that School Committee members were told were integral to approval of a new contract. These letters were unanimously approved. The meeting concluded with a report on the new exam school policy that was lacking in key data, as well as reports from Horace Mann Charter School leaders seeking renewals.

Public interviews for Mary Skipper and Tommy Welch will be held on Thursday and Friday, respectively, with a vote by the School Committee during their next meeting on Wednesday, June 29.

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Last night’s meeting began with an update on the superintendent search timeline filled with uncertain dates and unclear processes. Chair Jeri Robinson announced that two or three finalists will be announced next week or the week after, there will be public interviews with the finalists likely the week of the June 20th with specific dates and times to come later, and there may or may not be an interim superintendent that may or may not need to be approved by the School Committee.

The meeting continued with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Cassellius announced that she will be lifting the mask mandate for the final two weeks of school, celebrated the passage of the BPS budget by the Boston City Council, and lauded the “Green New Deal” for school facilities. While there was no discussion of what environmental initiatives would be a part of this effort, it was announced that another BPS building audit would take place over the next year – more than halfway through the current BuildBPS process – and that the plan includes mergers of at least six schools into three. Next, the School Committee approved a new bus drivers contract without any public discussion or disclosure of the contract, and the Committee approved renewals for five BPS innovation schools.

The next School Committee meeting is currently scheduled for Wednesday, June 22 at 5pm, although it was announced last night that this may be moved based on the superintendent interview timeline.

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Last night’s meeting began with a discussion of the highly critical state review of Boston Public Schools, coming on the heels of a State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) hearing on the state report on Tuesday. District leaders highlighted the positives in the report while downplaying the criticisms. The Superintendent’s report last night also included discussion of BPS school safety measures, a new food contract with City Fresh, a bus drivers agreement, and the announcement of a Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools – positive developments awaiting further detail.

The meeting continued with an interesting conversation about what role the School Committee is meant to play in the state receivership discussions, and then a public comment period with heartbreaking testimony about the damning state report and the ways in which BPS has failed students with disabilities.

The meeting concluded with votes to refrain from joining the Massachusetts School Choice Plan and to reduce the number of school days at UP Academy from 185 to 180. Finally, we heard an update on the superintendent search process, which noted that approximately 8 of the 34 candidates will receive a first-round interview next week, with second-round interviews the following week, public sessions the week after that, and an offer by the end of June. This ambitious timeline led to a telling back-and-forth about the likelihood of appointing an interim superintendent.

The next School Committee meeting will take place Wednesday, June 8 at 5pm.

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by current Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, who has served since 2019 and will be leaving BPS at the end of this school year.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In the previous episode of this special series, Jill and Ross were joined by Tommy Chang. In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Laura Perille, who served as Interim Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2018 to 2019.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In the previous episode of this special series, Jill and Ross were joined by John McDonough. In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Tommy Chang, who served as Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2015 to 2018.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In the previous episode of this special series, Jill and Ross were joined by Carol Johnson. In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by John McDonough, who served as Interim Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2013 to 2015.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In the previous episode of this special series, Jill and Ross were joined by Mike Contompasis. In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Carol Johnson, who served as Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2007 to 2013. 

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Mike Contompasis, who served as Interim Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2006 to 2007.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful? 

 In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

This first episode features the voices of 14 Boston leaders – teachers, principals, education advocates, nonprofit leaders, union leaders, political leaders, former School Committee members, and others – offering their perspectives on the role of the superintendent, key priorities for Boston Public Schools, and how the community can come together to support our school district and its new leader. Below is a list of all participants in this episode:

• Will Austin, Founder and CEO, Boston Schools Fund
• Edith Bazile, BPS Parent and Grandparent, Former BPS Teacher, Special Education and Literacy Advocate
• Erik Berg, Vice President, Boston Teachers Union
• Ernani DeAraujo, Former Boston School Committee Member
• Fabienne Eliacin, BPS Parent and Former Member of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC)
• Dr. Caren Walker Gregory, Head of School, Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers
• Matt Holzer, Headmaster, Boston Green Academy
• Suzanne Lee, Former Principal of the Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Co-Chair of the English Language Learner (ELL) Task Force
• Cole Moran, Teacher, Charlestown High School
• James Morton, President and CEO, YMCA of Greater Boston
• Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, Former Chair of the Boston School Committee and Executive Director of Sociedad Latina
• Elizabeth Pauley, Associate Vice President, Education to Career and Health and Wellness, The Boston Foundation
• Tanisha Sullivan, President, NAACP Boston
• Dave Sweeney, Former Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh
• 
  

To learn more about the participants and see a video version of the episode highlighting each speaker, visit BostonSuperintendent.com.

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The only other report of the meeting was an update on the Superintendent Search, given by Dr. Pam Eddinger, one of the Search Committee chairs. Dr. Eddinger gave an update on the timeline for interviewing candidates and on the public engagement process, however School Committee members expressed concern on the timing of the process and noted the need to have a plan for an interim Superintendent if the search does not conclude by the time Dr. Casseslius’s last day on June 30th.

A special School Committee meeting will take place next Thursday, May 5th, to vote on closing the Mission Hill School. 

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The majority of last night’s meeting featured a long public comment session, with testimony from numerous school communities advocating for support over longstanding issues.

The first report of the night was an update on the superintendent search, with Committee members presenting a finalized job description and the naming of the search firm for the search process. Later in the evening, the Committee heard reports on building repairs and the transportation contract with Transdev.

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The School Committee heard two reports last night: a report on assignment and application numbers, and an update on the Superintendent search. The Superintendent and her team shared application data indicating a decline in enrollment for the upcoming school year. This data was first presented last night but typically would be available prior to the final budget vote.

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The meeting began with an updated presentation from the Superintendent on changes to her initial budget recommendation. The updates include $2.3 million in increases to the Central Office budget and additional funding for 98 schools, including funds for library expansions and additional school psychologists. There were pointed questions from the School Committee about whether this budget accounts for projected declines in enrollment and the ways in which those projections are determined. The meeting then continued with a report on several school building repair projects being submitted to the State – which the Superintendent noted was lacking a larger vision from City leaders for districtwide facility improvements – and finally a progress update from the Superintendent Search Committee.

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The meeting did not include conversation about big-picture strategy or vision for the district, nor was there information about what type of candidate they are seeking, what their priorities for the next superintendent will be, or how they will work to entice candidates to apply.

The next School Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 16 at 5pm.

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The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included updates on COVID-19 testing protocols and mask mandates in Boston, the status of acceleration academies for students during February vacation, and a preview of future announcements around summer programming. Committee members asked pointed questions that circled back to key outstanding issues from the last meeting, continuing to press for updated enrollment and graduation data.

The School Committee tabled a planned report on an agreement between the district and the Boston Teachers’ Union regarding the citywide vaccine mandate due to a court decision earlier in the day that prevented Mayor Wu from moving forward with the mandate.

Public comment included numerous teachers objecting to the vaccine mandate and the tentative union agreement. In addition, the public comment period featured a large coalition of students and community members of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School advocating for the promised expansion of the school, as well as from the Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) asking the Superintendent to ensure the program would continue to have necessary space and resources.

The School Committee heard two reports last night, with the first one regarding extended pay for four in-district Horace Mann charter schools. The final report of the night discussed the impending search for the district’s next Superintendent. Glenn Koocher, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, outlined best practices for a search and detailed potential challenges in recruiting candidates. Chair Jeri Robinson outlined next steps for the process and discussed the coming release of a new RFP for a search consultant.

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The meeting continued with public comment, in which parents and students from the P.A. Shaw Elementary School continued advocating for the promised expansion of the school, followed by the nominations of School Committee member Rafaela Polanco Garcia and Roxanne Harvey, Chair of the Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC), to the English Language Learner’s Task Force.

The Superintendent and her team then presented the preliminary budget to the School Committee. After discussion of MassCore implementation, academic outcomes, and a “quality guarantee” for all students, the Superintendent and her team answered questions from members of the School Committee, who pressed her on why the budget does not factor in enrollment declines and how the budget addresses the needs of current – and not just future – students.

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A former advisor to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Cardet-Hernandez is currently the Executive Director of the Ivy Street School, a private program serving students with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and other learning disabilities. Cardet-Hernandez joins Dr.Stephen Alkins as the two newest members appointed by Mayor Wu this month.

The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report that first celebrated this year’s Educators of the Year. The report focused on COVID rates and updates to testing options, and concluded with a preview of the only report of the night on high school redesign. After thoughtful questions asked by committee members, the School Committee heard public comments primarily from two school communities: the P.A. Shaw School, with numerous students and parents asking for the district to keep their promise of adding a fourth and fifth grade, and the Manning Elementary School, with parents expressing concern with the new exam school policy that denies students assigned to their school the ten bonus points.

After a vote on approving a revised Code of Conduct, the School Committee then heard the only report of the night on high school redesign. The Superintendent and her team provided a high-level vision for schools that was lacking in details, metrics, or timelines. One of the more notable points of the presentation was the plan to convert the King K-8 and Trotter K-8 into K-6 schools that would have a guaranteed pathway to the Burke High School in the Grove Hall section of Roxbury. The School Committee asked targeted questions about implementation and timeline for the redesign.

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The Superintendent’s report last night focused on the current COVID-19 surge and the ways in which the district is working to keep schools open while keeping students and staff safe. The Superintendent announced that school sports, which have been on hold since winter break, will be resuming next week – a topic brought up often during public comment last night. She also announced that, in compliance with a citywide mandate, all Boston Public Schools staff will be required to provide proof of vaccination by January 15. We also heard an update on COVID-19 case data in Boston, as well as detail on how the district will make decisions regarding when to quarantine classrooms or close schools.

The meeting continued with public comment, in which many parents spoke about their concerns with schools remaining fully in-person, in addition to comments about school sports, the proposed Charlestown innovation high school prospectus, and calls for expansion of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School. The School Committee then voted to approve grants, including $400 million in federal relief funds from ESSER II and ESSER III. There were two presentations last night: the first on the services being provided to the 4,000 unhoused BPS students, and the second on an updated approach to school safety.

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The School Committee heard two reports last night, one on a hiring update and another on amendments to the Boston Day and Evening Academy’s charter. Before the meeting ended, there was a discussion about the exam school policy, focused on the 10 bonus points for students going to schools with poverty levels of 40% or higher. Following the last meeting that featured a presentation of school-by-school data with key information missing, the Superintendent presented new data to the School Committee, as well as introducing a new feature to the policy: a waitlist to each of the exam schools beginning this application cycle. Again, there were few questions on this entirely new element of the policy from members of the School Committee. While there were public comments both for and against the 10 bonus point policy, the Superintendent and School Committee agreed to keep the policy in-place and reassess it next June.

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The School Committee only heard one presentation, which was an update regarding the implementation of MassCore standards for the district’s high schools. The Committee was supposed to vote on the closing of three of the district’s middle schools -- the Jackson Mann, the Irving, and the Timilty -- but this was delayed by the Superintendent to continue engagement with families and community members of impacted schools.

The Superintendent also presented simulations on the new Exam School admission policy, which had been requested by School Committee members and the public since the adoption of this new policy in July. However, many questions still remained, as parents pointed out missing information in the data and a School Committee member formally called for reconsideration of the 10 bonus points included in the new policy.

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Last night’s meeting took place just one night after a historic election that saw Michelle Wu as the first woman and person of color elected Mayor of Boston and a non-binding ballot question in which 80% of voters favored an elected school committee, rather than the current mayor-appointed model. After School Committee members responded to the results of this ballot initiative, the Superintendent shared a presentation in which she briefly addressed the public outcry heard at last week’s meeting concerning the upcoming vote to close the Irving, Timilty, and Jackson-Mann schools. The meeting then moved on to a public comment period that primarily featured parents expressing frustration about the lack of communication and transparency regarding changes to their child’s schools, with a particular focus on the Sumner, Blackstone, and Mendell schools.

The School Committee voted on two items last night that were retracted from the previous meeting’s agenda: the first giving the Superintendent the authority to temporarily adjust policies for its Advanced Work Class program, and the second on the Superintendent’s performance goals. Following these votes, the School Committee heard two reports: one on updates to air quality in schools, and a second on the district’s high-level academic vision. The meeting concluded with comments from several members once again reiterating the need for data and simulations on the new exam school policy, as well as calls for re-evaluating BuildBPS and developing a master plan for all facilities.

After another long and complicated meeting, we are still left with the following questions:

• What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? Is there an RFP to create a campus master plan? Will the system move forward with short term plans for long term problems? What is the quality guarantee and when will it be implemented?
• Will the School committee members ever receive the exam school simulation data they have been requesting meeting after meeting or will the Superintendent’s team continue to brush aside their requests?
• What is happening with the ESSR funds? The application date for the new and largest round of funding has come and gone. What is BPS doing with the funding? We’d love to hear an update.

The School Committee will meet again next week on November 3 tentatively at 5pm. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Testify at the next school committee meeting on Nov. 17 and share your thoughts on how to address the issues facing your school
• Reach out to the new mayor and new city councilors to discuss your priorities for BPS
• Sign up for our email list at ShahFoundation.org to provide feedback on this podcast, receive updates on our work, and be notified when new podcast episodes are available.
• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team. 
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Air Quality Update
• Academic Vision
• City of Boston Bids and Requests for Proposal (RFPs) 

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After a long and complicated meeting, we are still left with the following questions:

• What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? What is the quality guarantee and when will it be implemented?
• When will the school system respond to the concrete data requests from school committee members?
• It is important to note that both Lorena and Rafaela’s terms expire after the next meeting following the election of a new mayor. Given their insightful and meaningful questions and contributions, these should be considered when the new mayor and her team review their applications for a full term. Will they be reappointed to full terms?
• What is happening with the ESSR funds? The application date for the new and largest round of funding has come and gone. What is BPS doing with the funding? We’d love to hear an update.

The School Committee will meet again next week on November 3 tentatively at 5pm. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Vote for a new Mayor in November. Education should be a core issue for all elected officials and your vote matters. You can read their policy proposals regarding education below:
• Michelle Wu
• Annissa Essaibi-George
• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team. 
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• BuildBPS Update PowerPoint
• Update of Strategic Plan Implementation Powerpoint
• Exam School Updated Website

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After a long and complicated meeting, we are still left with the following questions:

• Given the new policy, will all students in the city of Boston have a chance at attending an Exam School 
• Will the School Committee change the policy they adopted if they determine that it does not give all students a chance at attending an Exam School?
• Will the school system create a plan for increasing the quality of the other high schools in BPS?
• How did we measure the impact of the ESSR funding to help inform round 3 of ESSR funding. Previously released plans from BPS said they would submit a preliminary plan for ESSR round 3 funds by October 4th. Is it October 7th. What happened?

The School Committee will meet again on October 27 tentatively at 5pm.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Vote for a new Mayor in November. Education should be a core issue for all elected officials and your vote matters. You can read their policy proposals regaridng education below:
• Michelle Wu
• Annissa Essaibi-George
• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team. 
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• 2021 MCAS Results PowerPoint
• Exam Schools Admissions Policy Implementation Update
• Superintendent’s Performance Goals, School Year 2021-2022
• Library Services Strategic Plan, 2022-2026 PowerPoint
• Advanced Work Class (AWC) Policy Flexibility Request Memo

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Even as school has started and students will begin their third week on Monday, we are still left with the following questions:

• What is the plan for ensuring students receive healthy food rather than plastic wrapped, processed food?
• How will BPS continue to address transportation issues? How will they ensure this issue will not continue?
• How many staff have been vaccinated and / or signed on for weekly testing?
• We heard many testify during public comment about the Mission Hill School. What is the plan and strategy for MHS and supporting their school community?
• What is the plan for the Horace Mann School for the Deaf? What is the plan for a long term strategy for the EMK? 
• Is it now too late to take any action on the new exam school admission policy?
• How will we measure the impact of the ESSR funding to help inform round 3 of ESSR funding. Especially considering a plan must be submitted by October 4th?

The School Committee will meet again on October 6th tentatively at 6pm.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Vote for a new Mayor in September and November. Education should be a core issue for all elected officials and your vote matters. 
• As the Supt team said on the news last night and this morning, if you know of 25k of space for EMK please let them know.
• If you have issues with busses, school food, water, safety, or other basic human needs, email Sam Dipina. His email address is sdepina@bostonpublicschools.org
• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team. 
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Teachers Union regarding Health and Safety for School Year 2021-2022
• FY22 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding Implementation Plan
• Code of Conduct Update PowerPoint
• Library Services Strategic Plan, 2022-2026 PowerPoint

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In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. With school starting next Thursday, the Superintendent and her team presented on back-to-school and reopening updates. While the updates began on a positive note with a recap of summer programming and backpack distribution, it quickly turned to a discussion of major operational deficiencies that remain unresolved one week before school starts: a severe bus driver shortage that will impact transportation for an unidentified number of students, a food service shortage that will prevent kids from eating fresh, healthy food, and a lack of data or accountability on how many school staff have complied with the vaccine requirement.

Following a public comment that featured the outcries of community members from Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers about the fact that they still have not been provided with adequate learning space, the School Committee received two presentations: one on reforms to the Boston Student Advisory Council, and another on updates regarding federal relief funding. 

Given that students will be sitting in classrooms a week from today, we are left with the following questions:

• How will students get to school in one week? When will families know if they have transportation or not?
• What is the plan for ensuring students receive healthy food rather than plastic wrapped, processed food?
• How many staff have been vaccinated and / or signed on for weekly testing?
• What is the plan for the Horace Mann School for the Deaf? What is the plan for a long term strategy for the EMK?
• When will we see a simulation for the exam school admissions policy? Will it also be too late to take any action?
• How will we measure the impact of the ESSR funding to help inform round 3 of ESSR funding?
• What will happen if the Superintendent does not pass her licensure exam? This should be made available on September 10th. 

The School Committee will meet again on September 22nd at 5pm. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Watch the Boston Mayoral Debate on September 9th at 7pm, and learn where candidates stand on Education in Boston
• And, of course, Vote for Mayor in September and November. Education should be a core issue for all elected officials and your vote matters. 
• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team. 
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Preparing for School Year 2021-2022
• Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) Reform Update PowerPoint
• FY 22 Budget: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding Update PowerPoint

>>

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The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, with the Superintendent honoring the late Thomas Payzant, former Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. She then addressed the report on her license expiration, deflecting blame for her failure to renew her license, and she went on to provide updates on summer learning. While the Superintendent and her team showed some of the highlights of summer learning, it was reported earlier this week that thousands of students did not attend any summer programming and were not contacted about these opportunities. After the School Committee voted to approve a policy allowing students to complete their degrees even if they are over age, and to renew their existing Memorandum of Understanding with Unlocking Potential, an organization that operates two schools in Boston, members heard two reports on back to school planning and the BPS Wellness Policy. However, their discussions did not respond to the concerns and outcries of families and community members during public comment, which focused largely on the lack of adequate learning space for students in the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (“EMK”).

Given the significance of many of the topics discussed last night, we are left with the following questions:

• Who will carry out the Superintendent's duties until she is licensed to do so?
• Are the facilities for the EMK, Horace Mann, and Jackson Mann students sufficient and serving the needs of students while we wait for their new buildings to be built?
• When will we see simulations released on the approved exam school admission policy which was different from the final task force recommendation?

The School Committee will meet again on September 1st at 5pm. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Advocate to the School Committee members to increase their accountability of the Superintendent and her team. Help them identify the rocks. 
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Suspension of the Maximum Age Policy, School Year 2021-2022
• UP Academy Boston Charter Amendments
• Preparing for School Year 2021-2022
• Wellness Report SY 2019-20
• Understanding the Rocks and Sand Allegory

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The bulk of the meeting focused on the Superintendent’s proposal for a new Exam School entrance policy, which was different from the previous proposal presented to the School Committee at the last meeting. The new policy sets a weighted composite score consisting of a test score and grades to rank students via tiers based off of census tracts, with additional points going to students living in Boston Housing Authority housing, in the care of the Department of Children and Families, and experiencing homelessness, or to students who attend a school with 40% or more of students from economically disadvantaged families. Even as many during public comment offered their support for distributing 100% of seats via tiers, many opposed the policy and argued for using the previous admissions policy, while others offered their concern for approving the new policy given the lack of simulations running the new policy and no opportunity for the public to provide feedback. 

Even with many of the members expressing confusion and wishing to review the policy further, the School Committee unanimously approved the proposal and agreed to revisit the policy at a later meeting in September.

The School Committee will meet again on August 4th at 5pm. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Email School Committee members feedback and questions about the Exam School admissions policy that was voted on last night
• Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
• Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Dr. Hardin Coleman: hcoleman2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Ernani DeAraujo: edearaujo@bostonpublicschools.org
• Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Exam Schools Admissions Policy Recommendation 
• Horace Mann In-District Charter Renewal: Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School
• UP Academy Charter Amendments

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The School Committee then heard a report from Tanisha Sullivan and Michael Contompasis, co-chairs of the Exam School Task Force, on the Exam School Task Force’s recommendation for a new admissions policy to the three exam schools. The proposal uses a weighted composite score consisting of a test score and grades to rank students first city-wide (20%), and then via tiers based off of census tracts (80%). While the task force co-chairs presented the final policy, multiple members dissented and expressed their discontent with the new policy. The meeting concluded with a report regarding the federal funding coming to the district and how funding could be spent.

With summer programming starting next week and the committee set to vote on the exam school admissions policy at the next meeting, we are left with the following questions:

• How will the school committee vote on approving the recommendation of the Exam School Task Force if questions of implementation haven’t been resolved?
• Will BPS be able to fill the empty summer school seats, and do we know who still needs a plan for the summer?
• Where will the Horace Mann students attend school until their new school is built? How are the issues being resolved with the McCormack BCLA merger?
• How many teachers have been hired for the 2021/22 school year and how many vacancies remain? 
• What are the updated enrollment projections for next year based on the first round of student assignments?
• What are members of the graduating class of 2021 doing next?

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend the next exam school task force listening session on July 7
• The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet on the following date:
• Thursday, July 1, 5:00pm
• Read each of the school committee member’s individual evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance:
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Hardin Coleman
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Ernani DeAraujo
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Michael O'Neill 
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Jeri Robinson 
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Quoc Tran 
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Exam Schools Admissions Task Force Policy Recommendation 
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding Update
• Suspension of the Maximum Age Policy, School Year 2021-2022
• Horace Mann In-District Charter Renewal: Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School

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In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The first meeting since the resignation of two committee members, Lorna Rivera and Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, the meeting began with the election of the new chair, Jerri Robinson, with Michael O’Neill remaining as vice chair. The Superintendent provided an update on the end of the school year and summer programming, which starts in a few weeks and currently has 73% of its seats filled and a need for staffing. The meeting then featured an emotionally-charged public comment period featuring 42 speakers, covering numerous topics of concern. Following public comment, the school committee heard a report from the co-chairs of the Exam School Admissions Task Force with an update on the task force’s considerations for a new admissions policy to the exam schools. Despite the fact that this recommendation is expected to be finalized by the next school committee meeting in two weeks, the report contained a wide spectrum of options without any consensus. The meeting concluded with a review of the Superintendent’s composite performance evaluation.

With the last day of school tomorrow, June 18th, we are left with the following questions:

• How will the momentum created last night by the school committee for the creation of another exam school influence decisions moving forward? What will the task force proposal ultimately include? And how will the conversation about high quality high schools continue once the policy is approved by the School Committee?
• 73% of seats for summer programming have been filled. The district promised months ago to know the plan for every student in BPS. Does every student have a plan for the summer, and how will the district address staffing needs for the summer?

Ways to Engage and Resources:

1. Attend an exam school task force committee meeting, which will be meeting weekly in May on Tuesdays, starting at 5pm 

• Attend one of the listening sessions for the exam school task force. They will meet on June 22nd at 6pm, and June 23rd at 4pm. You can find previous information and data from previous meetings hereSunday, June 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, July 1, 5:00pm

1. The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet on the following dates:

• Read each of the school committee member’s individual evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance:
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Hardin Coleman
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Ernani DeAraujo
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Michael O'Neill 
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Jeri Robinson 
• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Quoc Tran 
• Meeting presentations and materials
• Exam Schools Admissions Task Force Update: Potential Areas for Consideration
• Superintendent’s Composite Performance Evaluation, School Year 2020-2021 PPT
• Renewal of Transdev Transportation Contract 

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We are left with the following questions:

• What further steps will the district take to ensure that the current and former students of BSAC are okay? How will the district manage BSAC rather than outsource it in the future?
• What is the plan for summer? The district promised months ago to know the plan for every student in BPS. Do we have a plan for every student?
• Where will the Horace Mann students attend school until their new school is built?
• How many teachers have been hired for next year and how many vacancies remain? 
• What are the updated enrollment projections for next year based on the first round of student assignments?
• When will we hear a draft policy on exam school admissions? 
• What is happening with our graduating students? How many are attending college? If they aren’t going to college, what are they doing next? Does the district have any of this data?

Ways to Engage:

• Attend an exam school task force committee meeting, which will be meeting weekly in May on Tuesdays, starting at 5pm.
• The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet tonight at 5pm and on the following dates:
• Thursday, May 13, 5:00pm
• Thursday, May 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, June 10, 5:00pm
• Sunday, June 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, July 1, 5:00pm

Resources

• Boston Globe article regarding the BSAC Investigation
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpedPAC) Annual Update 
• Equitable Grading PowerPoint

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As the School Committee voted in a new graduation policy and shared a vision for new buildings, there were many things that were not addressed in the meeting, including attendance numbers in schools, updates on the return to full in-person learning for high school students, and detailed plans for summer learning.

We are left with the following questions:

• How many teachers have been hired for next year and how many vacancies remain? 
• What are the updated enrollment projections for next year based on the first round of student assignments?
• What is happening with our students who are graduating without any graduation standards? Are they attending college, the job market, does the district have the data?
• What is the plan for summer? The district promised months ago to know the plan for every student in BPS. Do we have a plan for every student?
• Where will the Horace Mann students attend school until their new school is built?

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend an exam school task force committee meeting, which will be meeting weekly in May on Tuesdays, starting at 5pm 
• The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet tonight at 5pm and on the following dates:
• Thursday, May 13, 5:00pm
• Thursday, May 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, June 10, 5:00pm
• Sunday, June 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, July 1, 5:00pm
• Members of the commission include: 
• Sam Acevedo, GBLN, HERN, OAG CO-Chair 
• Celina Barrios-Millner, Equity and Inclusion, City of Boston
• Rahn Dorsey, Stakeholder
• Pam Eddinger, Bunker Hill Community College
• Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Lawyers for Civil Rights
• Theresa Garcia de Quevedo, Mildred Ave School
• Roxanne Harvey, Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council 
• John Jackson, Schott Foundation
• Karla Jenkins, Principal of Higginson Inclusion School (K0-2)
• Suzanne Lee, ELL Task Force
• Margaret McKenna, Human Rights Commission
• Xyra Mercer, Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC)
• Keith Motley, Urban League
• Alex Oliver-Davila, BPS School Committee
• Lee Pelton, The Boston Foundation
• Paul Reville, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Ruby Reyes, Boston Education Justice Alliance (BEJA)
• Nicol Riley, Citywide Parent Council
• Valerie Roberson, Roxbury Community College
• Jeri Robinson, BPS School Committee
• Jim Rooney, Boston Chamber of Commerce
• Ayele Shakur, OAG Task Force
• Chris Smith, Boston After School and Beyond
• Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, UMASS Boston Chancellor
• Tanisha Sullivan, NAACP
• Neil Sullivan, PIC
• Jessica Tang, Boston Teachers Union
• Pastor Matt K Thompson, Jubilee Church
• Dania Vazquez, Head of School - Margarita Muniz
• Grace Wai, School Superintendent & Executive Team Member
• TBD, Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC)
• TBD, District English Learner Advisory Committee
• Boston Globe article on last night’s meeting
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Boston Public Schools MassCore Graduation Requirements Update
• Proposed BPS Graduation Requirements Policy
• Heat Map - High Schools Road Map to MassCore
• FY22 Capital Budget PowerPoint
• Capital Budget and BuildBPS Update Summary of Projects

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Last night’s meeting also included a vote on the revised attendance policy and on an agreement between the Boston Teachers’ Union and the Boston School Committee regarding Family Liaison Classification. The meeting ended with a report on equitable policy.

Missing from last night’s conversation were a number of topics on the minds of students and parents across the city, including the exam school invitations that were just sent out and any plans for the fast-approaching summer.

We are left with the following questions:

• Where are the students? How are they doing? Mentally, emotionally, academically?
• What do we need to do to plan for next year given that we don’t have measures in place to discern where kids are?
• No plans for the summer-- why didn’t this make it on the agenda? When will this be communicated to parents? And how?
• How many graduates are going to college? What is going to happen to the rest of the senior class?
• Families received a notification about the results of the exam school admissions process. What are the results of this? 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend an exam school task force committee meeting, which will be meeting weekly in May on Tuesdays, starting at 5pm 
• The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet on:
• Thursday, May 13, 5:00pm
• Thursday, May 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, June 10, 5:00pm
• Sunday, June 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, July 1, 5:00pm
• Members of the commission include: 
• Sam Acevedo, GBLN, HERN, OAG CO-Chair 
• Celina Barrios-Millner, Equity and Inclusion, City of Boston
• Rahn Dorsey, Stakeholder
• Pam Eddinger, Bunker Hill Community College
• Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Lawyers for Civil Rights
• Theresa Garcia de Quevedo, Mildred Ave School
• Roxanne Harvey, Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council 
• John Jackson, Schott Foundation
• Karla Jenkins, Principal of Higginson Inclusion School (K0-2)
• Suzanne Lee, ELL Task Force
• Margaret McKenna, Human Rights Commission
• Xyra Mercer, Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC)
• Keith Motley, Urban League
• Alex Oliver-Davila, BPS School Committee
• Lee Pelton, The Boston Foundation
• Paul Reville, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Ruby Reyes, Boston Education Justice Alliance (BEJA)
• Nicol Riley, Citywide Parent Council
• Valerie Roberson, Roxbury Community College
• Jeri Robinson, BPS School Committee
• Jim Rooney, Boston Chamber of Commerce
• Ayele Shakur, OAG Task Force
• Chris Smith, Boston After School and Beyond
• Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, UMASS Boston Chancellor
• Tanisha Sullivan, NAACP
• Neil Sullivan, PIC
• Jessica Tang, Boston Teachers Union
• Pastor Matt K Thompson, Jubilee Church
• Dania Vazquez, Head of School - Margarita Muniz
• Grace Wai, School Superintendent & Executive Team Member
• TBD, Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC)
• TBD, District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC)
• Boston School Committee’s Goals and Values
• Boston School Committee Goals and Values PowerPoint  
• Revised Attendance Policy and Procedures SY21-22
• Equitable Policy Review PPT
• Letter from Superintendent Cassellius to BPS Community in response to the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin case

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There were two votes removed from the agenda on the day of the meeting; school committee goals and guardrails, and using masscore for the district’s graduation policy. Public comment featured 16 speakers, nearly all of whom advocated for suspending this year’s MCAS exam. The Biden administration has already granted one waiver to a school district to postpone their standardized testing.

We are left with the following questions:

• We didn’t hear a summer school update. How many openings are there? Are they in person or virtual? How many students have already signed up for a summer program?
• What is the update on teacher and school leader hiring to ensure an effective opening in September?
• How is the district thinking about using the federal stimulus funding?
• School assignments have been released for most students. What are the enrollment numbers for next year?
• With pending litigation, when will assignments go out for 7th and 9th grade students and exam school applicants?
• Which assessments will the district use for the end of year for both the social emotional needs and academic needs of our students?

Ways to Engage and Resources

• Boston’s City Council approves the school department’s budget that was voted on last night. It is the biggest part of the city budget. Make sure that they know what you think about the budget and where you have questions or would like to see changes. Advocate for a clear strategy on how the influx of recovery money will be spent for long term positive change for BPS. 
• Attend an exam school task force committee meeting on Tuesday nights from 5-7pm
• Here is a recent article on the Biden Administration rejecting requests from states to cancel standardized testing
• Composite Superintendent’s School Year 2019-2020 Performance Evaluation
• Operational Readiness for the Return to 5 day In-person Learning on April 26
• Revised Attendance Policy and Procedures SY21-22
• Op-Ed from Superintendent Cassellius in The Boston Globe
• 2021-2022 Boston Public Schools calendar

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We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

• How will support 2020 graduates as well as graduates from this school year, who ended their high school careers in less than optimal circumstances?
• How will we use the federal funding to help both them and current families who also suffered greatly these past two years?
• What will 5 days a week in person or fully remote look like across all grades? Will students have different teachers, will students be able to switch classes in person at the upper grade levels? What happens if a family wants to switch from in-person to remote learning?
• With the school choice season coming to a close, when will families find out next year's assignments? What are the enrollment numbers for next year?
• Who is taking advantage of the 22,000 summer opportunities that were presented at last week’s school committee meeting? How will the district ensure that every student has a plan? And, how will they track this?
• How will BPS ensure safety in their programs this summer? Will they include Covid-19 testing? What are the other expected protocols? 

How to Engage and Resources

• Boston’s City Council approves the school department’s budget that was voted on last night. It is the biggest part of the city budget. Make sure that they know what you think about the budget and where you have questions or would like to see changes. Advocate for a clear strategy on how the influx of recovery money will be spent for long term positive change for BPS. 
• Email Your City Councilor:

Matt O’Malley (City Council President, District 6) matthew.omalley@boston.gov

Annissa Essaibi-George (At-Large) a.e.george@boston.gov

Julia Meija (At-Large) julia.meija@boston.gov

Michelle Wu (At-Large) michelle.wu@boston.gov

Michael Flaherty (At-Large) Michael.F.Flaherty@boston.gov

Lydia Edwards (District 1) lydia.edwards@boston.gov

Ed.Flynn (District 2) Ed.Flynn@boston.gov

Frank Baker (District 3) frank.baker@boston.gov

Andrea Campbell (District 4) Andrea.Campbell@boston.gov

Ricardo Arroyo (District 5) ricardo.arroyo@boston.gov

Kim Janey (Mayor of Boston, City Councilor for District 7) kim.janey@boston.gov

Kenzie Bok (District 8) kenzie.bok@boston.gov

Liz Breadon (District 9) liz.breadon@boston.gov

• Attend an exam school task force committee meeting
• Email us your ideas on how to support this year’s and last year's graduates of BPS: info@shahfoundation.org
• Dorchester Reporter article on City of Boston Finances
• Superintendent's Final FY22 Budget Recommendation Letter
• College, Career, and Life Readiness PowerPoint
• BPS Graduation Rate (2019) by high school

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The district continues to follow its hybrid model of re-opening and parents are being asked to decide by Monday if they want to have their child fully in-person or fully remote in April. There continues to be lots of questions about the details of these learning models.

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

• Do teachers have what they need to teach simultaneously as more students go back to school in person each week - and some families choose to stay remote until the end of the year?
• What will 5 days a week in person or fully remote look like across all grades? Will students have different teachers, will students be able to switch classes in person at the upper grade levels? What happens if a family wants to switch from in-person to remote learning? How will the obstacles the Superintendent outlined be resolved? Will the district apply for a waiver?
• What is the strategy for using the influx of federal funds for long term investments in BPS?
• With the school choice season coming to a close, when will families find out their assignments? What are the enrollment numbers for next year?
• What are the strategies to deal with students' attendance. How will the system address their learning and social emotional needs?
• How will summer programs be advertised to parents? How will they ensure that every student has a plan? And, how will they track this?
• How will BPS ensure safety in their programs this summer? Will they include Covid-19 testing? What are the other expected protocols?

The School Committee will vote at the next meeting on March 24th on the 2022 budget proposal. 

Ways to Engage and Resources

• Boston’s City Council approves the school department’s budget. It is the biggest part of the city budget. Make sure that they know what you think about the budget and where you have questions or would like to see changes. Advocate for a clear strategy on how the influx of recovery money will be spent for long term positive change for BPS.
• Email school committee members encouraging them to find answers to the questions families have about returning to in-person learning. 
• Attend an upcoming exam school admissions task force meeting, which will be meeting weekly on Zoom. 
• March 17 Budget Hearing and Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Superintendent's Final FY22 Budget Recommendation Letter
• Summer Learning Planning Update
• Update on Boston School Committee Priority Setting: Goal Measures
• Goals and Guardrails, March 17, 2021

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With thousands of students returning to school on Monday, there was little discussion or questions from Committee members about how remote learning is going, what back to school will look like, and how we will address the academic and social emotional needs caused by this pandemic.

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

Do teachers have what they need to teach simultaneously with all K0 through 3rd graders returning to school on Monday?

What will transportation look like on Monday?

How will the state’s sponsored pool testing program be implemented in schools? How is this being communicated to parents? To those who are returning to school on Monday?

It’s Exam school admissions time. How many students were in the pool of applicants? What are the results of the new policy that was implemented this year?

The presented budget begins July 1st. What will summer look like for our students? What will school look like in the fall? Will hybrid and remote learning continue? For how long? What tools should be in place to support teaching students both in person and remote simultaneously? What measures will be necessary to return all students to in-person learning? 

What is the plan for teacher vaccination?

The next school committee meeting will take place on March 17th at 6pm, with a budget hearing taking place before the meeting at 5pm.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend a Budget HearingTuesday, March 9th, 5pm
• Review your school’s proposed funding for FY22
• Reach out to your City Councilor and tell them what you think about the budget
• Attend an upcoming exam school admissions task force meeting, which will be meeting weekly on Zoom. 
• Learn more about the state’s K-12 pooled testing program
• Review last night’s meeting presentation and materials:
• Update on Remote/Hybrid Learning and Reopening 
• Early Literacy Update
• Update on Boston School Committee Priority Setting: Goals and Guardrails 

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• The Superintendent provided a concerning update on student attendance
• A number of students provided spirited testimony about their voices not being heard in decision making
• The Committee voted to approve one-year of flexibilities for graduation requirements, promotion, grading and advanced work class admission
• The Superintendent and her team unveiled a preliminary FY 2022 budget to the School Committee. The presentation included a breakdown of the $1.3 billion of funding, the allocation of the funds and discussion about the sustainability of the investments the Superintendent and her team are recommending given the short term nature of the funding and continued declining enrollment. 

The approval of the FY2022 budget will take place in late March, and there are multiple opportunities to express your thoughts and opinions to the district and the School Committee. 

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

Do teachers have what they need to teach simultaneously with more than 7000 students with high needs returning to in-person learning today and tomorrow?

How many families have changed their preference from remote to in-person hybrid learning? 

What are the strategies to improve students' attendance? How will the system address their learning and social emotional needs?

The presented budget begins July 1st. What will summer look like for our students? What will school look like in the fall? Will hybrid and remote learning continue? For how long? What tools should be in place to support teaching students both in person and remote simultaneously? What measures will be necessary to return all students to in-person learning? 

Will each student and staff member be tested for Covid-19, utilizing the state’s testing program, at least once per week in their respective school? 

What is the plan for teacher vaccination?

What are the outcomes of the interim exam school’s admissions policy this year?

In the listening sessions that begin this week, will the Committee provide real numbers instead of the X’s used in her stated goals and guardrails? Will this year’s budget be aligned to these goals. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend a Budget Hearing
• First hearing: February 11th, 5 p.m.
• Review your school’s proposed funding for FY22
• Reach out to your City Councilor and tell them what you think about the budget
• Attend a School Committee Community Meeting and push for “X’s” to be defined as well as clarification on alignment with existing stated goals, the superintendent's strategic plan and the superintendent's performance evaluation goals. 
• February 6th, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
• February 8th, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
• Email the School Committee and the Superintendent and encourage them to take advantage of the state’s Covid-19 pooled surveillance testing program. 
• Learn more about the state’s K-12 pooled testing program
• Review last night’s meeting presentation and materials:
• Request for Flexibilities on the Following BPS Policies due to COVID for SY 2020-2021
• Superintendent’s Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Preliminary Budget Recommendation PowerPoint
• BPS School Year Dashboard
•  
• Check out the Boston School’s Fund blog on the BPS budget

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As Covid-19 cases throughout the City of Boston trend in a better direction, the Superintendent presented school building reopening updates, with more students being welcomed back to in-person learning on February 1st. The pooled surveillance testing program sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was discussed, and the Superintendent and her team presented operational updates that support welcoming more children back to school. Following this, parents and community members spoke during public comment about the need for the reopening of buildings, and allowing children to be physically back in school, along with concerns about the revised exam school admissions policy and changes to the Advanced Work Class model. The Superintendent, in her final presentation, requested greater flexibility on policies including direction for promotion and retention of students, graduation, and Advanced Work Class testing.

The next School Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 3rd at 5pm EST, and will feature the preliminary budget recommendation for FY2022. Over the next few weeks, there will be many opportunities for students, families, and community members to voice their opinions, concerns and ideas to district officials and School Committee members at a variety of hearings. 

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend the Reopening Schools Community Meeting hosted by the Superintendent
• January 28th, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
• Attend a School Committee Community Meeting and push for “X’s” to be defined as well as clarification on alignment with existing stated goals, the superintendent's strategic plan and the superintendent's performance evaluation goals. 
• February 6th, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
• February 8th, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
• Attend a Budget Hearing
• Stay tuned for Exam School Task force dates and attend if you are able. Ask for the data from this year’s “one year” interim assignment methodology.
• Email the School Committee and the Superintendent and encourage them to take advantage of the state’s Covid-19 pooled surveillance testing program. 
• Learn more about the state’s K-12 pooled testing program
• Review last night’s meeting presentation and materials:
• Update on Health and Safety Preparations for Reopening of School Buildings PowerPoint
• Request for Flexibilities on the Following BPS Policies due to COVID for SY 2020-2021
• BPS School Year Dashboard

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In our first episode of 2021, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston Public School Committee Meeting. During this 5-hour meeting, the School Committee discussed reopening updates, heard from families and community members in public comment, and heard updates on the Superintendent’s goals as well as updates from the Exam School task force and the Office of Equity. This was the first meeting since Mayor Walsh has accepted the nomination to be Labor Secretary for President-elect Joe Biden as well as hearing from Governor Baker about a plan for pooled testing for schools.

The School Committee heard from the Superintendent regarding an updated reopening timeline as well as updates from her team on numerous subjects, including daily attendance and grading among many others. Public comment featured students calling on the School Committee to listen to and allow Student Representative Khymani James to have a vote, as well as parents showing frustration regarding the change to exam school admissions and reopening plans.

As of now, BPS is planning to re-open schools starting on February 1st for high in-person priority students, with the remaining students starting to return on March 1st. For more information regarding reopening as well as ways to engage, check out the links below.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Here is the link for school registration. 
• Attend a Budget Hearing
• Stay tuned for Exam School Task force dates
• Email School Committee members and the Superintendent encouraging them to take advantage of the state’s surveillance testing program. 
• Tune in to the 39th Annual MLK Celebration here
• Poll on an Elected School Committee
• Article on the School Committee seat remaining open 
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Reopening and Remote Learning Update
• Exam Schools Admissions Task Force Membership and Charge
• Office of Equity Update

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On this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross discuss the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting, the last meeting of 2020. As we heard updates regarding reopening 28 schools as well as financial updates and discussion about the Superintendent’s performance goals for 2020-21, public comment featured frustration, anger and a lack of confidence from different community members about reopening schools. This lack of confidence has become more present this week, as the Boston Teachers Union gave a vote of no confidence towards the Superintendent.

The Superintendent reported on a variety of things, including the re-opening of 28 schools this week for about 1700 high priority students as well as recapping some important discussion points that were discussed at the School Committee’s Saturday retreat. As the reports continued, many important issues became apparent, including the fact that nearly 25% of high school students aren’t logging onto classes. The meeting ended with the School Committee discussing the performance goals for the Superintendent for 2020-21.

The School Committee will not be meeting until the new year in January. You can read more about the updates and information the School Committee looked at this past week here.

Resources:

• Presentations from 12/12 Retreat
• Presentations from 12/16 Meeting
• Remote Learning Data Update
• Reopening Update
• Boston Globe article on the BTU Vote of No Confidence

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Since 2014, the City of Boston and Boston Public Schools have been discussing BuildBPS, a Facilities Master Plan for the Boston Public schools aimed at bringing Boston’s school buildings into the 21st century. 

The first BuildBPS Report and Plan was released in March of 2017, and last Wednesday’s school committee meeting featured an update regarding some of the ongoing and future projects in BuildBPS as well as important developments and changes to the plan.

BuildBPS is a ten year plan and continues to change and evolve over time. We will continue to get updates at school committee meetings and will continue to discuss the plans and their implications as they come. As the school year progresses, here are a few topics to keep an eye on:

• The challenges of decreased enrollment on BuildBPS and how enrollment changes will impact future plans
• The impact of BuildBPS on school choice and the future of school choice
• What the BuildBPS process should look like moving forward 
• Next steps for the closing of the Edwards Middle School, the upcoming 7-12 models at East Boston and Charlestown High Schools, the BCLA-McCormack merger, and the future of the Horace Mann School

To read more about Boston Schools Fund’s analysis of Boston Public Schools’ 2020-2021 enrollment data, you can find it here. 

The Boston School Committee will be holding a virtual retreat this Saturday, December 12th, from 9am-3pm. You can find more details about this meeting here.

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While the last meeting touched on a variety of topics, the School Committee mostly focused on updates surrounding the BuildBPS plan that deals with the construction of school buildings, reimagining of school pathways and more. While there are multiple projects ongoing, the meeting focused on the closing of the Edwards Middle School, the merging of the McCormack Middle School and Boston Community Leadership Academy, 7-12 grade pathway expansions at Charlestown High School and East Boston High School, and the Horace Mann/Jackson Mann.

Public comment featured multiple testimonies about school reopening and outcries from parents, community members and students on the need for reopening, as well as comments about other issues that were not discussed at length at the meeting.

The School Committee will be holding a virtual retreat on December 12th that is open to the public. You can find information about this public event as well as more information presented at the meeting here.

Resources:

BuildBPS Update PowerPoint 

Resources from December 2nd Meeting

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In this episode, Jill and Ross discuss the highlights of last night’s Boston Public School Committee Meeting. The first meeting since the resignation of former Chairperson Michael Loconto and the release of text exchanges between School Committee members, the School Committee voted on new leadership, heard updates from Superintendent Cassellius and from Human Capital, and heard concerns from families and community members during public comment.

As parents voiced their concerns and frustrations during public comment regarding numerous issues regarding remote learning, the removal of the SEI program from the Mather Elementary School, and more, the School Committee spent the rest of the meeting debriefing the events of the last meeting, hearing from the Superintendent regarding updates across the district, and reports on Human Capital annual hiring and an agreement between the district and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors.

You can find more information on the School Committee’s website.

Resources:

Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASAS) PowerPoint

Office of Human Capital (OHC) Annual Hiring Update PowerPoint

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Although it was announced on Wednesday that Boston Public Schools would be going fully virtual with another uptick in the city-wide COVID-19 positivity rate, there was a focus on the exam school admissions policy and the vote taking place. The working group presented on the policy, and we heard from many asking school committee members to vote yes, including Mayor Walsh and other city councilors from across Boston.

Public comment featured almost 180 speakers, with many discussing their feelings about the new exam school admissions criteria. After hearing from 180 speakers, the School Committee ultimately voted to approve this new admissions policy for this school year. 

This morning, Chair of the School Committee Michael Loconto resigned from his position with many urging him to do so after appearing to mock names during public comment.

You can find more information on the School Committee’s website.

Resources:

Recommendation of Exam Schools Admissions Criteria for School Year 2021-22 Update PowerPoint

Exam Schools Admissions Criteria for School Year 2021-2022

• October 8, 2020 PowerPoint 
• Memo from Exam School Admissions Working Group to Superintendent Cassellius re: Admissions Recommendation, October 5, 2020

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The Superintendent first updated the public and Committee on the district’s reopening plan, with special guest, Mayor Walsh, discussing the importance of supporting students with the highest needs. 

• School Reopening Update

Public comment featured reactions and thoughts from City Councilors, students, teachers, and families urging the district to prioritize safety in reopening as well as the importance of servicing students with disabilities at this time and how meaningful reopening school has been for students with the highest needs. 

There was only one proposal presented by the Exam School Admissions Working Group. Due to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of inequities on many students, the working group proposed moving away from using an admissions test and using previous student academic records (GPA or MCAS scores) to create an admissions pool. As the district previously has been criticized and questioned about their admissions processes and invitations, there were many questions about the implementation of this recommendation while praising the work presented.

• Exam School Admissions Criteria and Policy for School Year 2020-21 Admissions Cycle 

The School Committee will reconvene on October 21st to vote on this recommendation presented by the working group. 

You can find more information on the School Committee’s website. If you’d like to hear more about issues and topics surrounding the exam schools, you can listen to our podcasts focusing on the exam schools.

Resources:

Boston Public Schools Reopening Website

Boston Public Schools Reopening FAQs

Conversation with former Superintendent Michael Contompasis on the Exam Schools

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As the City of Boston has been designated a red zone in Massachusetts, the Superintendent and her team provided an update about how remote learning has improved and updates on the phased-in reopening plan.

• School Reopening Update
• School Reopening PowerPoint from Sept. 16, 2020

Many families, teachers, parents, and community members expressed their concerns over reopening safely as well as raising frustration over School Committee members wanting to limit the number of public comments made. 

Students with in-person priority were welcomed back to their schools today, despite the rising case rates throughout Boston. Starting October 12th, in-person priority students can return to school 4 days a week, while hybrid instruction for all students is scheduled to start on October 15th.

You can find more information on the School Committee’s website.

Resources:

Boston Public Schools Reopening Website

Boston Public Schools Reopening FAQs

Division of Equity, Strategy, and Opportunity Gaps Update Presentation

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The Superintendent and her team presented on a few items:

• Review of the re-opening plans for the 2020-2021 school year
• Memorandum of Agreement between the Boston Public Schools and Boston Teachers Union for the 2020-2021 School Year during the on-going COVID-19 Pandemic

The School Committee heard from over 50 members of the BPS community, expressing their concerns about reopening and the student information sharing policy. These concerns are echoed in an article from The Boston Globe. 

The meeting was concluded with unanimous votes to pass action items regarding a revised information sharing policy, a universal pre-kindergarten connector system, and Memorandum of Agreement between the Boston Public Schools and Boston Teachers Union.

Boston Public Schools will officially start on Monday, September 21st, remotely, before offering hybrid learning no earlier than October 1st. 

You can find more information on the School Committee’s website.

Resources:

School Reopening Update PowerPoint

MOU of BPS and BTU PowerPoint

Boston Globe article on Reopening Concerns for BPS

Boston Public Schools Reopening Website

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Last night's meeting included: 

• The BPS School Reopening Plan,
• Policy regarding preparing and sharing student information, and 
• Changes to the district's policy on early childhood education

As referenced in the episode:

• Example of the health and safety measures in the Bolling Building administrative offices
• See an example of a BPS meal as discussed by Ross and Jill in this episode, below. According to Superintendent, Brenda Cassilius, BPS has given out 1.6M meals to kids in Boston.

Resources: 

• To review last night's presentations, click here. 
• Find more information on the School Committee's website.

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The Superintendent's team and school committee discussed:

• The Reopening Plan for School Year 2020-21,
• A Task Force for Exam Schools, and
• The Superintendent's first-year Performance Evaluation 

Links to the Committee's comments on the Superintendent's Performance Evaluation:

Chair Loconto

Vice-Chair Oliver-Davila

Michael O'Neill

Lorna Rivera

Jeri Robinson

Quoc Tran

Find more information on the School Committee's website.

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The Superintendent’s team and school committee presented on and discussed two important items:

• A draft re-opening plan for School Year 2020-21, and
• The new exam school admissions exam, and a special task force that has been established by the Superintendent to recommend whether it is used this year.

Additionally, reports were provided on the Columbia Point Parcel RFP and placemaking for Boston Youth.

Find more information on the school committee's website.

Resources:

Link to Presentations

Link to Community Reopening Meetings

Link to Video

Password: k2b!2dp.

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• Ambassador Raymond L. Flynn Sensory Room Dedication Recommendation at Tynan Elementary School 
• Up Academy Boston Charter Renewal

Find more information on the school committee's website.

Resources:

Link to Presentations

Link to Video  

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• The FY20 Budget Update: Impact of COVID-19
• English Language Learners Task Force Update
• Superintendent's Performance Evaluation Update: Proposed SMART Goals and Educator Development 
• Transdev One-Year Contract Extension 

More information can be found on the school Committee's website.

Resources:

• Link to Presentations

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