Report on Boston school assignment plan is troubling

Leaders owe answers on how they’ll address equity issues

By Meghan Doran assignment plan, Boston public schools, Home Based Assignment Plan, segregation 0 Comments Aug 28, 2018

THE FINDINGS OF the recent Boston Area Research Initiative report on equity in the Boston Public Schools assignment plan – the Home Based Assignment plan – were for the most part not too shocking for anyone who has followed school assignment politics in Boston for the past five years. The report finds, in short, “that(...)

Education

Report rips Boston record with ‘off-track’ high school students

1 in 5 students not on course to graduate

By Michael Jonas Barr Foundation, Boston public schools, Jim Canales, Mayor Marty Walsh, off-track students, Tommy Chang 0 Comments May 23, 2018

A DECADE AFTER a report found that one of every five students in Boston Public Schools had fallen “off track” to graduate from high school, a new study finds that the figure has barely budged, with the district showing little progress in getting those students through high school. The report documents an uncomfortable truth about(...)

Education/ Opinion

Where is the road map for Boston Public Schools facilities?

Decision-making on buildings is opaque and uncoordinated

By Megan Wolf Boston public schools, Build BPS, Marty Walsh 0 Comments May 22, 2018

SPRING IS HERE and thousands of Boston’s families have recently learned where their children will be going to school next year. Many will be entering new schools for the first time, as they attend kindergarten, middle school, and high school welcome sessions. What will they find? Most will experience warm welcomes by teachers, hallways lined(...)

Education/ Opinion

Little-tapped Boston contract provision tied to big school improvement

District-union partnership is a promising model for student achievement gains

By Laura Perille achievement gap, Boston public schools, Boston Teachers Union 1 Comment Feb 2, 2018

JUST FIVE YEARS AGO, Mildred Avenue K-8 School in Mattapan was one of the worst performing schools in the Boston Public School system and ranked in the lowest percentile of public schools statewide. When the school was in peril of being placed under state control, district and school leaders and the teachers union — often(...)

The Download

Passing the buck(s)

By CommonWealth Staff Boston public schools, Tommy Chang 0 Comments Nov 30, 2017

It’s not exactly as if they were deviously cooking the books at Boston City Hall and the Boston Public Schools. It’s more like someone lost track of all the index cards and napkins where some financials for a multibillion dollar enterprise were being recorded. And though the feds just hit the city with a fine(...)

The Download

Paying teachers who don’t teach

By CommonWealth Staff Boston public schools, Education 2 Comments Aug 23, 2016

The Boston Public Schools will be spending an estimated $8 million this year paying teachers who won’t be teaching. Is that a colossal waste of money, or simply a cost of doing business? It started out in 2014 as a noble experiment. Many principals were grumbling that they often were saddled with educators they didn’t(...)

The Download/ Education

Boston student walkout about cuts — and more

By CommonWealth Staff Boston public schools, Education, Elementary and Secondary Education 1 Comment May 18, 2016

For the second time this year, Boston Public Schools students walked out of classes to protest budget cuts they say imperil their ability to get a quality education. Tuesday’s walkout was much smaller than a demonstration in March, when several thousand students arrived in front of the State House and then marched to City Hall.(...)

The Download

Marty’s budget blues

By CommonWealth Staff Boston public schools, Mayor Walsh 0 Comments Mar 9, 2016

With the stress on the Boston public schools budget prompting a massive student walkout and protest on Monday, a scorecard is almost needed to keep track of the villains who are responsible for all the trouble. Mayor Marty Walsh was pointing fingers at outside groups. “I’d love to see who’s behind the walkout,” he told(...)


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Boston public schools

Leaders owe answers on how they’ll address equity issues

1 in 5 students not on course to graduate

Decision-making on buildings is opaque and uncoordinated

District-union partnership is a promising model for student achievement gains

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