Nov 17 2021 · Last Night @ School Committee Recap · Ep. 43
What happens at each Boston Public Schools School Committee meeting has big implications for our students, our city, and our state. In “Last Night @ School Committee,” Jill Shah and Ross Wilson recap the highlights of each meeting, provide commentary and context, and shine a light on the decisions our leaders are making.
The School Committee reconvened last night after a two-week period in which Boston Public Schools has been featured prominently in the news. This includes issues regarding COVID-19 testing and outbreaks, calls for reforms to the new exam school policy, and inadequate staffing - particularly for our English Language Learners and to support the mental health of our students and staff. Reference was made to each of these topics in the Superintendent’s report, and these themes were the focus of public comment. 41 parents, teachers, students, and community members expressed frustration with the way many of these issues are being handled and called for action from the Superintendent and School Committee.
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.
After the meeting, we are still left with the following questions:
The temporary transportation contract with the bus union ended Monday. What is the status of this contract and how does the district ensure we are not in a transportation crisis in the coming weeks?
There are staffing shortages throughout the district. How is this being addressed?
What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? Is there an RFP to create a campus master plan?
How will the tensions around the exam school policy be resolved?
What is happening with the ESSR funds? We’d love to hear an update.
The School Committee will meet again next week on December 1st, tentatively at 5pm.
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Testify at the next school committee meeting on December 1st 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
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