Search episodes and show notes:
Last Night at School Committee: March 22nd, 2023 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
-
Last night, the School Committee spent the majority of its time discussing and voting on the Superintendent’s final budget recommendation for the next fiscal year. The School Committee was split on the budget: some members expressed hesitance about adding to the district’s hundreds of vacancies and creating a fiscal cliff in future years, while others applauded the investments in the budget and emphasized the necessity of approving it. This conversation ultimately turned to confusion, as the Chair, Vice Chair, Committee members, and even a BPS legal advisor each expressed a different understanding of what happens if this budget is not approved. Ultimately, with remaining uncertainty about their own budget process, the Chair proceeded with the vote and the budget was approved by a vote of 4-2. The budget now goes to the City Council for final approval in May.
The rest of the meeting touched on a few other topics. In her report, Superintendent Skipper provided an update on summer programming, announcing that registration is open and that the district is working to engage as many students and families as possible. The Superintendent also addressed the annual Health and Risk Survey provided to schools in light of a public controversy around the wording of certain questions.
Following the budget vote, the School Committee also voted to approve the new transportation management contract with Transdev, along with a proposal to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for a new building space for a merged Shaw and Taylor School. The remainder of the evening was spent on three reports. The first two reports were on new contract negotiations with the Lunch Monitors Association and Boston Police Superior Officers Federation. The last report of the evening was a presentation on chronic absenteeism. The report indicated that chronic absenteeism in the district has decreased by 8% compared to last year, although rates still indicate high absenteeism, particularly among high school students, multilingual learners, and students with IEPs. The Superintendent and Committee members reiterated their concern about this data and discussed their proactive strategies to improve communication with impacted students and families.
Last Night at School Committee: March 15th, 2023 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting began with a one-hour budget hearing, followed by a lengthy discussion of three main topics: budget, transportation, and school mergers. Superintendent Skipper began her report with an overview of a new organizational chart for BPS, increasing the number of department chiefs reporting to three deputy superintendents. School Committee members raised questions about the number of new positions created and how the Central Office will fill these on top of existing vacancies.
The first of three three main reports last night was an updated budget for the next fiscal year. This updated budget comes after three budget hearings over the last month, and it included additional funding for collective bargaining agreements with several unions. Committee members expressed concerns about the looming fiscal cliff after federal ESSER relief money runs out, given the addition of a substantial number of new positions paired with a continued decline in enrollment. The Committee will bring this budget to a vote next week.
The second report last night was on the district’s new contract with its bus management company. The Superintendent’s team presented its 5-year contract proposal with current vendor Transdev and explained the bidding process that resulted in only one bidder. As the district continues to face significant shortcomings with its transportation system, the Superintendent’s team reiterated that the new contract is structured to incentivize key improvements. Each Committee member pressed the Superintendent on issues ranging from why only one bid was received, to the status of discussions with Lyft about providing alternative transportation, to how the district will address the underlying complexities of its transportation system.
The third and final report of the night was a presentation on a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority requesting funding for a new building to merge the Shaw and Taylor Schools. This comes as the district continues to audit school buildings as part of the “Green New Deal” planning process. BPS leaders noted that the current Shaw and Taylor facilities have not yet been audited, and there is not yet a plan in place for what to do with those facilities after completion of the new building. Members expressed concerns about moving forward with this request while the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and the Blackstone School communities currently lack adequate facilities, and members called into question the timing of this announcement while a master facilities plan is still under active development.
Last Night at School Committee: February 15th, 2023 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, the majority of which focused on transportation and transformation schools. Superintendent Skipper discussed the recent controversy over a pending RFP for management of the bus system that received only one bidder – current management company Transdev. She also celebrated the addition of new electric buses to the BPS fleet, the beginning of a $259 million effort to replace all 739 yellow school buses with electric alternatives. School Committee members raised concerns about discussing transportation without addressing significant underlying issues like student assignment and declining enrollment.
After a brief public comment period, the remainder of the meeting was spent on a preliminary discussion of the equitable grading policy. During the discussion, Chair Jeri Robinson raised a larger issue of BPS’ failure to prepare many of its top students for life after high school, and members raised concerns that important structural issues facing BPS are not being addressed in these meetings. These comments and the discussion that followed highlighted key shortcomings in the School Committee process and governance, an issue tied up in the larger citywide conversation about moving to an elected School Committee.
Last Night at School Committee: February 1st, 2023 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting marked the beginning of the annual BPS budget process. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper discussed the district’s progress in implementing contractually-obligated back-pay for educators and new developments in the school merger process. The Superintendent noted that she has added staff to ensure employees receive appropriate pay, and she announced that the planned mergers of the Shaw and Taylor schools, and of the Sumner and Philbrick schools, will be delayed to future years to allow more time to engage the school communities.
The majority of the meeting was spent on the Superintendent’s preliminary budget recommendation. The Superintendent and her team presented a $1.4 billion budget, which represents a $65 million increase over last year and a 39% increase in per pupil spending ($28k per student). The proposal includes additional investments of approximately $12 million for transportation, $10 million for inclusive practices, and $6 million for multilingual education. The proposal also includes 209 new full-time positions, on top of all current vacancies. While the budget continues to grow year-over-year, the proposal lacked details on metrics and implementation, and members expressed concerns about how this money will be spent and why key structural issues are being kicked down the road.
Last Night at School Committee: January 18th, 2023 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting focused primarily on three policy areas. The first dealt with contractually-obligated back-pay for BPS staff. Despite agreeing to pay increases in the most recent union contract, BPS has yet to implement these increases, with Superintendent Skipper noting they hope to have the issue sorted by mid-February. BPS teachers and staff members, including the Boston Teachers Union president, spoke at public comment about their frustration with this issue and the lack of communication from BPS leaders.
The second focus area last night was school closures and mergers, which was a dominant topic in last week’s public comment period. In her report, Superintendent Skipper discussed the merger of the Sumner and Philbrick school communities, and School Committee members raised questions about how to develop a more robust community engagement process. Chair Jeri Robinson tabled that conversation until a future meeting.
The third and final focus area last night was school safety, headlined by a presentation on safety recommendations from the Council of the Great City Schools. While safety is a top concern among BPS parents, there was no data presented last night on safety incidents within BPS, and School Committee members questioned what specific issues this presentation was meant to address.
Last Night at School Committee: January 11th, 2023 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night was the first full School Committee meeting of 2023, following last week’s annual Organizational Meeting in which the Committee approved their 2023 meeting schedule and reappointed Chair Jeri Robinson and Vice Chair Michael O’Neill to their leadership positions.
The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper provided updates on COVID-19, school safety, and enrollment. The Superintendent also announced the formation of a new transportation advisory council and discussed updated bus performance data – a topic that dominated the remainder of the meeting.
After a public comment period focused on health and safety concerns as well as frustration from parents at the Sumner Elementary School regarding the proposed merger process, the meeting continued with a report and recommendations on transportation from the Council of Great City Schools. Transportation is an issue that has plagued BPS for decades and was highlighted as a key area for improvement mandated by the State last year. Last night’s report echoed previous reports of the past decade in providing recommendations such as implementing a three-tier bell system, improving routing methods, and improving data collection. However, School Committee members expressed concerns that BPS does not have data on how many kids actually ride the bus each day, a key data point that must precede any proposed reforms to the system. Members also noted limitations in their ability to institute change as a result of the new bus drivers contract that the Committee itself approved last year.
Last Night at School Committee: December 14th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was the last School Committee meeting of 2022, and the School Committee spent the majority of the meeting kicking off the process for next year’s budget discussion.
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.
Last Night at School Committee: December 7th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was five hours long, beginning with the Superintendent’s Report, the majority of which celebrated the district’s Educator of the Year award recipients.
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.
Last Night at School Committee: November 16th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, the majority of which focused on transportation. The Superintendent reported that on-time arrivals for morning buses increased to 89% in November, up from 88% the previous month. School Committee members asked questions about how many students are actually impacted by these delays and how students are being tracked, and district leaders were unable to provide this information.
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.
Last Night at School Committee: November 2nd, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone to come together to help students re-engage with one another productively. She discussed continued disruptions to transportation, an issue brought up again last night during public comment, but did not provide updated numbers regarding on-time performance. Superintendent Skipper also noted that student absentee levels are as high as 28% so far this year, consistent with previous years but concerning nonetheless.
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 nearly 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.
Last Night at School Committee: October 26th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting was four hours long, with the School Committee hearing only one presentation after deciding to delay their report on hiring and diversity to next week’s meeting. The Superintendent began with her report with updates on enrollment, transportation, and test scores.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was four hours long, with the School Committee hearing only one presentation after deciding to delay their report on hiring and diversity to next week’s meeting. The Superintendent began with her report with updates on enrollment, transportation, and test scores. Superintendent Skipper informed the Committee that, as of this month, there are 48,734 students enrolled in the district, representing a steep decline over the past decade. She then addressed ongoing transportation concerns, acknowledging that the district is not meeting its state mandate of 95% on-time arrival. Superintendent Skipper also noted that her team is working to address concerns and complaints that were filed by two advocacy groups on behalf of students with individualized educational plans (IEPs) who are not arriving to school on-time. She concluded her report by addressing the recent results of the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) in Boston, which showed steeper declines in performance than indicated by the recent MCAS data.
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.
Last Night at School Committee: October 12th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting was Mary Skipper’s second as superintendent, and it began with a solemn acknowledgement of recent incidents of violence in the BPS community. Superintendent Skipper continued her report with an update on transportation, in which she discussed continued disruptions for families due to uncovered routes and insufficient bus monitors. The Superintendent next presented data on student absenteeism, which has increased over the last three years, and School Committee members pressed for further detail on this data.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was Mary Skipper’s second as superintendent, and it began with a solemn acknowledgement of recent incidents of violence in the BPS community. Superintendent Skipper continued her report with an update on transportation, in which she discussed continued disruptions for families due to uncovered routes and insufficient bus monitors. The Superintendent next presented data on student absenteeism, which has increased over the last three years, and School Committee members pressed for further detail on this data.
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 in every school for whom English is not their primary language, but it lacked clarity on strategies or action steps for achieving this vision.
The next School Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 27 at 5pm on Zoom.
We want to hear from you! If you have concerns about how BPS is serving your child or your family, please send us an email at podcast@shahfoundation.org.
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Continue to demand accountability from our school system by emailing the Mayor and School Committee members:
Mayor Michelle Wu: mayor@boston.gov
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, bcardethernandez@bostonpublicschools.org
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.
Last Night at School Committee: September 28th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting was Mary Skipper’s first as BPS Superintendent. The School Committee welcomed Superintendent Skipper back to the district and also introduced and welcomed new student representative Diego Mehta. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper discussed her vision for “getting back to basics” on transportation, attendance, school food, and student safety. She acknowledged the continued frustrations felt by families facing bus delays and uncovered routes – a topic raised multiple times during public comment – and committed to addressing these issues.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was Mary Skipper’s first as BPS Superintendent. The School Committee welcomed Superintendent Skipper back to the district and also introduced and welcomed new student representative Diego Mehta. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper discussed her vision for “getting back to basics” on transportation, attendance, school food, and student safety. She acknowledged the continued frustrations felt by families facing bus delays and uncovered routes – a topic raised multiple times during public comment – and committed to addressing these issues.
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.
The next School Committee meeting will be held on October 12 at 5pm on Zoom.
We want to hear from you! If you have concerns about how BPS is serving your child or your family, please send us an email at podcast@shahfoundation.org. And if you’d like to share a thought that we may use in a future episode, you can leave us a voicemail at 508-261-5904.
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Continue to demand accountability from our school system by emailing the Mayor and School Committee members:
Mayor Michelle Wu: mayor@boston.gov
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, bcardethernandez@bostonpublicschools.org
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.
Memo FY23 Supplemental Appropriation for the Boston Teachers Union FY22-24 Contract
Last Night at School Committee: September 14th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting was the first meeting since the start of school and the last for Dr. Drew Echelson as Acting Superintendent before Mary Skipper starts on September 26. The meeting began with Chair Jeri Robinson announcing that a report on the Mission Hill School would be postponed to the next meeting. Although there was no presentation during the meeting, the Boston Globe reported yesterday that the district is preparing for two federal lawsuits in response to the findings from this investigation.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was the first meeting since the start of school and the last for Dr. Drew Echelson as Acting Superintendent before Mary Skipper starts on September 26. The meeting began with Chair Jeri Robinson announcing that a report on the Mission Hill School would be postponed to the next meeting. Although there was no presentation during the meeting, the Boston Globe reported yesterday that the district is preparing for two federal lawsuits in response to the findings from this investigation.
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.
The next School Committee meeting will be held on September 28th at 5pm on Zoom.
Instead of asking more questions today, we want to hear from you. If you have concerns about how BPS is serving your child or your family, please send us either an audio file or email, and we might read, reference, or even play it in a future podcast. Send it to us at podcast@shahfoundation.org.
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Continue to demand accountability from our school system by emailing the Mayor and School Committee members:
Mayor Michelle Wu: mayor@boston.gov
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, bcardethernandez@bostonpublicschools.org
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.
BTU Collective Bargaining Agreement School Committee Presentation
Last Night at School Committee: August 31st, 2022 Meeting Recap (Copy)
Last night’s meeting was the last School Committee meeting of the summer – the last meeting before students go back to school next week. However, for the second time in a row, there was no quorum. For much of the meeting, there was only one other member besides the Chair. The official meeting lasted just fifteen minutes, with a quorum of members voting on a few action items before continuing to other agenda items that did not require a quorum.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting was the last School Committee meeting of the summer – the last meeting before students go back to school next week. However, for the second time in a row, there was no quorum. For much of the meeting, there was only one other member besides the Chair. The official meeting lasted just fifteen minutes, with a quorum of members voting on a few action items before continuing to other agenda items that did not require a quorum.
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.
Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:
The first day of school for students in grades 1-12 is September 8, one week from today. Is the district prepared?
How will the district fill key open vacancies by the first day of school?
When will parents find out if their child will not have a certified teacher on the first day of school?
Ways to Engage and Resources:
BPS is hosting two virtual back-to-school community engagement meetings, the first of which is tonight at 6pm, and the second of which will be held on September 10th at 10am.
Continue to demand accountability from our school system by emailing the Mayor and School Committee members:
Mayor Michelle Wu: mayor@boston.gov
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, bcardethernandez@bostonpublicschools.org
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.
Last Night at School Committee: April 27th, 2022 Meeting Recap (Español)
La reunión de anoche comenzó con una actualización de la investigación que ha estado en curso en la Escuela Mission Hill. Después de una investigación de un año por parte del bufete de abogados Hinckley Allen, la firma descubrió que, como detalló el Boston Globe, que "la escuela puso en peligro y falló a los niños durante años al pasar por alto las denuncias de abuso sexual e intimidación y negligencia de los estudiantes con discapacidades".
Lo que sucede en cada reunión del Comité Escolar de Boston tiene grandes implicaciones para nuestros estudiantes y nuestra ciudad. En "Last Night @ School Committee", Jill Shah y Ross Wilson resumen los aspectos más destacados de cada reunión, brindan comentarios y contexto, y arrojan luz sobre las decisiones que nuestros líderes están tomando.
—
La reunión de anoche comenzó con una actualización de la investigación que ha estado en curso en la Escuela Mission Hill. Después de una investigación de un año por parte del bufete de abogados Hinckley Allen, la firma descubrió que, como detalló el Boston Globe, que "la escuela puso en peligro y falló a los niños durante años al pasar por alto las denuncias de abuso sexual e intimidación y negligencia de los estudiantes con discapacidades". Este es el quinto informe en 7 años que detalla estos incidentes. El Superintendente recomendó al final del informe cerrar la escuela al final del año. El comité escolar votará el próximo jueves 5 de mayo para abordar esta recomendación. Numerosos comentaristas públicos hablaron sobre este informe, y otros comentaron sobre otros temas, como el contrato de BTU que se compromete a ayudar a combatir la falta de vivienda entre los estudiantes, expandir el P.A. Shaw y el futuro de la Escuela para Sordos Horace Mann.
El único otro informe de la reunión fue una actualización sobre la Búsqueda del Superintendente, proporcionada por la Dra. Pam Eddinger, una de las presidentas del Comité de Búsqueda. El Dr. Eddinger brindó una actualización sobre el cronograma para entrevistar a los candidatos y sobre el proceso de participación pública, sin embargo, los miembros del Comité Escolar expresaron su preocupación sobre el momento del proceso y señalaron la necesidad de tener un plan para un Superintendente interino si la búsqueda no concluye antes. la hora del último día del Dr. Casseslius el 30 de junio.
El próximo jueves 5 de mayo se llevará a cabo una reunión especial del Comité Escolar para votar sobre el cierre de la Escuela Mission Hill.
Last Night at School Committee: April 27th, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting began with an update on the investigation that has been ongoing at the Mission Hill School. After a year long investigation by the law firm Hinckley Allen, the firm found that– as detailed by the Boston Globe– that “the school endangered and failed children for years by overlooking allegations of sexual abuse and bullying and neglecting students with disabilities”.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting began with an update on the investigation that has been ongoing at the Mission Hill School. After a year long investigation by the law firm Hinckley Allen, the firm found that– as detailed by the Boston Globe– that “the school endangered and failed children for years by overlooking allegations of sexual abuse and bullying and neglecting students with disabilities”. This is the 5th report in 7 years detailing these incidents. The Superintendent recommended at the end of the report to close the school at the end of the year. There will be a vote by the school committee next Thursday, May 5th to address this recommendation. Numerous public commenters spoke about this report, with others commenting on other issues such as the BTU contract committing to help fend against homelessness amongst students, expanding the P.A. Shaw and the future of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf.
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.
Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:
How will the district support the students, parents and staff at the Mission Hill School?
What are the systems and structures that must be put into place to ensure our kids are safe in our schools?
What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? School Committee members continue to ask this question. The Superintendent last year mentioned an RFP to create a campus master plan, which we still have not seen. Will there be a master campus planning process?
When will assignments be released for students entering k2 and 7th grade?
Based on the timeline presented last night, what is the plan for the likelihood that the district will need to be led by an Interim Superintendent?
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Attend public listening sessions in the coming weeks on the superintendent search to ensure your voice is heard.
Continue to demand accountability from our school system by emailing the Mayor and School Committee members:
Mayor Michelle Wu: mayor@boston.gov
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, bcardethernandez@bostonpublicschools.org
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.
Mission HIll Hinckley Allen Phase 1 Investigation Report (Redacted)
2022 Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Core Projects
Last Night at School Committee: April 6th, 2022 Meeting Recap
At last night’s meeting, the School Committee heard reports on the Superintendent search, new school buildings and transportation contracts.The meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which the Superintendent covered school safety, masking in schools, enrollment and school choice updates that included new data on family choice, and the ongoing State review of Boston Public Schools. The Superintendent mentioned that the State will be providing the district with the results of their review by early-to-mid May.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
At last night’s meeting, the School Committee heard reports on the Superintendent search, new school buildings and transportation contracts.The meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which the Superintendent covered school safety, masking in schools, enrollment and school choice updates that included new data on family choice, and the ongoing State review of Boston Public Schools. The Superintendent mentioned that the State will be providing the district with the results of their review by early-to-mid May.
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.
The next School Committee meeting will take place Wednesday, April 27 at 5pm.
Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:
What is the long term plan for BPS school buildings? School Committee members continue to ask this question. The Superintendent last year mentioned an RFP to create a campus master plan, which we still have not seen. Will there be a master campus planning process?
What are the core values guiding the future of the district, and how will those values be reflected in the superintendent search? What are the key characteristics and priorities for the new superintendent? And how will the new job description ensure these key characteristics and priorities are met?
When will the district address chronic transportation issues, and when will a task force be implemented to look into these issues? Parents and community stakeholders continue to address their concerns with transportation in the city
Will the issues with the Sumner, Mission Hill, Horace Mann School, BDEA, Hale, McKinley, Shaw and more be resolved before they become the issues for the next Superintendent?
What are the priorities for BPS on the new BTU contract? Will this contract be resolved before the end of the school year?
What will the impact of the delayed assignment process be on enrollment for the upcoming school year?
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Testify at a City Council budget hearing in the coming weeks to share your thoughts on the district’s budget.
Fill out the BPS Superintendent Search Survey to share your thoughts on the qualities, vision, and experience that you would like to see in the next superintendent.
Email the members of the School Committee and let them know your thoughts.
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, Executive Director of the Ivy Street School
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.
Award Recommendation for Executive Search Firm for Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools
Last Night at School Committee: March 23rd, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting concluded the months-long process of approving the $1.3 billion budget for the next school year. After numerous public listening sessions as well as from feedback from the School Committee, the Superintendent and her team brought the budget for a vote.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
—
Last night’s meeting concluded the months-long process of approving the $1.3 billion budget for the next school year. After numerous public listening sessions as well as from feedback from the School Committee, the Superintendent and her team brought the budget for a vote. This budget vote also coincides with the recent news that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be conducting an audit of the district and has prompted a discussion on state receivership, which has been contested by Mayor Michelle Wu. There were numerous pointed questions from members of the School Committee about the district’s struggles in filling vacancies and the consequences of creating more than 100 new positions. The School Committee ultimately voted in favor of the budget with one “no” vote.
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.
The next School Committee meeting will take place next Wednesday, April 6 at 5pm.
Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:
How will the budget prevent state receivership? How will it close achievement gaps? How will it address special education?
What if anything will BPS leaders do to begin addressing the reality of declining enrollment?
What are the core values guiding the future of the district, and how will those values be reflected in the superintendent search?
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Testify at a City Council budget hearing in the coming weeks to share your thoughts on the district’s budget.
Fill out the BPS Superintendent Search Survey to share your thoughts on the qualities, vision, and experience that you would like to see in the next superintendent.
Attend public listening sessions in the coming weeks on the superintendent search to ensure your voice is heard:
Email the members of the School Committee and let them know your thoughts.
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, Executive Director of the Ivy Street School
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.
Last Night at School Committee: March 2nd, 2022 Meeting Recap
Last night’s meeting marked two years since schools closed due to the pandemic, and it came in the face of mounting uncertainty from families across the district about the future of their students’ education.
What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. 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.
Last night’s meeting marked two years since schools closed due to the pandemic, and it came in the face of mounting uncertainty from families across the district about the future of their students’ education. Prior to the meeting, BPS leaders announced temporary measures to assuage the concerns of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School community about the lack of promised grade expansions and of the Boston Day and Evening Academy’s BDEA 2.0 program about the future of their learning space. While a step in the right direction for these school communities, these decisions failed to provide long-term stability to families, and many of those families testified last night.
The meeting began with a presentation on the Superintendent’s final budget submission, which included $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.
The next School Committee meeting will take place next Wednesday, March 23 at 5pm, and it will include a vote on the final budget proposal heard last night.
Here are some of the questions that we think are worth asking:
How does enrollment for next year compare to previous years?
How does the ripple effect of the delay in exam school decisions impact overall district enrollment?
What are the School Committee’s goals and strategic vision guiding the superintendent search process?
How will the City respond to the Superintendent’s call-to-action for a budget and plan for a facilities overhaul?
Ways to Engage and Resources:
Fill out the BPS Superintendent Search Survey to share your thoughts on the qualities, vision, and experience that you would like to see in the next superintendent.
Attend public listening sessions in the coming weeks on the superintendent search to ensure your voice is heard:
Email the members of the School Committee and let them know your thoughts.
Chair Jeri Robinson: grobinson@bostonpublicschools.org
Vice Chair Michael O’Neill: moneill2@bostonpublicschools.org
Quoc Tran: qtran2@bostonpublicschools.org
Lorena Lopera: llopera@bostonpublicschools.org
Rafaela Polanco Garcia: rpolancogarcia@bostonpublicschools.org
Dr. Stephen Alkins: salkins@bostonpublicschools.org
Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, Executive Director of the Ivy Street School
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.