Last Night at School Committee: March 17th, 2021 Meeting Recap
In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s BPS School Committee meeting. The meeting was preceded by the last budget hearing before the School Committee vote next week. The meeting then went on to the Superintendent’s report on reopening, as the state and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education push schools to offer full in-person learning starting April 5th. Public comment featured parents and community members advocating for the full in-person learning model as well as others expressing concern and distrust with the district. The meeting ended with two reports on in-person summer learning plans and an update on the School Committee’s goals and guardrails.
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
Update on Boston School Committee Priority Setting: Goal Measures
