Ep. 26, Last Night at School Committee: 2/24 Meeting Recap

Last Night At School Committee

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 a long one, about 6.5 hours. There were 62 residents providing public comment, who included students, parents, and community organizations, and they all had one unified message: we do not trust the district. There was a fierce vibration as students advocated for a stronger voice in decision making. Families continued to express both sides of the back to school in person story - representing fears of returning because of their experiences with the pandemic, and fears of staying home because of their fears of the social, emotional, and academic impact that this is having on our children. There were two presentations including a literacy program “pitch” that we have all seen before, and a hollow reiteration of why the committee needs new goals and guardrails in addition to the goals that they have already set for the superintendent and the district.

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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