Ep. 31, Last Night @ School Committee: 5/12 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 began with the Superintendent’s report, which included an update and summary of the results of the one-year, temporary exam school admissions process. The meeting then followed with a presentation and vote on changing graduation requirements and implementing Masscore standards across the district. While the Committee ultimately adopted the proposal, there was dissent from one member who expressed hesitation on the district’s ability to implement Masscore standards in all BPS high schools. The meeting concluded with a presentation on the capital budget and an ambitious plan for replacing all BPS schools older than 50 years.

As the School Committee voted in a new graduation policy and shared a vision for new buildings, there were many things that were not addressed in the meeting, including attendance numbers in schools, updates on the return to full in-person learning for high school students, and detailed plans for summer learning.

We are left with the following questions:

• How many teachers have been hired for next year and how many vacancies remain?
• What are the updated enrollment projections for next year based on the first round of student assignments?
• What is happening with our students who are graduating without any graduation standards? Are they attending college, the job market, does the district have the data?
• What is the plan for summer? The district promised months ago to know the plan for every student in BPS. Do we have a plan for every student?
• Where will the Horace Mann students attend school until their new school is built?

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend an exam school task force committee meeting, which will be meeting weekly in May on Tuesdays, starting at 5pm
• The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet tonight at 5pm and on the following dates:
• Thursday, May 13, 5:00pm
• Thursday, May 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, June 10, 5:00pm
• Sunday, June 27, 5:00pm
• Thursday, July 1, 5:00pm
• Members of the commission include:
• Sam Acevedo, GBLN, HERN, OAG CO-Chair
• Celina Barrios-Millner, Equity and Inclusion, City of Boston
• Rahn Dorsey, Stakeholder
• Pam Eddinger, Bunker Hill Community College
• Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Lawyers for Civil Rights
• Theresa Garcia de Quevedo, Mildred Ave School
• Roxanne Harvey, Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council
• John Jackson, Schott Foundation
• Karla Jenkins, Principal of Higginson Inclusion School (K0-2)
• Suzanne Lee, ELL Task Force
• Margaret McKenna, Human Rights Commission
• Xyra Mercer, Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC)
• Keith Motley, Urban League
• Alex Oliver-Davila, BPS School Committee
• Lee Pelton, The Boston Foundation
• Paul Reville, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Ruby Reyes, Boston Education Justice Alliance (BEJA)
• Nicol Riley, Citywide Parent Council
• Valerie Roberson, Roxbury Community College
• Jeri Robinson, BPS School Committee
• Jim Rooney, Boston Chamber of Commerce
• Ayele Shakur, OAG Task Force
• Chris Smith, Boston After School and Beyond
• Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, UMASS Boston Chancellor
• Tanisha Sullivan, NAACP
• Neil Sullivan, PIC
• Jessica Tang, Boston Teachers Union
• Pastor Matt K Thompson, Jubilee Church
• Dania Vazquez, Head of School - Margarita Muniz
• Grace Wai, School Superintendent & Executive Team Member
• TBD, Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC)
• TBD, District English Learner Advisory Committee
• Boston Globe article on last night’s meeting
• Meeting Presentations and Materials
• Boston Public Schools MassCore Graduation Requirements Update
• Proposed BPS Graduation Requirements Policy
• Heat Map - High Schools Road Map to MassCore
• FY22 Capital Budget PowerPoint
• Capital Budget and BuildBPS Update Summary of Projects

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