FYI from BSF, 02.11.22
Every Child, Every Neighborhood
This week, we released our first policy report: Every Child, Every Neighborhood — where we shared three Policy Opportunities for Boston’s new Mayor to tangibly transform access to high-quality education. (Short version here.)
Well-timed, as Mayor Michelle Wu heard Boston voters when they named improving public education as their top priority for the incoming Mayor. Her “mutual decision” to part ways with Superintendent Brenda Cassellius is also a statement the City is ready to confront big issues facing BPS.
If there is one thing all Bostonians are familiar with, it’s a superintendent search – we’ve had two in the last five years. The Mayor and School Committee Chair promise an efficient search process, one that should be made more clear in the next week.
Mayor Wu wants the new superintendent to “hit the ground running immediately.” This is welcome news for BPS families and educators who’ve experienced lengthy listening tours and 30-page strategic plans, but have not seen much change about the fundamentals: high-quality school options, pre-K access, safe buildings, or on-time buses — all while navigating learning in a pandemic.
With Mayor Wu signaling a willingness to dig into Boston’s education challenges, it’s time to find a strong partner to lead BPS. Our policy briefs outline three interconnected and transformational opportunities — School Buildings, High-Quality School Options, and Equitable & Simplified Enrollment— that will allow Boston to turn the tide on its declining enrollment, restore faith in BPS, and holistically improve student outcomes.
While our policy report presents three pathways, we can’t understate the opportunity presented by a new Superintendent as the catalyst to drive these policy shifts forward. A strong partnership between City Hall and the new Superintendent will be essential for progress, just as other cities have shown us what’s possible when education leaders, community stakeholders, and elected officials work together to tackle big, systemic challenges within public education.
With an ambitious search timeline and the clock ticking to the end of the school-year, the ball is firmly in the City’s court to find a leader who can rise to the challenge and meet the moment of this tremendous opportunity for Boston’s schools.
Reopening Boston, MA, and Beyond
Every few months there is a shift in the pandemic in schooling that marks a new stage. It is clear we are in one now.
With many other states dropping mask mandates in schools, Massachusetts followed suit on Wednesday with Governor Baker announcing the end of the mask mandate on February 28. Masking will still be a local matter with cities and towns deciding what to do. Like too many wedge issues these days, some are reacting to this as the best news or the worst news they have ever heard. Many more people - families mostly - are more in the middle, just trying to figure it out.
Do not expect any changes in Boston soon - Mayor Wu made it clear that masking will continue in Boston.
It is probably wise to continue masking in Boston since approximately 3,000 students can’t be vaccinated, and only 34% of Boston’s 5-11 year-olds are fully vaccinated. We will also have unvaccinated teachers in classrooms - yesterday, Mayor Wu announced she is not enforcing the vaccination mandate for educators. Here is the deal made with the Boston Teachers Union. Past polling has shown overwhelming support in Boston for employer-mandated vaccination.
School-related COVID cases continue their accelerated fall; over the past month, cases for staff and students are down ~85% across Massachusetts (similar numbers for Boston, down 83% for students and nearly 90% for staff).
We have written about the educator turnover data debate during pandemic, although there are some stronger patterns around superintendent turnover. Generally, it may be that it is less about turnover, and more about filling annual open positions. Soon-to-be former Boston Superintendent Cassellius published an op-ed in Washington Post about teacher turnover (Boston teacher and principal retention has actually increased during the pandemic).
Enrollment decline in Oakland is creating a policy and political crisis.
Other Matters
As conservative groups reach settlements over race in schools, more predominately Black schools were targeted for bomb threats again this week.
This is how to do, not talk about, equity:
