FYI from BSF, 04.29.22
Mission Hill School should be closed, and its investigation should continue.
We are not just paraphrasing the findings and recommendations of Boston Public Schools. Boston Schools Fund supports this position.
Since we started this newsletter, we have strived to live up to its name and provide information. Each week, we share facts, analysis, and questions, leaving it to readers to form their own opinions on education policy and politics.
We will not do that today.
There is no place for impartiality on the issue of Mission Hill School. Children and educators were harmed, and multiple government agencies (including Boston Public Schools) failed to protect them.
The Mission Hill School community may have “worked” for some, and the disruption of a closure this late in a school-year is real. But that decision is not the failing here; that decision is the necessary consequence of the failings of adults entrusted to care for children.
The stomach-turning 189 page report (summary here) enumerates fact after fact, incident after incident, often corroborated by multiple sources and artifacts. You don’t have to read it all, but for the sake of the victims you should not look away. Repeated sexual abuse by students (pages 53-77). Assaults of teachers (page 134). Unanswered cries for help from families and educators in surveys (pages 129-130). Incidents of physical contact by staff (page 14). Inappropriate touching by a staff member who was later convicted of sexual assault of a student (page 75). Refusal to investigate or report rampant and sustained bullying (page 98-118). Refusal to provide special education services (page 140). Virtually no academic assessments or records for nearly a decade (pages 156-157). Retaliation against students, parents and employees (page 79). Secret emails and documents, later deleted to avoid discovery (pages 18-22).
“Stuff of nightmares,” said Mayor Wu.
Since 2014. And, until a legal settlement last year, none of this had come to light.
How?
This has nothing to do with Mission Hill School’s status as pilot school. Yes, pilot schools and other autonomous schools have authority to set a budget, choose curriculum, and design and implement a unique school program. No, autonomous schools do not have the authority to disobey laws and endanger student and staff safety. Autonomous schools are BPS schools, and BPS is responsible for ensuring state and federal laws and regulations are being followed.
At the same time this abuse was happening at Mission Hill School, the district and state directed another autonomous BPS school network to update its code of conduct to address excessive suspensions. Yet, the report reflects no district review of Mission Hill School for eleven years, only beginning again in 2021 as an emergency (page 165-166). Why?
As Dr. Cassellius herself stated “the search for accountability does not stop at the doors of the school.” As early as 2015, these issues were confirmed in a formal investigative report to the Interim BPS Superintendent, a report that would be updated with additional findings a few months later and given to the new BPS Superintendent. The Department of Children and Families received reports (page 56). The Boston School Police and Boston Police Department received complaints (pages 129). Families and staff members logged numerous concerns and complaints, and assert that as many as seven central office employees were aware of the conditions of the school for years (page 17).
One can assume that the second phase of this report will investigate this. District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced yesterday his office will be reviewing the report. The victims and the entire city deserve answers to a fundamental set of questions: What did the district know? When did they know it? What did they do or not do about it?
This is not just about personal accountability, or vindication for victims. It is about understanding systemic failure, and ensuring it does not happen again.
This is not about being critical of the district. This is about a moral obligation to children and educators.
Our leaders must follow this all the way through, as long as it takes, irrespective of discomfort, politics, or the prospect of some individuals facing criminal charges.
If we can’t expect our systems to keep our kids and educators safe, what can we expect them to do?
In the Middle
During April break, you may have missed a long, powerful read describing the rise and ultimate closing of the Timilty middle school.
It is also worth considering one other element not discussed: the role of policy decisions in destabilizing schools.
Over the period of four years, Boston Public Schools made two significant policy shifts that directly undercut the enrollment (and, therefore, budget) of the Timilty and other standalone middle schools. Under Superintendent Carol Johnson, a significant number of K-8 schools were created, meaning many more students could remain in one school rather than transferring to a middle school in sixth grade. Shortly thereafter, the student assignment was changed to the “home-base system." Overnight, middle schools like the Timilty went from being on a choice list for one-third of all prospective families, to a much smaller number of families in its catchment area.
At the same time, the state set on a path to double the number of charter school students in Boston. Every single charter expansion (with the exception of City on Hill’s second high school campus) created more middle school seats.
Enrollment at the Timilty and other standalone middle schools plummeted.
Assignment policies have consequences. As families await exam school invitations and more and more schools convert to PK-6 or 7-12 grade configurations, let’s hope that there is not another story like the Timilty’s in a few years.
Reopening Boston, MA, and Beyond
School reported cases are up more than 60% across Massachusetts, 23% in Boston. With vaccination rates for children in Boston barely moving now, it is unclear what the broader impact of boosters or vaccines for children aged 5 or below would be.
Superintendents depicted the challenges of schools now at this week’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The meeting also featured public comments resisting state receivership of Boston Public Schools, and MCAS standards for high school graduation may increase. Full materials here.
There was some other business at this week’s Boston School Committee meeting. Materials here. City Council hearings on the Boston Public School budget began this week and run for the next month, including a hearing on the district’s capital budget, well-explained here. Despite the political challenges, some are already presenting school closures as inevitable.
Other Matters
Massachusetts nearly tops the country in teacher salaries.
Are you or someone you know weighing school options for next year? Boston School Finder has a plan for that.
Next Friday, BSF will co-host a panel and breakout discussions with the Harvard Graduate School of Education on “K-12: What is the Value of a Science-Driven Approach?” at the BARI Conference. Learn more and register for free here.