FYI from BSF, 05.14.21
Some things we have read through recently…
What’s New?
“News” is news because it is supposed to be new.
And there were some really big new things this week.
With state and national attention turning to preK, a new research finding was announced. Based on data from Boston and utilizing the “lottery loser” method (similar to the groundbreaking study on Boston charters), preK was shown to have many positive effects. Summary here.
The research didn’t stop there. Following more than a decade of programming, a rigorous research study showed the investment by non-profits and the city of Boston in arts in education had positive effects, including boosted attendance.
The city took a step to addressing the “summer slide,” with a commitment of Boston Public Schools and non-profit partners to support programming for over 27,000 children.
But the big, big news in education this week was the approval of the Pfizer vaccine for 12-15 year olds. With appointments already up yesterday in Massachusetts, this will have profound, positive impacts for high school students (and their emotionally strained families) for the remainder of the year, summer, and next year. The question remains if and when school districts would require it. Governor Baker is, if anything, consistent in stating a statewide mandate is not happening.
There were a lot of other things that were announced in education this week. They may sound familiar, because they don’t quite fit the definition of “news.” None of the following is new.
New Boston high school graduation standards were announced and voted on Wednesday. Those state standards, MassCore, were required by the state’s audit of BPS in March 2020, and were also presented in School Committee one year ago.
Also at School Committee on Wednesday, big headlines were made about an updated capital plan under BuildBPS. The four school closures announced were expected or known. Although the Jackson Mann in Brighton’s closure was made official, members of that school community were told a year ago they would need to transfer to a new school, after the building was deemed to be closed for repairs in the spring of 2019. This also affects the co-located Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
How about the two middle schools being closed, the Timilty in Roxbury and the Irving in Roslindale? BPS announced middle schools would be phased out almost three years ago.
The promise of new five school buildings is very exciting. Those were also shared in spring of 2019 in a BPS memo and at several community meetings that were held that winter. It is worth noting this proposal has a long timeline. Some of what is proposed may not be done until almost 20 years after BuildBPS was first proposed by then candidate Marty Walsh in 2013.
State accountability is likely going to be waived again this year. This was discussed extensively at the state Board meeting in April.
And, finally, exam school invitation data was released last Friday. It did show a potential shift in race (that isn’t final until families accept offers and enroll). Zipcode patterns were essentially identical to what we projected in April.
When new high school standards are in place when affected school communities know what these building moves mean for them, when the state has it hands around how districts and school are doing, and when we know what future exam school classes look like, we hope it gets attention.
Because that will be news.
Reopening in Boston, MA, and Beyond
Last night, BPS held its first commission meeting on the ~$435M federal investment in schools. Many of you have read our take already, and we will use that framework to understand these meetings.
Transparency - Although there was public notice and access, no agenda or materials were made public; one commission member commented receiving “a letter and a packet.” Like others watching, we attempted to screenshot the materials (here). Public comment was promised, but happened as the meeting ended and technical issues limited it (a written version was dropped in the chat as a last resort). The commission received no specific charge around its role, voting power (or not), etc.
Proximity - In the presentation, community engagement data was frequently cited. However, nearly all of the data presented was from the fall of 2019. What do stakeholders think now, given the global pandemic and racial reckoning of the past 14 months? Families and educators still make a small percent of the committee. There was discussion of increasing student voice.
Equity - One commission member specifically asked about how this funding would address marginalized populations, those most affected by the pandemic. The response was that 20% of funding must go to recovery. Inclusion was mentioned as a focus, without more specifics or a final budget allocation.
Specificity - The district did commit to spending at least 50% of funds on school-based initiatives, and provided some other broad categories to receive funding. The most specific funding ideas were dropped into the chat by a commission member. But what funding? Is the commission’s charge all of the remaining federal funds, or just the round due in July? Several commission members raised questions about total funding sources (city, state), and ensuring investments are sustainable was a named “guardrail.” The most specific guardrail was that the strategic plan from December 2019 should guide this spending.
Boldness - In the plan, future innovations fall under the moniker of “Reimagine.” More details to come.
The next meeting is May 27th.
Next Monday – in Boston, and across the Commonwealth - all high school students and families who choose to will have access to five days of in-person learning. Trend lines seem to support this. Massachusetts’ weekly report of school-based COVID cases shows another decline, including the lowest staff numbers since September.
A study in Texas indicates reopening schools may have resulted in an increase spread of COVID-19, not among children, but adults. Important caveat: this happened with high community transmission rates and limited social distancing.
About 12% of children in America attend school districts that are still fully remote. But many students and families have also chosen to not return to buildings - is school hesitancy the new vaccine hesitancy? There is certainly a percentage of children and families for whom remote learning is a better fit - what is their future? A long-form story in US News and World Report lays out questions of in-person learning, race, class, and cities.
After initial signals of increase, some Catholic schools are now projecting enrollment decreases.
Cities and school districts are scrambling to pull together summer options for children and families. Accounting for educator fatigue, Indianapolis is offering bonus pay.
Other Matters
One of the most important and difficult jobs in America right now is school nurse. With nurse appreciation week wrapping up, many school communities paid their nurses needed and thoughtful tributes.
