FYI from BSF, 05.24.22

 
 
 

Early Edition

With news moving faster than usual, the newsletter is coming a bit earlier this week.

A second state audit of Boston Public Schools (BPS) was released yesterday, an update of the 2019 review that resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in March 2020.

"Entrenched dysfunction." Here is how the district presented it to families.

The details of this report will loom large in the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting today and as the search committee narrows down to a list of finalists for superintendent.

We read all 180+ pages so you don’t have to.

Summary

The report, by the state and AIR, has a clear structure: six focus areas, assessment of improvements or continued areas of struggle, followed by supporting data from state reports, district reports, and interviews.

On the last point, a caveat. The beginning of the report (page 2) calls into question the underlying data for the report itself. Quote: “Throughout the term of the MOU and in completing this District Follow-Up Review, staff struggled to gain an accurate picture of the status of many BPS initiatives due to a pattern of inaccurate or misleading data reporting by the district.”

The report concludes (pages 3-5) Boston Public Schools:

  • Has areas of strength, but limits of execution

  • Has not made progress on behalf of the district’s most vulnerable students

  • Fails to complete the basic functions of a school district

  • Provides inequitable access to quality education

  • Experiences high leadership turnover

1.  Leadership and Governance
Despite progress on strategic planning and initiatives led by Dr. Cassellius since the state’s review in 2020, DESE found that “district leaders have not prioritized two BPS functions in crisis” — specifically in the areas of special education and transportation, both of which were identified in the 2020 MOU.  Special education continues to operate in “systemic disarray,” as students with disabilities still aren’t receiving the services they are legally owed.

2. Curriculum and Instruction
New efforts around early literacy and foundations for K-8 curriculum were praised.  Classroom observations were generally average or higher, appearing better than in 2020.   Despite the implementation of MassCore for high school students, rigorous coursework is not equitably available; for example, white students are nearly twice more likely have access to rigorous coursework than Black students.

3. Student Supports
No improvements were highlighted, focusing solely on challenges and areas for growth by three subsections: Special Education, English Learners, and Other Student Support.  The report found a persistent lack of urgency or basic services ("the role of [an] ESL teacher is not clearly defined") to address any challenges, despite legal obligations to do so.  "No one interviewed for this report, most notably school committee members and district leaders, described any plans for addressing inequities in the school choice and assignment system, beyond the changes to the exam school admissions process."

4. Human Resources and Professional Development
Hiring pipelines and professional development have improved since DESE last visited BPS schools, but educator evaluations and equitable access to professional development continue to impede efforts for successful talent management within BPS.  Ultimately, this exacerbates uneven delivery of high quality instruction across the district.

5. Assessment
“The district lacks the necessary systems and internal controls at the central office and school levels to ensure accurate data reporting on key indicators.”  How can any improvement happen or be displayed without the right information at the right time?

6. Financial and Asset Management
With its Quality Guarantee framework and considerable help from the City of Boston, BPS has created some goals and promised significant investments.  However, transportation and facilities continue impact instructional time and quality and frustrate all stakeholders.  A theme in the report, inaccurate reporting and data by the district, appears again in this section.

Now What?

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting starts at 9:30 AM (link for livestream).  Negotiations for a settlement between the city and the state are underway; we may learn more details when Mayor Wu provides public testimony.

What's next?  Partnership, receivership, or continued reporting/monitoring?

Whatever is decided, we hope it will center on the content of the report, the real opportunities and challenges facing Boston, instead of another round of politics.

Will Austin