FYI from BSF, 10.29.21
Big, Structural Change
In October, 2015, standing in front of the McKay PK-8 in East Boston, then Mayor Walsh announced the official start of BuildBPS, a central campaign promise to renovate and modernize school facilities.
With a long list of projects, strong and growing municipal revenue, and a public commitment, BuildBPS was primed to be a significant policy and political win.
Six years later and with a new mayor being named next Tuesday evening, what appeared to be golden goose is looking more like an albatross for Walsh’s successor.
Wednesday’s Boston School Committee meeting covered several topics, but the near majority of the meeting was committed to the implications of closing three schools - the Jackson-Mann in Brighton, the Timilty in Roxbury, and the Irving in Roslindale. Even before the meeting, questions and pressure was mounting.
BuildBPS has gone through distinct phases, and featured an array of projects, most notably “reconfiguring” schools with new gradespans. The newly announced closures themselves are not news - they were announced by last May.
To address closing these three schools, and also eliminating pathways for multiple PK-5s, BPS is proposing that 5 high schools open 7th and 8th grades to serve more students.
As most recently articulated, BuildBPS has three guiding principles:.
How does this stack up against those principles?
Equitable Access
The term is not defined. There are school demographics provided (pages 38-39), but the simple listing of subgroups cannot be “equitable.” Nor is the phrase meaningfully complete. Access...to what?
Let’s assume it is access to high-quality school options. This is particularly relevant in the case of a school closure or disruption. This dramatic action creates a debt to students and families. If the system is acknowledging a shortcoming, it is required to balance the ledger. This is why there are policies like “opportunity tickets” in Oakland. That is why New York City was so intentional about school placements in the 2000s.
By its own definition, BPS would not be increasing access to high quality options. Nearly 60% of the new seats in question are Tier 4, the lowest quality measure of the district’s school quality framework. 4 of the 5 schools are currently in or have been in state turnaround due to underperformance.
We know from our research at Boston School Finder that high school graduation rates are central in families’ understanding of high school quality. 4 of 5 schools are even to/below the BPS high school graduation rate, and none meet the Massachusetts average.
Which leads to another stubborn fact: enrollment. These five schools have seen a total decline in enrollment of over 29% in the past six years. The lines don't lie; families are not choosing these schools.
Expanding these five high schools would create seats, but not high-quality seats by the district’s own measures.
Excellent Buildings
Significant time and money was spent auditing BPS facilities and estimating potential costs. It’s all here.
It would require more than one-quarter of a billion dollars to upgrade the 5 high school buildings in question.
There is no plan for substantial projects in these five buildings. In fact, the entire BPS capital budget is only one-quarter of this need.
Expanding these five high schools would open facilities, but not high-quality facilities by the district’s own measures.
Predictability and Transparency
As BuildBPS was launched, there was a familiar refrain: the system had schools with 22 different grade configurations. This led to incoherence, making it difficult for families to plan PK-12. Reducing grade configurations would make things more predictable for families.
Affected families learned of these proposals on Monday, with a vote on November 17th.* The plan itself concedes that decisions have not been made beyond the three closures. Community meetings will follow.
Thousands of families in grades 5-7 do not know where their child will go to school next year and there is no data released yet on the number of seats available and where.
Not predictable, nor transparent.
*Correction: An earlier version of this newsletter reported the proposed plan would be voted on November 3, 2021. Boston Public Schools has clarified that the vote is scheduled for November 17, 2021.
Reopening Boston, MA and Beyond
No new Massachusetts school-based COVID report this week. Recently, cases have remained flat, reflecting a nationwide trend: hospitalizations of children due to COVID have actually decreased since the school-year began.
Universal masking has been continued through January 15, 2022, and early data indicate that the “test-and-stay” approach has saved 10,000s of in-person school days already. The message seems clear: stay the course and focus on 5-11 vaccine roll-out; with the FDA advisory panel approval on Tuesday, school districts are preparing to administer vaccines as soon as next week.
The pandemic has put enormous pressure on educators to support student learning and social needs, which are being exhibited, in some cases, in violence. But it hasn’t led to burnout yet: teacher turnover has not yet increased in Massachusetts, and teacher diversity has actually increased a bit. There are exceptions, particularly among Black teachers.
Educators would have more time (and see better student outcomes) if they used aligned, evidence-based curriculum.
First snow, then the pandemic, and now we have yet another way to stop schools from reopening: wind. Schools continue to be closed across Massachusetts due to power outages, or trees blocking roads or doorways.
Preschool enrollment is down nationally. NYC is showing signs of significant student enrollment decreases.
Secretary Cardona is advocating for another $100B for schools, nearly doubling up on the $122B already allocated for pandemic response and recovery.
That’s not all - the final version of the Build Back Better Bill has substantial funding for expansion of preK.
Education 2021
The only PK-12 education event of the mayoral election was held on Sunday afternoon. No public questions, and the candidates were interviewed separately. Clip here. Big questions remain around details and goals for student outcomes. The ACT Boston coalition has some ideas.
As Boston’s new mayor receives election results, she may be learning that her governance prospects have changed. Although it has received less attention than the non-binding referendum on an elected school committee, next Tuesday’s Question 1, which devolves more budget authority to the City Council, is binding and could reshape the city and schools budget process.
What type of school your child attends may impact whether or not you vote.
Other Matters
Some good news from our partner schools:
Excel Academy completed construction on a new middle school campus. In just six years, Excel has built two new school buildings serving approximately 900 students.
In another good building news, after additional attention was brought to the matter, Edward M. Kennedy Health Careers Academy has a longer term facility solution.
Congratulations to the Owls of the James Otis, a PK-6 school in East Boston and this year’s winner of the EdVestors Thomas W. Payzant School on the Move Prize, as well as to the runners-up, the PJ Kennedy and New Mission. All three schools have expanded enrollment and added gradespans with BSF support.
