Schools and districts across the Commonwealth have also spent the last week counting under difficult circumstances. The deadline for districts to submit data for the Student Information Management System (SIMS) was yesterday.

If that sounds unimportant or technocratic, ask yourself if you personally knew, 48 hours ago, whether mail-in ballots or same-day provisional ballots were counted first in Nevada.

The SIMS report is very detailed (55 data elements per child!) and very important. It is how enrollment counts are determined by the state; the number of students and demography drives state aid (Chapter 70) and federal dollars (Title I, mostly).

Even in a normal year, it is a laborious process; hybrid and remote schedules make it all the more difficult for districts and schools to confirm actual attendance and enrollment or correct any errors.

Boston Public Schools has already reported enrollment declines.

On September 30th:

On October 8th:

Nothing has been reported since. Big trends, but little detail or transparency. Compare the slides above to what Worcester produced.

What does this mean for BPS? More precisely, what does that mean for BPS schools?

Example: There are a lot of questions about the Horace Mann school in Boston. No, not the in-district charters, the specialized school for students who are hearing impaired. With the Brighton building slated for closure and low enrollment, it is not clear where those students will go next year. Where is there available space?

Potential answers to these sorts of questions will now become increasingly clear for BPS. These enrollment figures also drive BPS’s budgeting process, with “pre-enrollment numbers” shared with principals and schools around this time each year. This can result in large swings in enrollment (one school, the Tynan in South Boston, saw its enrollment drop by 30% one year) and budgets in individual schools, or even closures.

It’s not too early. Boston School Finder kicked off school enrollment season this week, including the open applications for Boston charters and METCO.

With the Boston School Committee on Wednesday, November 4th cancelled due to the election on Tuesday, the next meeting is November 18th. Enrollment declines across Massachusetts are expected when the state releases enrollment data on November 24th,

Watch this space.

School Reopening MA, and Beyond

43 days ago when this week began, Governor Baker announced new executive orders related to repeated increases in COVID-19, but made another headline.

The now weekly state data report showed a slight decrease in reported COVID-19 cases for staff and students, and no reports of in-school transmission (but, wear a sweater). Sports appear to be another matter.

With COVID cases rising, the state has started a new FAQ function.

Although sidelined a bit this week, the politics of open school buildings continues in Massachusetts (for example, Charlestown parents, Brookline strike), New York, and even on school buses. The aftermath of the election, not COVID-19, caused remote learning in Swampscott yesterday. With more data available and competing interests, maybe it is all still just about trust and varied experiences of the pandemic (race matters).

Among other things, the pandemic has put a pause on deep learning.

Other Matters

Some regular business does chug along. A big step was taken in constructing the new Quincy Upper School in Chinatown.

Another event for Boston Families Building Boston Schools is next Thursday - Building Anti-Racist Schools (RSVP).

Boston Public Schools students voted Tuesday, too. A quick breakdown and comparison to Boston’s results. Apparently, the generation gap is real.

FYI from BSF, 11.6.20

Boston Schools Fund