FYI from BSF, 1.19.24
It’s been a long road for Edward M. Kennedy Health Careers Academy (EMK).
Serving grades 9-12, it was initially founded in 1995 as a partnership between Boston Public Schools and Northeastern University. It became a Horace Mann charter school in 1998. It added the moniker for the late Senator in 2010. It was invited to plan for a 7-12 expansion (with our support) in 2017. For years it straddled multiple buildings across Mission Hill (in the former Farragut Elementary School) and Northeastern, before COVID-19 and campus complications left EMK scrambling for space in 2021.
But through all that change, there have been two constants: EMK has high demand from families and strong academic outcomes.
EMK enrolls ~100 9th graders each year, with demand 3x - 10x the number of available seats.
Families and partners were clearly drawn not just to the EMK’s innovative model and access to career and college pathways. EMK students’ academic performance also garnered attention, winning the Pozen Prize in 2018. Prior to dips we have seen across all Boston high schools since 2019 (revised 10th grade MCAS + pandemic), EMK routinely exceeded city and Massachusetts averages for math and ELA performance.
High school graduation rates are particularly exemplary, even as EMK’s number of students and seniors increased.
However, the EMK stat most people were talking about this week is $37.8M.
The largest gift ever to a Boston public school, the grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies secured by Mayor Wu and Superintendent Skipper does a few big things. It will expand EMK’s partnership with Mass General Brigham. It will outfit new classrooms and learning spaces. It will provide professional development and educator support. It will provide college-level programming and create jobs.
And, the city has fulfilled a long deferred promise on high school quality: at least 400 more Boston children get to attend EMK, with 7th and 8th grade expansion slated too.
Like any big initiative, there are details to settle. The master facilities plan will have to account for additional space needs. With the proposed expansion of Madison Park and the O’Bryant, there is a real question about where all students will come from in the context of declining enrollment. Scaling a successful school is possible, but it requires specific supports.
As our colleague Kerry recently wrote: “In 20 years, Boston too can have transformed the city’s education landscape — one where the buildings are new and fully enrolled and, most important, where students and parents in every neighborhood are guaranteed a world-class education.”
There is much left to do. But placing what families want at the center of enrollment and facility decisions provides a path for reshaping the school landscape.
EMK is a clear first step.
notes in the margin
Governor Healey delivered her first State of the Commonwealth speech on Wednesday. Education was one of the dominant themes, accounting for ~20% of the speech and touching upon the bookends of the PK-16 spectrum:universal preK will be expanded to all Gateway cities by 2026 and continued expansion of Early College.
The drumbeat for evidence-based literacy also made its way into the speech and headlines. The attention on this issue may have risen in recent years, but the last two decades of national assessment data has been pretty consistent.
Citing that the majority of Massachusetts students did not meet ELA expectations by 3rd grade, Governor Healey proposed “Literacy Launch,” an initial $30M to bring evidence-based literacy to more Massachusetts classrooms, starting with early grades.
Will that be all? Governor Healey did say “mandate,” but even the pandemic could not disrupt the Massachusetts custom of devolving the majority of education decisions to its 351 local school districts. The fate of this initiative may very well lie in the hands of legislation to require it and enough money to fund it.
Similar to charter schools, METCO’s admission-by-lottery provides many research opportunities. A new Tufts study reveals benefits for students attending METCO, with college completion as a stubborn, remaining gap. Summary here.
No snow until tonight, but we do have one school district closed today: Newton teachers are on strike.
Teach for America recruiting had seen a surge of 40% in Massachusetts.
Even with changes in laws and practices, bilingual education is difficult to expand without more bilingual teachers.
With so many American school districts facing enrollment decline and school consolidations, is there a “good way” to approach this? You can chose quantitative (NBER study), qualitative (superintendent profile), or both (new podcast from the Shah Family Foundation).
Pembroke considered banning teachers’ political expression and here is a singular tally of book bans in Massachusetts.
Undocumented college students in Massachusetts can now apply for financial aid.
Other Matters
The Boston charter school showcase is this weekend.
