FYI from BSF, 12.2.22
Taking Attendance
With Massachusetts releasing annual student enrollment last night, Boston is posting a decline for the 8th straight year. Including Horace Mann charters, BPS enrollment has declined by 8,489 students since 2015.
Barring a sudden, unlikely increase in the student population, the shape of schooling in Boston has fundamentally changed. There are significant implications, particularly for the master facilities plan and the Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools.
The last enrollment projection, completed by BuildBPS in 2017, is now off by more than 10,000 students. The space in the graph below is larger than Framingham.
What are the trends in student enrollment? What is causing these trends? Will they continue? What are the impacts on schools? What challenges and opportunities does this present for the city?
We will try to answer these questions with the release of our annual enrollment analysis and a webinar on Wednesday, December 14th.
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Notes in the Margin
As is typical in schools, things get pretty busy before winter break...
Boston Public Schools is facing significant challenges to overhaul special education and to maintain the enrollment of Black students. Is electing the school committee the answer? Would high school juniors and seniors vote in such an election?
Some good news on BSF grantees. The Guild hosted the event to announce that music education is being dramatically increased through an anonymous donor to EdVestors. The district’s goal to expand dual language instruction is highlighted through Mattahunt Elementary School’s Toussaint L’Ouverture Academy. East Boston High School has slowly, intentionally become a high-quality, high-demand school.
With many still questioning/debating the impacts of remote learning, new research indicates one clear trend: it was correlated with enrollment decline.
Minneapolis is the first major city we have seen to publicly predict an impending fiscal cliff for its schools.
Feel like you are seeing a lot of headlines and news out of states on the “science of reading?” Here is a primer.
Will Massachusetts policy focus more on higher education in the Healey administration?
Other Matters
Thanks to MassMutual and a lot of other partners, every BPS sixth grader will take a trip to Fenway this season.
