FYI from BSF, 2.28.20
Some things we have read through recently…
Pomp and Circumstance
Right before February break, late on Friday afternoon, high school graduation rates were released. Rather than dwelling on the reported drop in the high school graduation rate at BPS, we pulled the released data to:
Show what graduation rates look like for all public (BPS + Commonwealth charters + Horace Mann charter) schools
Show how graduation rates vary by school type
First, the graduation rate for BPS and all public schools in Boston is essentially the same.
These averages mask significant gaps by school type. Exam schools (with their disproportionately high average) and open enrollment schools (with their disproportionately high n and low average) create the noise.
Worth noting - the Horace Mann charter figure is very low due to the inclusion of Boston Day and Evening Academy, an alternative high school with large cohorts and low graduation rates (10%).
It is estimated that students that do not graduate high school earn on average $9,000 less per year than high school graduates (not even accounting for those that will then go on to graduate from college).
Assume those young adults work until 67.
The total cost to Boston kids who did not graduate in last year’s class?
About $606,000,000.
Notes in the Margin
There has been a lot of education news in the past two weeks...
The state (and its Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) certainly got attention:
Mayor Walsh predicted the BPS audit would not be “great” or “pretty” in print and on the radio, respectively
The Bay State Banner reported on the audit’s imminent release and state intervention
Tuesday’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting featured public comment on the BPS audit
At the same meeting, City on a Hill Charter School was placed on probation
ERS published the first public guidance for districts on how to price/implement reforms in response to the Student Opportunity Act
On that topic, seems like some communities were expecting (or hoping) for more state funding this year
The Globe’s Great Divide has picked up its pace. They summarized two decades of political fits and starts to diversify exam schools, covered racial inequities in Advanced Placement enrollment in Cambridge, and followed up on their coverage of the deplorable state of school bathrooms. And summarized this in a newsletter.
In Boston, the Mayor proposed an expansion of its community college tuition remittance program. Boston School Committee met Wednesday - the central topic was the Superintendent's implementation of her strategic plan. The plan has been amended and added to since its release (see this doc, new stuff highlighted). More input and details to come over the next month as we approach a vote by School Committee.
School Matters
Really excited to see BSF’s work highlighted in Sampan and the Eastie Times.
