FYI from BSF, 6.7.24
Wednesday’s Boston School Committee featured one of the more in-depth presentations of curriculum and instruction you will see at a district level. The topic? Equitable literacy.
Even if one isn’t familiar with the technical aspects of this work, you probably have a sense of the urgency. Similar to national and state trends, Boston saw declines across the board for its students in literacy since 2019.
These declines have accelerated achievement gaps.
The gaps above our stark, but perhaps the most striking is the divide by class. As recent research has outlined, higher income students have actually improved performance over the past few years, widening the gap between low-income students.
But, as outlined in the presentation, there are promising interventions. Research is clear that providing schools with evidence-based literacy curriculum with a lot of coaching has significant impact. Easy to say, hard to do, which is why we have spent the last year piloting this work in five BPS schools. We are eager to share the results once they can be made public.
As a classroom teacher reminds us, the legislature is also considering a bill to require and fund this sort of work.
With an alignment of state resources, local resources, and practices that work, evidence-based literacy will receive continued focus, and, hopefully, translate to student gains.
notes in the margin
Full materials from the Boston School Committee meeting here, including the proposed name change to Burke High School.
A new application of "remote school" in the name of student safety at Neighborhood House.
Busy week for the potential ballot question to remove the MCAS high school graduation requirement. The Massachusetts Teachers Association reported gathering more than double the required signatures to be on the ballot while the question itself is still in a legal limbo. A UMass poll shows neither position with a majority and the legislature may be considering alternatives.
A good primer on educator diversity in Massachusetts.
New York and Cleveland are considering cell phone bans in schools.
Some nuance in analyzing school absenteeism.
Safety has changed new American school design.
An exception to the widely covered enrollment decline in schools around the country: preK is on the rise.
Not much talk about education policy so far in the presidential race, but when it happens, it will matter. Presidents since Obama have moved opinions on educational issues (both up and down).
other matters
Even before last night, Boston had a healthy lead on Dallas.
