There will be a lot of conversation about whether these particular schools should close and whether the process involved the right people at the right time. Just as important:: how closures and consolidations are implemented and what happens to students and educators in the process.
Marinell Rousmaniere
Posted inOpinion
Lessons from Boston’s most improved high schools
Boston high schools focused on key improvement strategies can provide examples to learn from for those dedicated to advancing educational outcomes.
Posted inEducation
Lessons for Boston on school consolidation
THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE voted last month to merge four elementary schools into two school communities – the Pauline A. Shaw with the Charles A. Taylor in Mattapan, and the John D. Philbrick with the Charles Sumner in Roslindale. Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper also recently announced their intention to rebuild and expand […]
Posted inEducation
It’s time to zero in on mathematics education
WHEN THE SCORES from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test were released earlier this fall, they delivered a jarring illustration of the impacts of two years of disrupted learning. The pandemic eradicated two decades of progress, as math scores dipped for the first time since NAEP started tracking student achievement in the 1970s. […]
Posted inEducation
A roadmap for success for Boston’s new school superintendent
SUPERINTENDENT MARY SKIPPER begins her tenure at a critical time for Boston Public Schools – a moment when the state, families, and other stakeholders are demanding swift action and accountability for improving aspects of the system that have been failing our students for far too long. The work before Superintendent Skipper is undoubtedly daunting, but […]
Posted inEducation
Lessons for Boston on how schools and school districts improve
THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL system is in a moment of crisis. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s recently released report describes a dysfunctional system with fundamental student services and supports suffering as a result. As Boston and state leadership work toward a plan for partnership with the goal of addressing key areas, families, […]
Posted inOpinion
Math learning taking a hit during COVID
AS WE NEAR the one-year mark of the unprecedented disruption to our public education system wrought by the pandemic, we are grappling with what we have lost and what we have learned. While it’s still too early to determine the total effects that remote learning will have on student learning, testing data from this fall […]
Posted inOpinion
This is the wrong time to cut arts education
IN TIMES of great financial strain and uncertainty, arts education is often the first thing cut from the school curriculum. Indeed, several school districts across the Commonwealth have already laid off teachers and arts educators in the face of expected budget cuts and an unpredictable fall. Some districts may be anticipating a stricter focus on […]
Posted inEducation
A roadmap for school improvement
THE STATE LEGISLATURE is in the midst of debating a sweeping proposal to revamp the state’s school funding formula which could provide $1.5 billion in additional education aid to local districts over a seven-year period. This debate has centered on the issue of accountability and how districts will spend the additional money to achieve positive […]