In May of 2019, Jill had the chance to talk with Paul Reville, a key architect and advocate for MassCore, about topics that are key to understanding the intentions and context for this policy, such as: The role of globalization and the standards movement in the crafting of the MassCore policy; How and why the state viewed it through a lens of educational equity; Why it was a recommended—rather than required—framework for a high school diploma; And, the challenges of its adoption, particularly...

Last night’s School Committee meeting was focused on MassCore and graduation requirements, a timely topic following the passage of ballot Question 2 ending the use of MCAS as a state graduation requirement. The Superintendent also spent time talking about transportation, which reached 95% on-time arrival but still only 85% on time performance for afternoon buses. There was no mention, however, of recent reporting that highlighted a 30% decrease in ridership over the past decade and spending...

Last night’s meeting focused primarily on transformation schools with a required quarterly update as part of the district’s systemic improvement plan put in place by the Department of ELementary and Secondary Education. The meeting began with Deputy Superintendent Linda Chen, standing in for the Superintendent, highlighting bright spots and providing an update on a still struggling transportation system, noting the installation of new electric chargers at one bus yard. This report was...

Last night’s meeting focused primarily on MCAS results and achievement. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where the Superintendent provided an update on transportation. While the district has been making improvements week over week, the district’s average on time performance was just 78% for afternoon buses. This low performance continues to lag behind the district’s on time performance target set by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of 95%.  Following the...

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report including a discussion of the recent release of MCAS results, which continue to show a lack of improvement in achievement since the pandemic. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars of federal relief funding and expansion of tutoring and literacy programs, the district’s MCAS results show concerning trends, with only 27% of students meeting or exceeding expectations on the ELA MCAS in grades 3-8. While the Superintendent pointed...

Last night’s meeting was the first since school began last week for BPS. The primary focus of the Superintendent report, and the ensuing discussion with School Committee members, was the district’s transportation challenges. Over the past week, transportation issues have dominated the news, with reports indicating that nearly two-thirds of buses were late to school, marking the lowest on-time arrival rate in nine years. The Superintendent and her team addressed the situation, citing the...

Last night’s meeting was the last meeting before Boston opens schools next week. The Superintendent spent the majority of the Superintendent’s Report providing key back to school updates. While the School Committee usually has received a separate full report in years past, the Superintendent listed key promising updates including 95% of hiring complete.  The School Committee’s main vote of the evening was approving the Superintendent’s evaluation and performance rating. There was not any...

**We want to hear from you! Please fill out this quick survey to provide feedback about our podcasts** As we head into a new school year, schools and families across the country are grappling with significant challenges, from teacher shortages to enrollment fluctuations and the integration of new technologies. Today, we're focusing on these key issues by taking a close look at the largest school district in the nation: New York City. In today’s episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Dan...

**We want to hear from you! Please fill out this quick survey to provide feedback about our podcasts** Last night’s meeting was a special scheduled meeting, with the School Committee sharing their summative evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance. The meeting began with the Superintendent presenting her self-evaluation. The Superintendent’s evaluation consisted of many topics and moves that had previously been discussed at School Committee meetings, and lacked specific reference to...

The Boston School Committee held a shorter-than-normal meeting last night. The meeting began with the Superintendent's Report, which provided updates on summer learning, announced new technology for school buses, and presented the quarterly update on Transformation Schools. The Superintendent noted that Transformation Schools are seeing similar growth and chronic absenteeism rates as other schools—a consistent trend over the past couple of years that has raised concerns among school committee...

Last night’s meeting was the last school committee meeting of the school year, with a scheduled vote to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan School, and a report from the school committee’s student representative. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, with Superintendent Skipper highlighting a number of ongoing initiatives in the district. However, there was a lack of detail on how these...

In today’s episode, Jill is joined by Dr. Jill Walsh. She is a sociologist and researcher at Boston University, and specializes in the impact of technology and social media on adolescent development. Dr. Walsh is also the founder of Digital Aged, through which she works with schools and families to give them the tools to help young people navigate the online world.  Jill and Dr. Walsh discuss how schools are addressing student relationships with social media and technology and how parents...

Last night’s meeting lasted about four and a half hours, and touched on numerous subjects. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper spent most of the time discussing the negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union. The Superintendent noted that she hopes to have a deal by the end of the month, and that negotiations were going smoothly. However, numerous BTU members, including president Jessica Tang and vice president Erik Berg, testified asking the...

Standardized testing has long been a cornerstone in educational systems, serving as a tool for measuring student achievement and influencing decisions at every level of schooling. Supporters see standardized tests as essential for maintaining accountability and providing clear metrics for comparison across educational landscapes. However, many have called for moving away from standardized tests, with critics arguing that these tests can reinforce inequality, pressure teachers to "teach to the...

Last night’s meeting was long anticipated as the meeting where BPS would begin to actualize the actions of their long term facilities plan by announcing a comprehensive list of school closures, mergers and consolidations, but this was not the case.  The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where she discussed a recent update she gave to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on the district’s systemic improvement plan, where BESE did not raise any concern or...

Last week, Jill and Ross hosted a live podcast recording at the University Club in Boston, MA, with College Uncovered co-hosts Jon Marcus and Kirk Carapezza. Jon is a higher education editor for The Hechinger Report, and Kirk is the managing editor and correspondent for higher education at GBH News. Their podcast, College Uncovered, helps families and students navigate higher education and understand the problems and risks in higher education. In this live recording, Jill and Ross talk to Jon...

Last night’s meeting featured the Superintendent’s Report and three reports, including reports on participating in the school choice program and the district’s facilities plan. The meeting began with a brief Superintendent’s Report. Members asked about the status of the district’s budget, which is currently being considered by the City Council. There have been four budget hearings so far, on topics including special education and school offerings, and City Councilors have continued to express...

There are over 50,000 teacher vacancies in classrooms across the country, with certain parts of the country seeing large numbers. As the number of individuals enrolled in teacher prep programs has dropped off and more and more teachers are leaving the profession, schools are struggling to keep teachers in the classroom. In today’s episode, Jill and Ross dive into the teaching shortage issue and how to keep teachers in the classroom with two experts: Dr. Tequilla Brownie and Dr. Carole...

Last night’s meeting was fairly light, with only one report. The meeting began with the Superintendent's Report, where she announced that her team would have an update on the district’s long-term facilities plan on May 22nd, including an initial list of closures, mergers, and reconfigurations. The Superintendent then went on to briefly discuss student assignment and demand data, where she noted the release of this past year’s assignment data that shows the number of families that chose a...

According to the National Center for Bilingual Education, by 2030, over 40% of K-12 students in the US will be native language speakers of a language other than english. As this population continues to grow, education experts say that the needs of these students continue to go unmet, with schools struggling to help students learn English while also facilitating learning in their native language.   In today’s episode of “Deep Dives," Jill and Ross are joined by two experts to explore this...

The agenda for last night's meeting appeared to be rather light and straightforward, but the meeting proved to be much different. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where the majority of the discussion centered around the exam school admissions process. The Superintendent announced that the district had released decisions to applicants at 4:30pm and applauded the BPS team for releasing the decision earlier than last year. However, this timing was not early enough, as many...

Last night’s meeting concluded the district’s FY25 budget process, with a vote by the School Committee to approve the Superintendent’s budget proposal. Before the vote, the School Committee heard dozens of public testimony about three issues. There were about half a dozen public commenters speaking about funding cuts for librarians across the district, urging for the continuation of this funding. There were also more than a dozen families and staff from the Henderson Inclusion School...

Last night’s School Committee meeting was the last meeting before the School Committee votes on the Superintendent’s FY25 budget. The meeting was preceded by the last public budget hearing for the Superintendent’s FY25 budget proposal. During the hearing, nearly 30 individuals offered public comments, the bulk of which concerned the district's shift towards a new inclusion model. A considerable number of teachers shared their concerns and confusion regarding the planning and approval process...

Today's parents and caregivers face the unique challenge of guiding kids through the complexities of social media, trying to ensure a safe and positive experience in the digital landscape. Over the past two decades, social media usage has skyrocketed among kids and teens, and right alongside it, we have seen mental health issues increase at an alarming rate. While legal action against social media companies aims to hold them accountable for their platforms' effects on kids and teens,...