Last Night At School Committee

Latest Episodes:

Boston Superintendent Search: Interim Superintendent John McDonough (2013-2015) May 20, 2022

Show notes

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS.

What type of leader does BPS need now? What are the city’s priorities for our public school system? Who can be successful in the role? What can Bostonians do to make the next Superintendent’s term impactful and successful?

In this special series of “Last Night at School Committee,” we bring together more than a dozen community leaders, as well as all 6 superintendents from the last 16 years, and ask them to weigh in on these questions.

In the previous episode of this special series, Jill and Ross were joined by Carol Johnson. In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by John McDonough, who served as Interim Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2013 to 2015.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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Boston Superintendent Search: Superintendent Carol Johnson (2007-2013) May 19, 2022

Show notes

In the previous episode of this special series, Jill and Ross were joined by Mike Contompasis. In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Carol Johnson, who served as Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2007 to 2013.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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Boston Superintendent Search: Interim Superintendent Mike Contompasis (2006-2007) May 18, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Jill and Ross are joined by Mike Contompasis, who served as Interim Superintendent of Boston Public Schools from 2006 to 2007.

To learn more and view the full series, please visit BostonSuperintendent.com

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Boston Superintendent Search: Community Voices May 17, 2022

Show notes

This first episode features the voices of 14 Boston leaders – teachers, principals, education advocates, nonprofit leaders, union leaders, political leaders, former School Committee members, and others – offering their perspectives on the role of the superintendent, key priorities for Boston Public Schools, and how the community can come together to support our school district and its new leader. Below is a list of all participants in this episode:

Will Austin, Founder and CEO, Boston Schools Fund
Edith Bazile, BPS Parent and Grandparent, Former BPS Teacher, Special Education and Literacy Advocate
Erik Berg, Vice President, Boston Teachers Union
Ernani DeAraujo, Former Boston School Committee Member
Fabienne Eliacin, BPS Parent and Former Member of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC)
Dr. Caren Walker Gregory, Head of School, Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers
Matt Holzer, Headmaster, Boston Green Academy
Suzanne Lee, Former Principal of the Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Co-Chair of the English Language Learner (ELL) Task Force
Cole Moran, Teacher, Charlestown High School
James Morton, President and CEO, YMCA of Greater Boston
Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, Former Chair of the Boston School Committee and Executive Director of Sociedad Latina
Elizabeth Pauley, Associate Vice President, Education to Career and Health and Wellness, The Boston Foundation
Tanisha Sullivan, President, NAACP Boston
Dave Sweeney, Former Chief of Staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh

To learn more about the participants and see a video version of the episode highlighting each speaker, visit BostonSuperintendent.com.

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Ep. 54, Last Night @ School Committee: 4/27 Meeting Recap Apr 28, 2022

Show notes

Last night’s meeting began with an update on the investigation that has been ongoing at the Mission Hill School. After a year long investigation by the law firm Hinckley Allen, the firm found that– as detailed by the Boston Globe– that “the school endangered and failed children for years by overlooking allegations of sexual abuse and bullying and neglecting students with disabilities”. This is the 5th report in 7 years detailing these incidents. The Superintendent recommended at the end of the report to close the school at the end of the year. There will be a vote by the school committee next Thursday, May 5th to address this recommendation. Numerous public commenters spoke about this report, with others commenting on other issues such as the BTU contract committing to help fend against homelessness amongst students, expanding the P.A. Shaw and the future of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf.

The only other report of the meeting was an update on the Superintendent Search, given by Dr. Pam Eddinger, one of the Search Committee chairs. Dr. Eddinger gave an update on the timeline for interviewing candidates and on the public engagement process, however School Committee members expressed concern on the timing of the process and noted the need to have a plan for an interim Superintendent if the search does not conclude by the time Dr. Casseslius’s last day on June 30th.

A special School Committee meeting will take place next Thursday, May 5th, to vote on closing the Mission Hill School.

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Ep. 53, Last Night @ School Committee: 4/6 Meeting Recap Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

At last night’s meeting, the School Committee heard reports on the Superintendent search, new school buildings and transportation contracts.The meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which the Superintendent covered school safety, masking in schools, enrollment and school choice updates that included new data on family choice, and the ongoing State review of Boston Public Schools. The Superintendent mentioned that the State will be providing the district with the results of their review by early-to-mid May.

The majority of last night’s meeting featured a long public comment session, with testimony from numerous school communities advocating for support over longstanding issues.

The first report of the night was an update on the superintendent search, with Committee members presenting a finalized job description and the naming of the search firm for the search process. Later in the evening, the Committee heard reports on building repairs and the transportation contract with Transdev.

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Ep. 52, Last Night @ School Committee: 3/23 Meeting Recap Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

Last night’s meeting concluded the months-long process of approving the $1.3 billion budget for the next school year. After numerous public listening sessions as well as feedback from the School Committee, the Superintendent and her team brought the budget for a vote. This budget vote also coincides with the recent news that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be conducting an audit of the district and has prompted a discussion on state receivership, which has been contested by Mayor Michelle Wu. There were numerous pointed questions from members of the School Committee about the district’s struggles in filling vacancies and the consequences of creating more than 100 new positions. The School Committee ultimately voted in favor of the budget with one “no” vote.

The School Committee heard two reports last night: a report on assignment and application numbers, and an update on the Superintendent search. The Superintendent and her team shared application data indicating a decline in enrollment for the upcoming school year. This data was first presented last night but typically would be available prior to the final budget vote.

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Ep. 51, Last Night @ School Committee: 3/16 Meeting Recap Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

Last night’s meeting marked two years since schools closed due to the pandemic, and it came in the face of mounting uncertainty from families across the district about the future of their students’ education. Prior to the meeting, BPS leaders announced temporary measures to assuage the concerns of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School community about the lack of promised grade expansions and of the Boston Day and Evening Academy’s BDEA 2.0 program about the future of their learning space. While a step in the right direction for these school communities, these decisions failed to provide long-term stability to families, and many of those families testified last night

The meeting began with an updated presentation from the Superintendent on changes to her initial budget recommendation. The updates include $2.3 million in increases to the Central Office budget and additional funding for 98 schools, including funds for library expansions and additional school psychologists. There were pointed questions from the School Committee about whether this budget accounts for projected declines in enrollment and the ways in which those projections are determined. The meeting then continued with a report on several school building repair projects being submitted to the State – which the Superintendent noted was lacking a larger vision from City leaders for districtwide facility improvements – and finally a progress update from the Superintendent Search Committee.

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Ep. 50, Last Night @ School Committee: 3/2 Meeting Recap Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Last night was a short, special meeting specifically dedicated to providing an update on the superintendent search process. The meeting covered four main topics: approval of the separation agreement for Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, discussion and approval of a search committee for the new superintendent, outline of the timeline for that search over the next four months, and authorization of an Request for Proposals (RFP) for a private search firm.

The meeting did not include conversation about big-picture strategy or vision for the district, nor was there information about what type of candidate they are seeking, what their priorities for the next superintendent will be, or how they will work to entice candidates to apply.

The next School Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 16 at 5pm.

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Ep. 49, Last Night @ School Committee: 2/15 Meeting Recap Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

Last night’s meeting was the first School Committee meeting since the announcement that Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will be resigning from her position. Cassellius, who began in July 2019, announced in a press conference with Mayor Michelle Wu that she will step down at the end of the school year, and Mayor Wu expressed her commitment to hiring a new superintendent by June.

The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included updates on COVID-19 testing protocols and mask mandates in Boston, the status of acceleration academies for students during February vacation, and a preview of future announcements around summer programming. Committee members asked pointed questions that circled back to key outstanding issues from the last meeting, continuing to press for updated enrollment and graduation data.

The School Committee tabled a planned report on an agreement between the district and the Boston Teachers’ Union regarding the citywide vaccine mandate due to a court decision earlier in the day that prevented Mayor Wu from moving forward with the mandate.

Public comment included numerous teachers objecting to the vaccine mandate and the tentative union agreement. In addition, the public comment period featured a large coalition of students and community members of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School advocating for the promised expansion of the school, as well as from the Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) asking the Superintendent to ensure the program would continue to have necessary space and resources.

The School Committee heard two reports last night, with the first one regarding extended pay for four in-district Horace Mann charter schools. The final report of the night discussed the impending search for the district’s next Superintendent. Glenn Koocher, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, outlined best practices for a search and detailed potential challenges in recruiting candidates. Chair Jeri Robinson outlined next steps for the process and discussed the coming release of a new RFP for a search consultant.

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