Last Night At School Committee

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 28, Last Night @ School Committee: 3/24 Meeting Recap Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s BPS School Committee meeting. The meeting began with the Superintendent's report on returning to school including the plan to return students in K-8 to 5 days a week of in person learning beginning April 26th. After a three month process of community listening sessions, meetings, and revisions, the School Committee voted unanimously to support the Superintendent’s FY22 budget. Additionally, there was an elaborate presentation on high schools including celebrating the highest graduation rate ever. The presentation also featured a resurfaced proposal to implement MassCore as the district graduation standard.

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

How will support 2020 graduates as well as graduates from this school year, who ended their high school careers in less than optimal circumstances?
How will we use the federal funding to help both them and current families who also suffered greatly these past two years?
What will 5 days a week in person or fully remote look like across all grades? Will students have different teachers, will students be able to switch classes in person at the upper grade levels? What happens if a family wants to switch from in-person to remote learning?
With the school choice season coming to a close, when will families find out next year's assignments? What are the enrollment numbers for next year?
Who is taking advantage of the 22,000 summer opportunities that were presented at last week’s school committee meeting? How will the district ensure that every student has a plan? And, how will they track this?
How will BPS ensure safety in their programs this summer? Will they include Covid-19 testing? What are the other expected protocols?

How to Engage and Resources

Boston’s City Council approves the school department’s budget that was voted on last night. It is the biggest part of the city budget. Make sure that they know what you think about the budget and where you have questions or would like to see changes. Advocate for a clear strategy on how the influx of recovery money will be spent for long term positive change for BPS.
Email Your City Councilor:

Matt O’Malley (City Council President, District 6) matthew.omalley@boston.gov

Annissa Essaibi-George (At-Large) a.e.george@boston.gov

Julia Meija (At-Large) julia.meija@boston.gov

Michelle Wu (At-Large) michelle.wu@boston.gov

Michael Flaherty (At-Large) Michael.F.Flaherty@boston.gov

Lydia Edwards (District 1) lydia.edwards@boston.gov

Ed.Flynn (District 2) Ed.Flynn@boston.gov

Frank Baker (District 3) frank.baker@boston.gov

Andrea Campbell (District 4) Andrea.Campbell@boston.gov

Ricardo Arroyo (District 5) ricardo.arroyo@boston.gov

Kim Janey (Mayor of Boston, City Councilor for District 7) kim.janey@boston.gov

Kenzie Bok (District 8) kenzie.bok@boston.gov

Liz Breadon (District 9) liz.breadon@boston.gov

Attend an exam school task force committee meeting
Email us your ideas on how to support this year’s and last year's graduates of BPS: info@shahfoundation.org
Dorchester Reporter article on City of Boston Finances
Superintendent's Final FY22 Budget Recommendation Letter
College, Career, and Life Readiness PowerPoint
BPS Graduation Rate (2019) by high school

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Ep. 27, Last Night at School Committee: 3/17 Meeting Recap Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s BPS School Committee meeting. The meeting was preceded by the last budget hearing before the School Committee vote next week. The meeting then went on to the Superintendent’s report on reopening, as the state and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education push schools to offer full in-person learning starting April 5th. Public comment featured parents and community members advocating for the full in-person learning model as well as others expressing concern and distrust with the district. The meeting ended with two reports on in-person summer learning plans and an update on the School Committee’s goals and guardrails.

The district continues to follow its hybrid model of re-opening and parents are being asked to decide by Monday if they want to have their child fully in-person or fully remote in April. There continues to be lots of questions about the details of these learning models.

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

Do teachers have what they need to teach simultaneously as more students go back to school in person each week - and some families choose to stay remote until the end of the year?
What will 5 days a week in person or fully remote look like across all grades? Will students have different teachers, will students be able to switch classes in person at the upper grade levels? What happens if a family wants to switch from in-person to remote learning? How will the obstacles the Superintendent outlined be resolved? Will the district apply for a waiver?
What is the strategy for using the influx of federal funds for long term investments in BPS?
With the school choice season coming to a close, when will families find out their assignments? What are the enrollment numbers for next year?
What are the strategies to deal with students' attendance. How will the system address their learning and social emotional needs?
How will summer programs be advertised to parents? How will they ensure that every student has a plan? And, how will they track this?
How will BPS ensure safety in their programs this summer? Will they include Covid-19 testing? What are the other expected protocols?

The School Committee will vote at the next meeting on March 24th on the 2022 budget proposal.

Ways to Engage and Resources

Boston’s City Council approves the school department’s budget. It is the biggest part of the city budget. Make sure that they know what you think about the budget and where you have questions or would like to see changes. Advocate for a clear strategy on how the influx of recovery money will be spent for long term positive change for BPS.
Email school committee members encouraging them to find answers to the questions families have about returning to in-person learning.
Attend an upcoming exam school admissions task force meeting, which will be meeting weekly on Zoom.
March 17 Budget Hearing and Meeting Presentations and Materials
Superintendent's Final FY22 Budget Recommendation Letter
Summer Learning Planning Update
Update on Boston School Committee Priority Setting: Goal Measures
Goals and Guardrails, March 17, 2021

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Ep. 26, Last Night at School Committee: 2/24 Meeting Recap Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s BPS School Committee meeting. The meeting was a long one, about 6.5 hours. There were 62 residents providing public comment, who included students, parents, and community organizations, and they all had one unified message: we do not trust the district. There was a fierce vibration as students advocated for a stronger voice in decision making. Families continued to express both sides of the back to school in person story - representing fears of returning because of their experiences with the pandemic, and fears of staying home because of their fears of the social, emotional, and academic impact that this is having on our children. There were two presentations including a literacy program “pitch” that we have all seen before, and a hollow reiteration of why the committee needs new goals and guardrails in addition to the goals that they have already set for the superintendent and the district.

With thousands of students returning to school on Monday, there was little discussion or questions from Committee members about how remote learning is going, what back to school will look like, and how we will address the academic and social emotional needs caused by this pandemic.

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

Do teachers have what they need to teach simultaneously with all K0 through 3rd graders returning to school on Monday?

What will transportation look like on Monday?

How will the state’s sponsored pool testing program be implemented in schools? How is this being communicated to parents? To those who are returning to school on Monday?

It’s Exam school admissions time. How many students were in the pool of applicants? What are the results of the new policy that was implemented this year?

The presented budget begins July 1st. What will summer look like for our students? What will school look like in the fall? Will hybrid and remote learning continue? For how long? What tools should be in place to support teaching students both in person and remote simultaneously? What measures will be necessary to return all students to in-person learning?

What is the plan for teacher vaccination?

The next school committee meeting will take place on March 17th at 6pm, with a budget hearing taking place before the meeting at 5pm.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

Attend a Budget HearingTuesday, March 9th, 5pm
Review your school’s proposed funding for FY22
Reach out to your City Councilor and tell them what you think about the budget
Attend an upcoming exam school admissions task force meeting, which will be meeting weekly on Zoom.
Learn more about the state’s K-12 pooled testing program
Review last night’s meeting presentation and materials:
Update on Remote/Hybrid Learning and Reopening
Early Literacy Update
Update on Boston School Committee Priority Setting: Goals and Guardrails

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Ep. 25, Last Night at School Committee: 2/3 Meeting Recap Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s BPS School Committee meeting. During this 4-hour meeting:

The Superintendent provided a concerning update on student attendance
A number of students provided spirited testimony about their voices not being heard in decision making
The Committee voted to approve one-year of flexibilities for graduation requirements, promotion, grading and advanced work class admission
The Superintendent and her team unveiled a preliminary FY 2022 budget to the School Committee. The presentation included a breakdown of the $1.3 billion of funding, the allocation of the funds and discussion about the sustainability of the investments the Superintendent and her team are recommending given the short term nature of the funding and continued declining enrollment.

The approval of the FY2022 budget will take place in late March, and there are multiple opportunities to express your thoughts and opinions to the district and the School Committee.

We are left with the following questions in reflecting on this meeting...

Do teachers have what they need to teach simultaneously with more than 7000 students with high needs returning to in-person learning today and tomorrow?

How many families have changed their preference from remote to in-person hybrid learning?

What are the strategies to improve students' attendance? How will the system address their learning and social emotional needs?

Will each student and staff member be tested for Covid-19, utilizing the state’s testing program, at least once per week in their respective school?

What is the plan for teacher vaccination?

What are the outcomes of the interim exam school’s admissions policy this year?

In the listening sessions that begin this week, will the Committee provide real numbers instead of the X’s used in her stated goals and guardrails? Will this year’s budget be aligned to these goals.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

Attend a Budget Hearing
First hearing: February 11th, 5 p.m.
Review your school’s proposed funding for FY22
Reach out to your City Councilor and tell them what you think about the budget
Attend a School Committee Community Meeting and push for “X’s” to be defined as well as clarification on alignment with existing stated goals, the superintendent's strategic plan and the superintendent's performance evaluation goals.
February 6th, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
February 8th, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Email the School Committee and the Superintendent and encourage them to take advantage of the state’s Covid-19 pooled surveillance testing program.
Learn more about the state’s K-12 pooled testing program
Review last night’s meeting presentation and materials:
Request for Flexibilities on the Following BPS Policies due to COVID for SY 2020-2021
Superintendent’s Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Preliminary Budget Recommendation PowerPoint
BPS School Year Dashboard
Check out the Boston School’s Fund blog on the BPS budget

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Ep. 24, Last Night at School Committee: 1/27 Meeting Recap Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston Public Schools’ School Committee meeting. During this 3-hour meeting, the School Committee discussed newly announced school building reopening updates, heard from families and community members in public comment, and reviewed a proposal from the Superintendent about the readjustment of certain policies for this school year, including changes to testing and placement for the Advanced Work Class program.

As Covid-19 cases throughout the City of Boston trend in a better direction, the Superintendent presented school building reopening updates, with more students being welcomed back to in-person learning on February 1st. The pooled surveillance testing program sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was discussed, and the Superintendent and her team presented operational updates that support welcoming more children back to school. Following this, parents and community members spoke during public comment about the need for the reopening of buildings, and allowing children to be physically back in school, along with concerns about the revised exam school admissions policy and changes to the Advanced Work Class model. The Superintendent, in her final presentation, requested greater flexibility on policies including direction for promotion and retention of students, graduation, and Advanced Work Class testing.

The next School Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 3rd at 5pm EST, and will feature the preliminary budget recommendation for FY2022. Over the next few weeks, there will be many opportunities for students, families, and community members to voice their opinions, concerns and ideas to district officials and School Committee members at a variety of hearings.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

Attend the Reopening Schools Community Meeting hosted by the Superintendent
January 28th, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Attend a School Committee Community Meeting and push for “X’s” to be defined as well as clarification on alignment with existing stated goals, the superintendent's strategic plan and the superintendent's performance evaluation goals.
February 6th, 10 - 11:30 a.m.
February 8th, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Attend a Budget Hearing
Stay tuned for Exam School Task force dates and attend if you are able. Ask for the data from this year’s “one year” interim assignment methodology.
Email the School Committee and the Superintendent and encourage them to take advantage of the state’s Covid-19 pooled surveillance testing program.
Learn more about the state’s K-12 pooled testing program
Review last night’s meeting presentation and materials:
Update on Health and Safety Preparations for Reopening of School Buildings PowerPoint
Request for Flexibilities on the Following BPS Policies due to COVID for SY 2020-2021
BPS School Year Dashboard

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Ep. 23, Last Night at School Committee: 1/13 Meeting Recap Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

Last Night at School Committee: 1/13 Meeting Recap

In our first episode of 2021, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston Public School Committee Meeting. During this 5-hour meeting, the School Committee discussed reopening updates, heard from families and community members in public comment, and heard updates on the Superintendent’s goals as well as updates from the Exam School task force and the Office of Equity. This was the first meeting since Mayor Walsh has accepted the nomination to be Labor Secretary for President-elect Joe Biden as well as hearing from Governor Baker about a plan for pooled testing for schools.

The School Committee heard from the Superintendent regarding an updated reopening timeline as well as updates from her team on numerous subjects, including daily attendance and grading among many others. Public comment featured students calling on the School Committee to listen to and allow Student Representative Khymani James to have a vote, as well as parents showing frustration regarding the change to exam school admissions and reopening plans.

As of now, BPS is planning to re-open schools starting on February 1st for high in-person priority students, with the remaining students starting to return on March 1st. For more information regarding reopening as well as ways to engage, check out the links below.

Ways to Engage and Resources:

Here is the link for school registration.
Attend a Budget Hearing
Stay tuned for Exam School Task force dates
Email School Committee members and the Superintendent encouraging them to take advantage of the state’s surveillance testing program.
Tune in to the 39th Annual MLK Celebration here
Poll on an Elected School Committee
Article on the School Committee seat remaining open
Meeting Presentations and Materials
Reopening and Remote Learning Update
Exam Schools Admissions Task Force Membership and Charge
Office of Equity Update

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Ep. 22, Last Night @ School Committee: 12/16 Meeting Recap Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Last Night at School Committee Recap: 12/16 Meeting

On this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross discuss the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting, the last meeting of 2020. As we heard updates regarding reopening 28 schools as well as financial updates and discussion about the Superintendent’s performance goals for 2020-21, public comment featured frustration, anger and a lack of confidence from different community members about reopening schools. This lack of confidence has become more present this week, as the Boston Teachers Union gave a vote of no confidence towards the Superintendent.

The Superintendent reported on a variety of things, including the re-opening of 28 schools this week for about 1700 high priority students as well as recapping some important discussion points that were discussed at the School Committee’s Saturday retreat. As the reports continued, many important issues became apparent, including the fact that nearly 25% of high school students aren’t logging onto classes. The meeting ended with the School Committee discussing the performance goals for the Superintendent for 2020-21.

The School Committee will not be meeting until the new year in January. You can read more about the updates and information the School Committee looked at this past week here.

Resources:

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Ep. 21, Last Night at School Committee Special Edition: Understanding BuildBPS 12/10 Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

In this special edition of Last Night at School Committee, Ross and Jill talk to Will Austin, CEO of the Boston Schools Fund, and Latoya Gayle, founder of Boston School Finder and parent activist. As the Boston School Committee heard an update regarding the BuildBPS plan last week, Will and Latoya help to provide additional insight and thoughts about this important update.

Since 2014, the City of Boston and Boston Public Schools have been discussing BuildBPS, a Facilities Master Plan for the Boston Public schools aimed at bringing Boston’s school buildings into the 21st century.

The first BuildBPS Report and Plan was released in March of 2017, and last Wednesday’s school committee meeting featured an update regarding some of the ongoing and future projects in BuildBPS as well as important developments and changes to the plan.

BuildBPS is a ten year plan and continues to change and evolve over time. We will continue to get updates at school committee meetings and will continue to discuss the plans and their implications as they come. As the school year progresses, here are a few topics to keep an eye on:

The challenges of decreased enrollment on BuildBPS and how enrollment changes will impact future plans
The impact of BuildBPS on school choice and the future of school choice
What the BuildBPS process should look like moving forward
Next steps for the closing of the Edwards Middle School, the upcoming 7-12 models at East Boston and Charlestown High Schools, the BCLA-McCormack merger, and the future of the Horace Mann School

To read more about Boston Schools Fund’s analysis of Boston Public Schools’ 2020-2021 enrollment data, you can find it here.

The Boston School Committee will be holding a virtual retreat this Saturday, December 12th, from 9am-3pm. You can find more details about this meeting here.

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Ep. 20, Last Night at School Committee: 12/2 Meeting Recap Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Jill and Ross discuss the highlights of last night’s Boston Public School Committee Meeting. A little less than 5 hours long, the School Committee discussed important topics relating to the BuildBPS plan that is ongoing, updates from the Superintendent, and public comment from community members, families, and students.

While the last meeting touched on a variety of topics, the School Committee mostly focused on updates surrounding the BuildBPS plan that deals with the construction of school buildings, reimagining of school pathways and more. While there are multiple projects ongoing, the meeting focused on the closing of the Edwards Middle School, the merging of the McCormack Middle School and Boston Community Leadership Academy, 7-12 grade pathway expansions at Charlestown High School and East Boston High School, and the Horace Mann/Jackson Mann.

Public comment featured multiple testimonies about school reopening and outcries from parents, community members and students on the need for reopening, as well as comments about other issues that were not discussed at length at the meeting.

The School Committee will be holding a virtual retreat on December 12th that is open to the public. You can find information about this public event as well as more information presented at the meeting here.

Resources:

BuildBPS Update PowerPoint

Resources from December 2nd Meeting

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Ep. 19, Last Night at School Committee: 11/18 Meeting Recap Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

New Last Night at School Committee: 11/18 Recap

In this episode, Jill and Ross discuss the highlights of last night’s Boston Public School Committee Meeting. The first meeting since the resignation of former Chairperson Michael Loconto and the release of text exchanges between School Committee members, the School Committee voted on new leadership, heard updates from Superintendent Cassellius and from Human Capital, and heard concerns from families and community members during public comment.

As parents voiced their concerns and frustrations during public comment regarding numerous issues regarding remote learning, the removal of the SEI program from the Mather Elementary School, and more, the School Committee spent the rest of the meeting debriefing the events of the last meeting, hearing from the Superintendent regarding updates across the district, and reports on Human Capital annual hiring and an agreement between the district and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors.

You can find more information on the School Committee’s website.

Resources:

Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASAS) PowerPoint

Office of Human Capital (OHC) Annual Hiring Update PowerPoint

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