Last Night At School Committee

Latest Episodes:

Boston School Committee: 9·11·24 Meeting Recap Sep 12, 2024

Show notes

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 complexities involved, including the introduction of a new technology system, Zum. While much of the discussion revolved around why these problems persist, School Committee members urged greater transparency with families, many of whom voiced their frustrations during public comments and in the media.

Following the Superintendent’s report, the School Committee reviewed a proposal to expand enrollment at the Edward M. Kennedy Academy of Health Careers. Earlier this year, the city announced a $38 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to increase enrollment and create new pathways with Mass General-Brigham. Last night’s request sought formal approval to grow the school’s enrollment to 800 students over the next few years. Committee members raised concerns about the need for a new facility, given the school’s past challenges securing a permanent space, and stressed the importance of a comprehensive facilities plan to assess the broader impact of this expansion on other high schools.

The Committee also voted on two items, including a proposal related to White Stadium. At the previous meeting, the Mayor’s office asked the Committee to authorize the Superintendent to enter negotiations with a women’s soccer team for a lease agreement. Public comments focused heavily on White Stadium, with speakers unanimously supporting the need for revitalization and improved athletic facilities for BPS students. The vote passed unanimously.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday September 25th.

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Boston School Committee: 8·28·24 Meeting Recap Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

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 public comment on the Superintendent per se, but public comments about the Superintendent’s evaluation focused more on the process and criteria that the School Committee used to evaluate progress in the district and the superintendent herself. The School Committee unanimously approved the Superintendent’s evaluation and performance rating. Following this vote, there was a quick report on policy revision recommendations for the student information policy and the school naming policy.

The final report of the evening was about White Stadium. Over the past year, Mayor Michelle Wu and the city have been fighting legal battles over a proposed plan to renovate White Stadium in partnership with a new professional women’s soccer team. This proposed $50 million commitment from the city to renovate the stadium has been criticized for its lack of community engagement and concerns about limiting access for BPS students, even as the Mayor has said that they will not fund the project without private partnership. As the plan has gone through approval rounds by the Boston Planning and Development Agency and Parks Commission, representatives from the Mayor’s office asked the School Committee last night to allow the Superintendent and district to enter into lease negotiations with the soccer team. The report last night raised many questions about access to BPS students, transportation, and long-term cost commitments from the soccer team, but these concerns were left unanswered. The School Committee will vote on this at a future meeting soon.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 11th.

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Deep Dives: How NYC Is Preparing For This School Year Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

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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 Weisberg, the First Deputy Chancellor for the NYC Department of Education. Dan plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategies under Chancellor David Banks' leadership, overseeing areas like postsecondary readiness, human resources, policy, and enrollment. With his extensive background in labor policy, talent management, and academic strategy, Dan brings a unique perspective to the pressing issues facing schools today.

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Boston School Committee: 8·19·24 Meeting Recap Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

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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 student data or expectations for schools and students.

Member Stephen Alkins then continued by presenting the committee’s summative evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance, broken down by four standards: instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture. While the summative evaluation included goals and metrics, many of the data points driving the evaluation will not be available until later this year. The summative evaluation rated the Superintendent as “proficient”; however, members varied significantly on the Superintendent’s performance across the board on areas like instructional leadership and management and operations, and there was disagreement over the amount of time needed to see improvements in student outcomes. This lack of consensus among members was also present in public comment, where the majority of public commenters expressed frustration and concerns as the district prepares for the new school year. The School Committee will vote on their evaluation of the Superintendent at the next meeting.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, August 28th.

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Boston School Committee: 7·17·24 Meeting Recap Jul 18, 2024

Show notes

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 members about the lack of progress.

Absent from the Superintendent's report was any mention of contract negotiations with the Boston Teachers Union or discussion of the article in the Boston Globe about the district hiring an external consultant to support the master facilities plan for next year, possibly further delaying the release and implementation of a clear facilities plan.

The main report of the night was a brief overview of the Superintendent’s evaluation process for the 2023-2024 year. Last year, the Superintendent provided a full self-reflection of her performance at the school committee meeting. This year, the Superintendent did not release her self-evaluation publicly, instead stating that it will be provided in writing to committee members next week. Another change this year is that the Mayor's office has assigned a staff member to support the evaluation of the Superintendent. A vote on the Superintendent’s evaluation will take place on August 28, 2024.

The next School Committee meeting, which will focus on the Superintendent’s evaluation, is a recently scheduled meeting to be held on Zoom at 6 p.m. on August 19th.

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Boston School Committee: 6·17·24 Meeting Recap Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

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 initiatives are being implemented or their impact on student outcomes and achievement. There were also questions from members about the status of the district’s negotiations with the Boston Teachers’ Union. At the last meeting, the Superintendent said they were ahead of schedule, hoping to have a new contract finalized by the end of June. Last night, the Superintendent told members that negotiations are still ongoing and would not be complete by the end of June.

There were around 40 speakers who came to testify at public comment, with the majority of speakers testifying against the merger of the West Zone Early Learning Center into the Hennigan. There were a few speakers who testified about a new report that was submitted to the record, which highlights discrimination and mistreatment of former administrators in the district.

The main vote of the night was a proposal to close the Lilla Frederick Middle School and close and consolidate the West Zone Early Learning Center with the Hennigan. This vote came after months of discussion about the district’s Green New Deal and the need to make important decisions surrounding mergers and closures. There has recently been a lot of discussion by the public about facilities, discussing the slow down of the plan by the Mayor, a deep dive into the district’s declining enrollment and future city revenue projections, and continued questions about the $50 million commitment to White Stadium. Last night, none of these topics were discussed by the School Committee, and members unanimously voted to close both the Frederick and the West Zone.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Wednesday, July 17th.

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Deep Dives: How Can We Help Kids Navigate the Digital World? Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

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 can help students establish healthy relationships with the digital world and set healthy boundaries.

If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Walsh’s work, check out the resources below.

Dr. Jill Walsh’s Bio

Dr. Jill Walsh’s Research

Digital Aged

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Boston School Committee: 6·5·24 Meeting Recap Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

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 School Committee members to join negotiation and support the co-teaching model in every classroom in the district and adjust the pay for over 8,000 members of the BTU to be in line with inflation.

The School Committee heard three reports last night. The first report was on Interim Salary and Non-Personnel Payments on External Funds, which was a short presentation. The second report was a proposal to rename the Jeremiah E. Burke High School to the Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology. Dr. Holland has been a revered school administrator and community leader for nearly 40 years, and the majority of public commenters came to support the renaming.

The third report of the evening was an update on equitable literacy. Equitable literacy has been a priority for the district for the past few years, and the School Committee has heard numerous updates from the Superintendent and her team about it. Last night’s report covered updates around implementation and a centralized strategy, but there was little to no data on student outcomes nor accountability measures being taken to ensure every student in Boston is reading at grade level.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on Monday, June 17th.

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Deep Dives: What Should Be The Role of Standardized Testing? May 30, 2024

Show notes

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 test," and fail to capture the full scope of student potential.

In today’s episode, Jill and Ross are joined by two experts to explore this topic. Harry Feder is the Executive Director of Fair Test, a national organization that advocates for fair and equitable testing practices. Harry brings a wealth of experience in challenging the way tests are used and proposing alternatives.

Dr. Martin West is a professor and academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a board member of the National Assessment Governing Board. Dr. West offers a unique perspective with his extensive research on education policy and his involvement in shaping how assessments are created and implemented.

To learn more about Dr West’s research and Harry’s work with Fair Test, check out the resources below.

Harry Feder Bio

Dr. Martin West Bio

Fair Test

Research on MCAS in Massachusetts

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Boston School Committee: 5·22·24 Meeting Recap May 23, 2024

Show notes

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 alarm.

The School Committee took action on three items, with unanimous approval of grants and a renewed charter memorandum of understanding for UP Academy Boston and Dorchester. The third vote of the evening was on opting out of the state’s school choice program. Typically a routine decision to opt out of the state’s school choice program, the vote sparked a lively discussion. Committee members debated the benefits of participating in the program, suggesting it could potentially boost enrollment in under-enrolled schools and help retain students forced to move out of the city due to rising housing costs. Despite these arguments and pleas to have these conversations earlier in the year, the Committee voted to opt out of the program, with one member voting to opt in and another abstaining.

The only report of the evening was a report on the long-term facilities plan, where the Superintendent insisted that this is the most action taken in the last 40 years combined. Contrary to expectations of numerous school mergers and closures, the Superintendent announced only one school closure which had already been disclosed earlier this year, and a merger of two schools that share the same building. The report focused on programmatic and design changes, emphasizing the challenges of implementing a long-term plan due to secondary programming issues. Committee members pushed for a comprehensive master plan and raised concerns about budgetary implications without long-term projections.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on June 5th.

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