Last Night At School Committee

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 and Kirk about the state of higher education and what families need to know in helping their kids get into college. To listen to College Uncovered and read more of Jon and Kirk’s work, check out the resources below. College Uncovered Jon Marcus’s Bio Kirk Carapezza’s Bio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 concern. The first report of the evening was an amendment to the charter memorandum of understanding for UP Academy Dorchester and Boston, slated for a vote at the next meeting. The second report addressed the Massachusetts School Choice Program for the 2024-25 school year. Annually, the School Committee decides whether to participate in this state program, and traditionally, the district has opted out. More than half of the districts in Massachusetts allow School Choice, meaning students from other districts can enroll in their schools and vice versa, while Boston and its surrounding communities do not (this map from 2017 shows interesting geographic trends across the state on school choice). Last night, the Superintendent and her team advocated against participation, citing several reasons but omitting many benefits of the program. School Committee members highlighted potential advantages like allowing families displaced by rising housing costs to remain within the district and increasing diversity in Greater Boston schools through a pilot initiative. Nevertheless, the Superintendent emphasized the program's perceived negative impacts. The final report of the evening was an update on the district’s facilities planning. At the last meeting, the Superintendent announced that her team would come to the Committee on May 22nd with a list of recommendations for mergers, closures, and reconfigurations. Last night, the Superintendent’s team provided updates on current projects and gave historical context, noting that they would be investing in and creating thousands of high quality seats. However, the report did not include a long-term strategy nor any budget, enrollment projections, and timeline. School Committee members continued to point out the need for a long-term plan and strategy. The Superintendent will bring forward proposals at the next School Committee meeting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Basile. Dr Tequilla Brownie is the CEO of TNTP, a national organization that works with schools and teachers across the country to advance high quality education for all students by ensuring an effective teacher in every classroom. Dr. Carole Basile is the Dean of the Arizona State Mary Lou Fulton Teachers’ College. Dr Basile is leading efforts at Arizona State focused on redesigning the education workforce and changing practices in teacher and leadership preparation. To learn more about Dr. Brownie’s work with TNTP and Dr. Basile’s work at ASU, check out the resources below. Dr. Tequilla Brownie’s Bio Dr. Carole Basile’s Bio About ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College About TNTP The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness The Irreplaceables: Understanding The Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban Schools A Broken Pipeline: Teacher Preparation's Diversity Problem One Million Teachers of Color (1MToC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 particular school and the number of families on a school’s waitlist. School Committee members highlighted the importance of this data in understanding what families want, and how it can guide the district’s decision making about school closures and mergers. The Superintendent also discussed exam schools, where she highlighted baseline data from this past admissions cycle. The only report of the night was an update on summer learning. As the Superintendent’s team provided an update on the increase in the number of offerings and opportunities for students, School Committee members raised some concerns, including the difficulty for parents to sign up for summer school on the website. There were also questions about the impact of ESSER funding on summer programming and future funding, as well as the usage of pools across the city and whether students would actually be able to use them this summer. Despite the light agenda, the Committee is gearing up for significant discussions in the coming weeks and months. The next School Committee meeting will be held in-person or on Zoom at 6 pm on May 8th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 topic: Maria Brisk and Angélica Infante-Green. Professor Maria Brisk is a renowned expert in bilingual education and language development. Professor Brisk’s research and work have been instrumental in understanding how bilingual students acquire language and how educators can best support a student’s learning journey. Angélica Infante-Green is the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education for the State of Rhode Island. Commissioner Infante-Green has spent her career supporting English Language Learners by implementing nationally recognized programs and initiatives to support bilingual learning in New York and Rhode Island. If you’d like to learn more about Professor Brisk and Commissioner Infante-Green’s work, check out the resources below: Commissioner Infante-Green’s Bio Professor Brisk’s Bio Professor Brisk’s Research Rhode Island Blueprint for Multilingual Learners’ Success Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 families were required to put down a deposit for private schools by 12 pm the same day. Given the focus on enrollment, it was surprising BPS could not move their notification a few hours earlier. The sole agenda item that evening was the district's quarterly report on transformation schools, as required by the state department of education. This report, while echoing the troubling patterns noted in previous updates, prompted School Committee members to voice their concerns and frustrations with the district's approach to addressing chronically underperforming schools. Members debated the ongoing support for these failing schools and questioned the timing for decisive interventions, including potential closures. The discussion underscored a deeper concern among committee members: the lack of urgency of district leadership in improving outcomes for all students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 community speaking about ongoing issues regarding safety and need for stable leadership. Lastly, we heard from staff members from the Dearborn STEM Academy speaking about foul odors that have gone unaddressed. Following public comment, the School Committee then heard a report about the renaming of the BCLA-McCormack school community to the Ruth Batson Academy. The School Committee then held a discussion and vote on the Superintendent’s FY25 budget. For the past two months, the School Committee has held numerous discussions and budget hearings about the FY25 budget, which totals $1.52 billion. While the budget represents an increased contribution from the city, the end of federal relief money and declining enrollment has led to many schools receiving budget cuts. Multiple members expressed concerns about the budget and frustration that their questions about the budget remain unanswered, which have been highlighted over the past few weeks in policy briefs. This prompted Chair Robinson to request frequent updates about the implementation of the budget and its impacts moving forward. The Committee voted and approved the budget, with two members voting no. The budget will now move on to the City Council, where the Mayor will look to get approval from the Council as part of the city’s budget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 for their schools, emphasizing the pressing need for adequate funding. Meanwhile, families provided heartfelt testimonies on the potential effects of these changes on their children. Comments also touched upon athletic investments, especially those related to White Stadium. These comments came after a lawsuit threatened the plan to renovate White Stadium, and comments from Mayor Wu that the project will not go forward if the planned partnership with the Boston Unity Soccer Partners does not work. Following the hearing, the School Committee meeting commenced, where the Superintendent’s Report highlighted some positive news regarding athletics, facilities, and an increase in mental health funding for schools from a federal grant. Additional public comments further highlighted confusion and concern about the district's plan for full inclusion models. The School Committee then voted on a few items. They unanimously voted in favor to submit a statement of interest to the MSBA for a new building for the BCLA-McCormack. Members again raised questions about how this initiative fits within the district's broader capital planning strategy and the contingency plans if MSBA funding is not secured. The Committee also then voted in favor of the submission of renewal for the Student Opportunity Act, a requirement by the state. The evening concluded with a final discussion on the Superintendent’s FY25 budget. This conversation was significantly influenced by the district's decision to move away from the Weighted Student Funding (WSF) model, which had allocated funds based on individual student needs. This strategic pivot, aimed at sustaining schools experiencing enrollment declines, prompted Committee members to express concerns about the future of funding and the usage of soft landings to continue to fund schools. Specifically, they highlighted the trend of declining enrollment, and the potential challenges of reduced tax revenue and the pressure to make effective financial decisions in the face of these changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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, and research continues to highlight these correlations, there has yet to be a great solution to protect children from the vulnerability they experience on these platforms. It doesn't feel like parents should wait for someone else to solve a problem that exists in so many households across the country. In today’s special episode, Jill talks with Dr. Stuart Ablon, award-winning psychologist, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Founder and Director of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jill talks to Dr. Ablon about his approach and how it can be used to have a productive conversation with your kids to talk about social media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night's meeting featured a significant announcement about school facilities, a focus on student data and the continued theme of School Committee members advocating for more detailed planning. The meeting also saw City Councilor Brian Worrell emphasizing the City Council's intention to play a greater role in managing the school department's budget. The meeting began with the Superintendent's Report, in which Superintendent Skipper revealed that the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science will stay in Roxbury, reversing the previously suggested move to West Roxbury. This decision came after months of public testimony supporting its retention in Roxbury. Additionally, Superintendent Skipper reiterated plans to renovate Madison Park Technical Vocational High School but did not provide essential details such as the project's budget, enrollment projections, or an overarching vision. The Superintendent then discussed transformation schools as part of her state-mandated quarterly update to the School Committee. She shared data highlighting troubling trends, including low student growth and literacy rates, coupled with high levels of chronic absenteeism at the high school level. These findings led School Committee members to voice their concerns and call for substantial improvements. The evening's first report concerned an application to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for a new building for the BCLA/McCormack. In last month's State of the City address, Mayor Wu announced a partnership between the BCLA/McCormack and UMass Boston to create a community hub school. The report outlined the district's request for MSBA funding for a new facility but lacked crucial details such as the budget, curriculum strategy, partnership dynamics with UMass Boston, community demand data, and potential impacts on other school communities. The absence of these details prompted numerous questions from School Committee members about the strategy and broader vision, especially given the lack of a comprehensive master facilities plan. The second report addressed the Student Opportunity Act, a legislative initiative aimed at providing additional funding to Massachusetts districts to close achievement gaps and enhance educational quality. It covered initiatives and data points that seem to have a limited impact on student outcomes, leading some Committee members to reserve their support pending further clarification of their questions and concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are more than 7 million students with disabilities in the United States, representing a variety of needs and abilities. Schools across the country continue to struggle to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment possible, and gaps have only grown over the past decade. In today's episode, Jill and Ross are joined by two leading experts to explore this topic: Valerie Williams and Bill Henderson. Valerie Williams serves as the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. With an extensive background in policy and advocacy for children with disabilities, Valerie brings a wealth of experience in supporting states and districts across the country to help students with disabilities. Bill Henderson is a former school leader in Boston who led one of the most successful inclusive schools in the country, the O'Hearn School. His work in inclusion is nationally recognized. Valerie and Bill join Jill and Ross to discuss the state of special education across the country and how schools can better support students of all abilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night's meeting initiated the district's annual budget process. It started with the Superintendent’s Report, followed by concerns from school committee members about their previously requested agenda items not being addressed. Members Brandon Cardet-Hernandez and Stephen Alkins requested updates on several issues, including student outcome data for the district's key initiatives and the level of support school leaders are receiving from the central office, but received no responses. The Committee voted on applying for Massachusetts School Building Authority funding to repair eight BPS schools. Cardet-Hernandez questioned the alignment of these repairs with the district's broader facilities strategy, highlighting a concern of repairing buildings that might soon be closed. The night's main report was Superintendent Skipper’s presentation of the FY25 preliminary budget proposal, which outlines a $1.6 billion budget. This amount represents a $200 million increase from last year's budget, despite the district's declining enrollment and a per pupil expenditure now exceeding $33k. However, the presentation offered limited details on the impact this budget would have on individual school budgets, even as several school communities testified about the detrimental effects of budget cuts on their school. When committee members sought to ask clarifying questions, Chair Jeri Robinson urged them to limit their questions to only the most crucial ones and to submit any additional questions in writing. This approach frustrated members and left many questions unanswered. Over the next several weeks, the School Committee will hold several public budget hearings (February 15th @ 5pm, March 4th @ 5pm, March 20th @ 5pm) and will vote on the final budget on March 27th. The next School Committee meeting will be on February 28th at 5pm on Zoom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s meeting lasted about five hours with only one report and nearly 50 speakers testifying during public comment. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper spent the majority of the time discussing the School Quality Framework (SQF). The district made changes to the SQF last month without a full presentation or discussion, and School Committee members have been seeking clarification since those changes were announced. Member Cardet Hernandez requested a formal presentation to look into these changes and discuss how every student has equal access to high quality schools. The meeting then moved onto public comment. The majority of speakers testified against the proposal to move the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science to the former West Roxbury Academy building The remainder of public commenters spoke on different topics, including ongoing issues at the Gardner Pilot Academy, the exam school admissions policy, and the potential impact of budget proposals on school communities. The only report of the evening was a mid-year update, given by the Superintendent and her team. The report covered updates on transportation, health and safety, access to grade level learning, and other areas the district is focusing on. However, the contents of the report did not include any data on student outcomes or school performance, leaving School Committee members asking for more clarification and actual outcome data to help understand the impact of the work the district is doing. With no discussion on performance data or outcomes, the Committee was left with outstanding questions going into the budget process regarding which investments are impacting student outcomes. The School Committee was originally supposed to have a discussion on task forces, but after discussing further with members, Chair Robinson announced that this discussion would be tabled to a future meeting. The meeting ended with new business from Committee members asking to continue discussion on a few key topics, including concerns raised in public comment about the Gardner, further conversation about the SQF, and revisiting areas from the Superintendent’s evaluation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Across the country, public schools are seeing big declines in enrollment, with more than one million fewer students enrolled in public schools over just the past four years and the steepest drops in the highest-need districts. With declining birth rates, increasing alternative school options, and the looming cut-off of federal relief funds all creating a perfect storm for public schools, districts are faced with a choice: stay the course, or adapt to the new reality? In today’s episode, Jill and Ross dig into this topic with two leading experts: John Papay and Brian Eschbacher. Professor John Papay, Director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, has conducted extensive research on the trends leading to declining enrollment and where students are going. Brian Eschbacher, currently an enrollment consultant for school districts across the country, oversaw enrollment for Denver Public Schools during a period of record growth. John and Brian discuss what’s driving this issue and how school districts can pivot in the face of declining enrollment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper spent the majority of her report discussing the district’s recently released long-term facilities plan. This long-term facilities plan was submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as required by the state’s Systemic Improvement Plan, and indicated that as many as half of current buildings could close. The Superintendent clarified in her report that this would not be happening and that the School Committee will receive a list of proposed mergers and closures later this spring and each subsequent spring. However, Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez questioned the lack of projections and details in the plan to help make decisions, and he pushed the Superintendent for a comprehensive master plan that gives members an understanding of how decisions will impact neighborhoods and other school communities. The Superintendent also discussed the announcement of a new partnership between the Boston Community Leadership Academy, McCormack School, and UMass Boston, which was announced by Mayor Michelle Wu in her State of the City address earlier this week. The announcement lacked specificity on details or timeline, and Vice Chair Michael O’Neill reminded the Superintendent that the facility is in need of immediate repairs, including basic needs, like toilets and lockers. The School Committee’s only action item of the evening was a vote on modifications to the exam school admissions policy. At the last meeting, the Superintendent proposed modifying the number of bonus points a student who attends a Title 1 school (40% or more students living below the poverty line) receives based on the tier they live in. Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, who has consistently pushed for a different remedy involving the allocation of bonus points directly to students rather than schools, continued to express his frustration at the lack of consideration of this alternative, highlighting concerns about the timing of this change in the midst of school choice season and calling for a reevaluation of the current tiers. Many parents and students echoed these concerns during public comment. The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the modifications to the policy, which will be implemented for the current enrollment cycle. There were two other brief reports last night. The first was on a proposed merger between UP Academy Dorchester and UP Academy Boston due to a dramatic drop in enrollment in the last three years. The second was a discussion on School Committee task forces. Chair Jeri Robinson proposed that Task Forces will no longer report to the School Committee and instead will work under the purview of the Superintendent. While there was little discussion about this change, this would remove power from the School Committee and limit the public’s ability to hear from these task force leaders at Committee meetings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night was the last Boston School Committee meeting of 2023, and for the second consecutive week, the Superintendent’s Report included a memo with information typically presented as a larger standalone report. This week’s memo shared an annual update from the Office of Equity regarding increased incidents of student-on-student misconduct - a topic that has been highlighted in recent news coverage - and members asked that the Superintendent come back with more information in a fuller report at a future meeting. The Superintendent also revisited last week’s memo about updates to the School Quality Framework, saying her team has received questions from members about the underlying data and will come back with a further analysis at the next meeting. The School Quality Framework is a key component to school choice, dictating which schools students can access based on the quality of schools in their neighborhoods. The updated scores released last week included troubling discrepancies between statewide accountability scores and BPS tier rankings, leading members to question the data’s accuracy and intent, with several members noting that parents should not rely on these rankings to make school decisions (despite the fact that they are required to do so). There were two reports last night, one on a new proposal to amend the exam school admissions policy, and the second a finance update. The finance update is a yearly presentation that precedes the annual budget process. While the key budgetary information will be presented in the coming months, this presentation did note that more than $125 million in school and Central Office positions is currently funded by federal relief money set to expire next year, and this will have consequences for school budgets. The second report was a proposal from Superintendent Skipper to amend the exam school admission policy. Superintendent Skipper announced that, after considering five potential alterations to the current policy, BPS is proposing adjusting the number of bonus points a student who attends a Title 1 school (40% or more low-income) receives based on the tier where they live. In the current policy, students who attend a Title 1 school in any tier school receive 10 bonus points, creating a scenario in which some students in higher tiers were mathematically excluded from getting into their first choice exam school. To address this issue, under this new proposal, students in Title 1 schools will receive a different number of bonus points based on their socioeconomic tier, with the point value calculated using the point differential between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools in that tier the previous year. This means that, for next year, students in Title 1 schools in Tier 1 would receive 9 bonus points and those in Tier 2 would receive 11, while those students in Tiers 7 and 8 would receive 4 and 2 points, respectively. Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, who has been pushing the Committee to reopen this policy and advocating for the points to be allocated to individuals rather than whole schools, expressed his frustration with the lack of consideration of his suggestion. Members acknowledged that this is a step in the right direction and they are pleased to see the district’s new willingness to address this current policy’s flaws, and Chair Jeri Robinson noted that the underlying issue is the lack of strong schools across the district to prepare more Boston students for success in high school and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper discussed two memos released earlier that day. The first memo addressed long-term facility planning, a comprehensive plan for which is due to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by the end of the year. The memo noted that just 71 out of 119 schools meet standards for optimal school size, and just 18% of school buildings provide most or all of the elements defined by BPS as necessary for a “high-quality student experience.” The memo also outlined a timeline for school closures and mergers, noting that decisions will be announced this upcoming spring and planning will take place during the 2024-25 school year, with mergers and closures beginning in the fall of 2025. Notably, these decisions will be announced after both this year’s budget process and the school choice season, meaning students will be choosing schools without knowing if they might be closed after next year. The second memo discussed during the Superintendent’s report was an update to the school quality framework scores - the first update since 2019. Each school is given a composite score out of 100 based on 75% student performance and 25% survey responses from students, faculty, and families, and schools are then ranked from tier 1 to tier 4, with the highest quality schools in tier 1. The memo did not provide individual school scores nor any underlying data for the calculations, and the data included in the memo was surprising. For example, the Sarah Greenwood School has a 7% accountability score from DESE and is tier 1. The Blackstone School has a 6% accountability score and is tier 2. English High School has a 3% accountability score and is in tier 2, while Boston Latin School, which has a 96% accountability score, is also in tier 2, having moved down from tier 1 in this new ranking. While annual updates to the school quality framework are typically presented as a standalone report to the School Committee, last night it was only mentioned during the Superintendent’s remarks, and no questions were asked about this data by members of the School Committee. The Superintendent ended her remarks by announcing that she will propose changes to the exam school policy at next week’s School Committee meeting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Massachusetts, there are 9,000 young people in the foster care system, and 50,000 engaged with the Department of Children and Families. These students face a unique set of challenges, and in today’s episode, Jill and Ross are joined by the leaders of two organizations at the forefront of helping them succeed. Lauren Baker, Former First Lady of Massachusetts, is the Founder and CEO of the Wonderfund, a nonprofit that supports youth engaged with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Shaheer Mustafa is the President and CEO of Hopewell, the Commonwealth’s largest nonprofit provider of comprehensive foster care and wraparound support. Lauren and Shaheer join us to discuss the challenges these students face and how schools and communities can best support their most vulnerable students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s School Committee meeting was primarily focused on discussion of a new facility rubric released last week by BPS to guide decisions around school closures, mergers, and new construction. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, after which the School Committee Chair and Vice Chair shared their experience from a recent visit to the BCLA/McCormack School, expressing concern that the renovations promised by BPS have not been implemented. The Superintendent also responded to questions about pursuing changes to the exam school process, saying that she is looking to bring in higher education partners to look at the policy and will raise it again at a future meeting. This exam school issue was raised multiple times during last night’s public comment session, with parents sharing frustrations with BPS leaders’ unwillingness to amend the policy in spite of consensus on the current policy’s flaws. Additional commenters testified about a concerning lack of data in the BPS facility rubric, a topic which dominated the remainder of the meeting. Following public comment, the Superintendent's team presented the facilities rubric. This rubric comes as the district is required to submit a master facilities plan to the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by next month - a requirement included in the district’s Systemic Improvement Plan. However, the presentation last night did not include data on enrollment trends, family demand, budget, or timeline, leading School Committee members to press the Superintendent for further details and question whether this will satisfy the DESE requirement for a master plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chronic absenteeism rates in every state are skyrocketing – continuing a trend that started before the pandemic and leading the White House to double down on efforts to get kids back in school. In Massachusetts alone, 23% of all students were chronically absent last year – meaning they missed more than 10% of school days – with rates among high schoolers as high as 30%. There are many factors that have led to this increase, from disengagement with content, to new responsibilities at home, to a pandemic-era shift in perceptions of in-person education. Because school attendance is a key predictor of student performance, this rise in chronic absenteeism has led to a decline in test scores nationwide, bringing increased urgency to the issue. Today, in the second episode of “Deep Dives,” Jill and Ross dive into this topic with two leaders at the forefront of understanding and addressing it: Tim Daly and Alison Hramiec. Tim Daly is the CEO of EdNavigator, a national organization that empowers families to access high-quality education. Tim recently authored a brilliant three-part series on what’s behind the rise in absenteeism and how to address it. Alison Hramiec is the Head of School at the Boston Day and Evening Academy, which supports chronically absent students across Boston and helps them re-engage through competency-based learning, mentorship, and support. We discuss the driving forces behind rising absenteeism, the trends in Boston and around the country, and how school leaders and policymakers can help get kids back in school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices