Boston School Committee: 9·25·24 Meeting Recap

Last Night At School Committee

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

The Superintendent also provided an update on transportation. The Superintendent noted that on-time arrivals for AM bus routes had improved to 84%, and emphasized that the district’s new transportation app, Zum, is continuing to be implemented and adjusting routes to improve these low arrival rates. This is in contrast to the numerous articles and reports of families continuing to share their struggles and delays with the buses.

There were about a dozen teachers who testified during public comment last night, speaking about the district’s inclusion plan. Their testimonies included current struggles and their reasoning as to why so many are against the implementation of this plan. These testimonies come as the district continues to lack a new contract agreement with the Boston Teachers Union, which the Superintendent and her team were hoping to have settled before the end of the summer.

The School Committee voted to double the enrollment at the Edward M. Kennedy Health Careers Academy. While some members continued to ask about the impact of this expansion on other schools and the need for a new facility, the School Committee unanimously approved the expansion. The meeting ended with the sole report of the evening on summer learning. The Superintendent’s Team discussed the numerous opportunities provided this past summer and initial enrollment numbers, but did not provide any data on student outcomes or achievement.

The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9th.

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