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Wikipedia

Boston Public Schools

Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts.[7]

Boston Public Schools
Location
2300 Washington Street,
Roxbury, Boston, MA 02119
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesK-12
Established1647
SuperintendentMary Skipper[1]
Schools109 (2023-2024)[2]
Budget$1,332,439,836 total
$20,247 per pupil
(2016)[3]
Students and staff
Students45,742 (2023-2024)[2]
Teachers4,256(2021-2022)[4]
Staff4,352 (2009-2010)[5]
Student–teacher ratio10.8 to 1 (2014-2015)[4]
Other information
Average
SAT scores
496 verbal
513 math
1009 total (2017-2018)[6]
WebsiteBoston Public Schools

Leadership edit

 
Dr. Carol R. Johnson (back row, far left), former Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, meets students and their teacher Mrs. McClain and principal at the Bates Elementary School in Roslindale.

The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified stakeholders.[8] The School Committee sets policy for the district and approves the district's annual operating budget. This governing body replaced a 13-member elected committee after a public referendum vote in 1991.[9] The superintendent serves as a member of the mayor's cabinet.

From October 1995 through June 2006, Dr. Thomas Payzant served as superintendent. A former undersecretary in the US Department of Education, Payzant was the first superintendent selected by the appointed School Committee. Upon Dr. Payzant's retirement, Chief Operating Officer Michael G. Contompasis, former headmaster of Boston Latin School, became Interim Superintendent, and was appointed superintendent in October 2006. Dr. Manuel J. Rivera, superintendent of the Rochester City School District, had agreed to become the next superintendent of the BPS, but instead accepted a post as deputy secretary for public education for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. In June 2007, the Boston School Committee voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Carol R. Johnson as the next superintendent, beginning in August 2007. Dr. Johnson had served as superintendent of the Memphis City Schools since 2003. Dr. Johnson's tenure ended in summer 2013, and John McDonough served as interim superintendent until July 1, 2015.[10] The superintendent was Dr. Tommy Chang until his resignation in 2018. Laura Perille served as interim superintendent until July 2019 when Brenda Cassellius began her tenure. Cassellius resigned effective June 2022, and was replaced on an interim basis by Dr. Drew Echelson. Mary Skipper will serve as superintendent effective September 2022.

The mayor and Boston City Council have control over the overall appropriation for the Boston Public Schools, but the School Committee has control over how funding is allocated internally, and has control over policy.[11]

List of superintendents edit

History edit

BPS is the oldest public school system in America, founded in 1647.[13] It is also the home of the nation's first public school, Boston Latin School, founded in 1635.[13] The Mather School opened in 1639 as the nation's first public elementary school,[14] and English High School, the second public high school in the country, opened in 1821.[13] In 1965, the state enacted the Racial Imbalance Law, requiring school districts to design and implement plans to effect racial balancing in schools that were more than 50% "non-white". After years of consistent failure by the Boston School Committee to comply with the law, the U.S District Court ruled in 1974 that the schools were unconstitutionally segregated, and implemented as a remedy the busing of many students from their neighborhood schools to other schools across the city.[12]

In April 2016, after four BPS schools (including Boston Latin Academy) were found to have levels of lead above the state action level in fountain drinking water,[15] the administration of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that it would provide $2 million from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust to fund a testing program operated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to provide technical assistance to public school districts in assessing samples of water both from fountains and from taps used in food preparation.[16] The next November, Baker provided an additional $750,000 to the program for further technical assistance with sampling and testing.[17]

In November 2021, an analysis of primary and secondary school enrollment statistics conducted by The Boston Globe found that enrollment in the district's 122 schools and 6 in-district charter schools in the 2021–2022 academic year had declined by more than 2,000 students from the previous academic year to less than 50,000 students for the first time in decades after falling by approximately 8,000 students during the previous decade.[18] The following month, the Boston School Committee voted to close the Washington Irving Middle School, the James P. Timilty Middle School, and the Jackson/Mann K-8 School at the end of the school year.[19] After a series of audits conducted by KPMG for the city found that the district may have overstated its graduation rates in 5 of the 7 academic years since 2014,[20] the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner notified the Boston Public Schools in March 2022 that the state would conduct a second district review following a two-year memorandum of understanding between the state and the district in lieu of receivership from the previous district review in 2020.[21][22]

In testimony before the Massachusetts Board of Education in the same month, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu urged the State Board to not place the district under receivership, arguing that receivership would be counterproductive in light of her administration's transition and the district's search for a new superintendent.[23][24] In May 2022, the Boston School Committee voted to close the Mission Hill K-8 School at the recommendation of the district superintendent following the completion of a report investigating multiple bullying incidents at the school.[25][26] In the 2022–2023 academic year, enrollment in the Boston Public Schools and the city's in-district charter schools fell for the eighth consecutive year.[27] Pursuant to a report issued by the Boston Public Health Commission,[28] Mayor Wu announced in March 2024 that the Lee K-8 School, the McCormack Academy, the MLK Jr. Elementary School, the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, the TechBoston Academy, the Henderson K-12 Inclusion School, and the Young Achievers School would participate in two programs aimed at addressing a rise in mental health issues among BPS students that her administration was committing $21 million in city government funding.[29]

Busing and racial equity edit

The segregated state of Boston's neighborhoods, and school districts, that prompted busing were the direct result of redlining, the denial of mortgages to racial minorities. In most other American cities, redlining had prompted large amounts of white flight to the suburbs. However, unlike those cities, at the time Boston's white population was still composed heavily of immigrant and first-generation families, the vast majority of which either lacked the means or desire to leave the city. As a result, redlining in Boston saw the creation of neighborhoods that were for the most part equally economically disadvantaged but racially imbalanced.[30]

Subsequently, by the time of forced busing came to be in 1974 the majority of the white population were lower-middle and lower-class second-generation blue-collar nuclear families who were heavily reliant on public amenities and infrastructure. Neighborhood schools were part of the family-centered way of life for white families in Boston, a source of neighborhood pride and shared identity.[citation needed]

Equally economically disadvantaged, the African American communities were heavily reliant on Boston's public amenities and infrastructure as well. However, due to the racial bias and corrupt oversight, the infrastructure of Boston's African American neighborhoods paled in comparison to that offered in primarily white communities.[31] This inequality was nowhere more appalling or evident than in the neighborhood schools. In many cases, the understaffed and poorly funded schools were forced to teach with small quantities of outdated reading material and textbooks, as well as carefully rationed school supplies such as pencils, collecting them at the end of the day to ensure they would have enough. This lack of funding and support for the African American neighborhood schools was a result of the lack of proper and equal allocation of funding between white and black school districts within the Boston public school system. This primarily resulted from the racially prejudice all-white Boston public schools committee that wouldn't end up integrating until 1977 with the election of John D. O'Bryant[32] almost three full years after forced busing had begun.

As a direct result of this infrastructure imbalance when integration was instituted and forced busing began the two communities reacted almost conversely.[31] The African American communities although somewhat upset about losing the convenience of the local neighborhood schools welcomed the change with open arms hoping that it would force the school committee to fund all the schools with greater equality than in the past and that it would allow their children to gain a better education in the meantime.[31] Unfortunately, almost all of the white communities saw busing as an inconvenience and a threat to what little privilege they still had as lower-class whites rather than seeing it as an opportunity for greater equality. As a result, when school began, on September 12, 1974, many white families refused to send their kids to school and whole neighborhoods engaged in racially charged riots during which many enacted acts of violence such as throwing rocks, flipping police cars, and even attacking African Americans who happened to be driving or passing by at the time.[32] The violence and rioting continued until October of the same year when the National Guard was brought in to quell the violence.

In September 2006 the district won the Broad Prize for Urban Education for reducing the achievement gap for low-income and minority students. The national prize, sponsored by philanthropist Eli Broad, includes $500,000 in college scholarships to graduates from the winning district. In most years since the prize program began in 2002, Boston has been a finalist, earning $125,000 in scholarships each year.[citation needed]

Busing delays edit

The district changed school bus route planning using paper and pencil to software called Versatrans in September, 2010, which underestimated the time needed to pick up students and caused widespread problems with late buses.[33] The problems with contractor First Student continued in the 2011–2012 school year, attributed both to misplanned routes and drivers not showing up for work on time.[34] BPS switched contractors from First Student to Veolia Transdev effective July 1, 2013.[35] Bus drivers conducted a wildcat strike in October 2013 demanding removal of GPS tracking devices on school buses that let parents locate the bus, and the abandonment of Versatrans.[36] Contract negotiation problems caused stranded charters school and special education students in August, 2014.[37] A group of researchers from MIT won a BPS contest to overhaul bus routes, and a new software model was used in at the start of the 2017–2018 school year. The number of buses was reduced, and on-time performance declined compared to the previous year, both due to inaccurate planning and drivers not departing the bus yard on time.[38][39] In 2018, the bus drivers' union threatened a strike over the summer, and in August some runs for charter and special education students were not performed due to a bus driver shortage.[40] Aggressive hiring then caused bus driver shortages to cascade into suburban districts.[41]

Problems with late buses worsened again in fall 2019, leading some parents to hire a ride hailing service to pick up students stranded for over three hours.[42] The district hired consultant Michael Turza to attempt another fix.[43] The COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts closed school buildings for much of 2021. At the beginning of the 2021–22 school year, school bus delays returned amid a nationwide labor shortage.[44] Governor Charlie Baker called up the Massachusetts National Guard to supplement the available pool of drivers in Eastern Massachusetts, sending Guard members to drive smaller vehicles in the cities of Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell and Lynn.[45]

Operations edit

Budget edit

The one hundred largest school districts in the nation (by enrollment) spend an average of $14,000 per pupil every year. However, census data from 2017 shows that the BPS easily placed second, by spending $22,292. Only the New York City Department of Education exceeded this figure.[46]

Student assignment policy edit

Boston Public Schools (BPS) operates schools throughout the city of Boston. BPS assigns students based on preferences of the applicants and priorities of students in various zones.[47]

Since 1989, the city has broken the district into three zones for elementary- and middle-school students. High schoolers can choose any school throughout the city, since they can ride public transportation.[48] Due to the geography of East Boston, for all grade levels each child in East Boston is guaranteed a seat at a school in East Boston.[47]

In 2013, the Boston School Committee voted to begin a new school choice system for the 2014–15 school year and beyond. The new plan, called "Home-Based," measures schools through a combination of MCAS scores and growth, which are grouped in four tiers. Every family has at least two schools within the top tier, four in the top half of performance, and six in the top 75%. Families also are able to list any school within one mile of their home. The plan was first approved by an External Advisory Committee made up of parents, academic experts and community leaders. It was developed by an academic team from Harvard and MIT, which volunteered for the project after hearing about the community process in 2012. The District launched a website,[49] to help the community follow the process and contribute.

Geography edit

In 2017 the district's schools switched from the Mercator map projection (which accurately shows directions, but inflates areas in high latitudes) to the Gall–Peters projection (which distorts directions, but is one of many equal-area projections).[50]

Schools edit

Early childhood education edit

These schools offer programs starting at either age 3 (K0) or age 4 (K1) and ending in either the first or third grade.

  • Baldwin Early Learning Center (Pilot)
  • East Boston Early Education Center
  • Ellison/Parks Early Education School
  • Haynes Early Education Center
  • West Zone Early Learning Center

Elementary schools edit

  • Adams Elementary School
  • Bates Elementary School
  • Beethoven Elementary School
  • Blackstone Elementary School
  • Bradley Elementary School
  • Channing Elementary School
  • Condon Elementary School
  • Chittick Elementary School
  • Conley Elementary School
  • Dever Elementary School (K-6)
  • Dudley Street Neighborhood School (Charter)
  • Elihu Greenwood Leadership Academy (Defunct, old building now used by Another Course to College)
  • Ellis Elementary School
  • Everett Elementary School
  • Grew Elementary School
  • Guild Elementary School
  • Hale Elementary School
  • Haley Elementary School
  • Harvard/Kent Elementary School
  • Henderson Elementary lower school
  • Henderson Elementary Upper school
  • Hennigan Elementary School
  • Holland Elementary School
  • Holmes Elementary School
  • Kennedy, J. F. Elementary School
  • Kennedy, P. J. Elementary School
  • Kenny Elementary School
  • Manning Elementary School
  • Marshall Elementary School
  • Mason Elementary School
  • Mather Elementary School
  • Mattahunt Elementary School
  • McKinley Elementary School
  • Mendell Elementary School
  • Mozart Elementary School
  • O'Donnell Elementary School
  • Otis Elementary School
  • Perkins Elementary School
  • Philbrick Elementary School
  • Quincy Elementary School
  • Roger Clap Innovation School
  • Russell Elementary School
  • Sumner Elementary School
  • Taylor Elementary School
  • Tynan Elementary School
  • Winship Elementary School
  • Winthrop Elementary School

K-8 schools edit

  • Boston Teachers Union School K-8 (Pilot)
  • Curley K-8 School
  • Donald McKay K-8 school
  • Edison K-8 School
  • Eliot K-8 School
  • Greenwood (Sarah) K-8 School
  • Haley K-8 School (Pilot)
  • Hernández K-8 School
  • Higginson/Lewis K-8 School
  • Hurley K-8 School
  • Kilmer K-8 School
  • King K-8 School
  • Lee K-8 School
  • Lyndon K-8 School (Pilot)
  • Lyon K–8 School
  • Mario Umana Academy
  • McKay K-8 School
  • Mildred Avenue K-8 School
  • Murphy K-8 School
  • Orchard Gardens K-8 School (Pilot)
  • Perry K-8 School
  • Roosevelt K-8 School
  • Tobin K-8 School
  • Trotter K-8 School
  • Warren/Prescott K-8 School
  • Young Achievers Science and Math K-8 (Pilot)

Middle schools edit

  • Frederick Middle School (Pilot)
  • UP Academy Charter School of Boston

6-12 schools edit

  • Dearborn STEM Academy
  • Henderson Upper School
  • Josiah Quincy Upper School (Pilot)
  • TechBoston Academy

High schools edit

K-12 schools edit

Exam schools edit

The following schools serve students in grades 7–12 and admit students based on their grades and the Independent School Entrance Examination.

Former Boston public schools edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Office of the Superintendent / Office of the Superintendent". bostonpublicschools.org.
  2. ^ a b "Contact Information - Boston (00350000)".
  3. ^ "Massachusetts Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education - Per Pupil Expenditures Statewide Report". Profiles.doe.mass.edu. February 7, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Teacher Data (2021-22) - Boston (00350000)".
  5. ^ (PDF). Boston Public Schools. February 25, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  6. ^ "Massachusetts Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education - 2017-18 SAT Performance Report - All Students Statewide Report". Profiles.doe.mass.edu. September 20, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  7. ^ "Enrollment Data (2017-18) - Boston (00350000)". profiles.doe.mass.edu.
  8. ^ School Committee Members Nomination and Appointment Procedure, BPS Website December 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Founding Legislation: Chapter 108, BPS Website July 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ . www.bostonpublicschools.org. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013.
  11. ^ External Actors and the Boston Public Schools—The Courts, the Business Community, and the Mayor October 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
  12. ^ "Robert R. Spillane, Boston Public Schools superintendent in early 1980s, dies at 80 - The Boston Globe". bostonglobe.com.
  13. ^ a b c About Boston Public Schools October 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine United Nations Associate of the United States of America (UNA-USA)
  14. ^ "Notable Events in Massachusetts History". www.masshome.com.
  15. ^ Pohle, Allison (April 26, 2016). "Mass. dedicates $2 million to testing lead in public school water fountains". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. ISSN 0743-1791. OCLC 66652431. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Massachusetts public schools get $2M to help test for lead in drinking water". WCVB. April 26, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  17. ^ "Massachusetts Officials Announce Additional $750,000 for Drinking Water Tests at Public Schools". www.mass.gov. November 15, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  18. ^ Vaznis, James (November 18, 2021). "Boston Public Schools' enrollment drops below 50,000 students for the first time in decades". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Cronin, Colleen; Russell, Jenna (December 16, 2021). "Boston School Committee votes to close three schools". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  20. ^ Toness, Bianca Vázquez; Vaznis, James (January 31, 2022). "BPS may have overstated graduation rate for five of last seven years". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  21. ^ Vaznis, James (March 18, 2022). "State to conduct second review of Boston Public Schools amid concerns it could pursue receivership". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  22. ^ Larkin, Max (March 18, 2020). "What The State Sees Inside Boston Public Schools: Change, 'Bright Spots,' And Lots of Dysfunction". WBUR. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  23. ^ Martin, Naomi (March 22, 2022). "Mayor Wu urges state education board against Boston Public Schools takeover". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  24. ^ Lannan, Katie (March 22, 2022). "Receivership 'counterproductive' for Boston schools, Wu says". WBUR. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  25. ^ Toness, Bianca Vázquez (May 5, 2022). "Boston School Committee votes to shutter Mission Hill School". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  26. ^ Martin, Naomi (April 27, 2022). "Scathing investigation prompts Boston superintendent to recommend closing 'failed' Mission Hill School". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  27. ^ Huffaker, Christopher; Martin, Naomi (December 2, 2022). "Boston Public Schools' enrollment drops for 8th consecutive year". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  28. ^ Health of Boston 2024 (PDF) (Report). Boston Public Health Commission. 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  29. ^ Daniel, Seth (March 21, 2024). "Boston targets $21M to combat youth mental health 'crisis'". Dorchester Reporter. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  30. ^ Ofulue, Camille (November 4, 2021). "Redlining in Boston: How the Architects of the Past Have Shaped Boston's Future". The BPR. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  31. ^ a b c "Can We Talk? Learning from Boston's Busing/Desegregation Crisis." YouTube, Mercer Media Relations, 14 Sept. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D8PtwUZkGc&t=1725s.
  32. ^ a b "The Boston Busing Crisis Story (1974 - 1975)." YouTube, Unstripped Voice, 14 Dec. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgM9sX7deOs.
  33. ^ Vaznis, James (September 21, 2010). "School bus delays anger parents / Boston's new software causes late pickups". The Boston Globe.
  34. ^ Johnson, Akilah (January 30, 2012). "Hub school bus drivers gave warning of route troubles". Boston.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  35. ^ Bookmark +, Thomas McMahon •. "Boston school bus contract goes to Veolia". www.schoolbusfleet.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  36. ^ "Boston school bus drivers end wildcat strike, but city officials wary". Christian Science Monitor. October 9, 2013. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  37. ^ "After Morning Delays, BPS Bus Routes Staffed". www.wbur.org. August 26, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  38. ^ "More than 10 percent of city school buses are late, despite MIT's help - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  39. ^ "On the first day, more Boston school buses arrived late - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  40. ^ "Problems persist with missing, delayed Boston school buses - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  41. ^ "It isn't just Boston that has school bus problems - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  42. ^ "Late school buses continue to plague Boston students - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  43. ^ "Boston Public Schools superintendent hires consultant to fix tardy buses - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  44. ^ "Busing woes plague Boston's first day of school - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  45. ^ Neuman, Scott (September 15, 2021). "Massachusetts Calls On The National Guard To Mitigate A School Bus Driver Shortage". NPR. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  46. ^ "Top 10 Largest School Districts by Enrollment and Per Pupil Current Spending". United States Census Bureau. May 21, 2019.
  47. ^ a b "Student Assignment Policy June 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." Boston Public Schools. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
  48. ^ WBUR, http://www.wbur.org/2009/06/03/school-choice
  49. ^ http://www.bostonschoolchoice.org 2013-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
  50. ^ "Boston public schools map switch aims to amend 500 years of distortion". The Guardian. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  51. ^ "Student arrested for violent attack on principal, staff member at Henderson School in Dorchester - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
  52. ^ "Brighton's Hamilton Elementary slated to close; major reorganization for other local schools".

External links edit

  • Boston Public Schools
    • Boston Public Schools (boston.k12.ma.us) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
  • Broad Prize for Urban Education
  • City of Boston
  • Boston Teachers Union
  • The James W. Fraser (collector) photograph collection, 1905-1976 (bulk 1974-1976) are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
  • The Citywide Educational Coalition records, 1972-2001 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.

boston, public, schools, school, district, serving, city, boston, massachusetts, united, states, largest, public, school, district, state, massachusetts, location2300, washington, street, roxbury, boston, 02119, united, statesdistrict, informationtypepublicgra. Boston Public Schools BPS is a school district serving the city of Boston Massachusetts United States It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts 7 Boston Public SchoolsLocation2300 Washington Street Roxbury Boston MA 02119 United StatesDistrict informationTypePublicGradesK 12Established1647SuperintendentMary Skipper 1 Schools109 2023 2024 2 Budget 1 332 439 836 total 20 247 per pupil 2016 3 Students and staffStudents45 742 2023 2024 2 Teachers4 256 2021 2022 4 Staff4 352 2009 2010 5 Student teacher ratio10 8 to 1 2014 2015 4 Other informationAverageSAT scores496 verbal513 math1009 total 2017 2018 6 WebsiteBoston Public Schools Contents 1 Leadership 1 1 List of superintendents 2 History 2 1 Busing and racial equity 2 2 Busing delays 3 Operations 3 1 Budget 3 2 Student assignment policy 3 3 Geography 4 Schools 4 1 Early childhood education 4 2 Elementary schools 4 3 K 8 schools 4 4 Middle schools 4 5 6 12 schools 4 6 High schools 4 7 K 12 schools 4 8 Exam schools 4 9 Former Boston public schools 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksLeadership edit nbsp Dr Carol R Johnson back row far left former Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools meets students and their teacher Mrs McClain and principal at the Bates Elementary School in Roslindale The district is led by a Superintendent hired by the Boston School Committee a seven member school board appointed by the mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified stakeholders 8 The School Committee sets policy for the district and approves the district s annual operating budget This governing body replaced a 13 member elected committee after a public referendum vote in 1991 9 The superintendent serves as a member of the mayor s cabinet From October 1995 through June 2006 Dr Thomas Payzant served as superintendent A former undersecretary in the US Department of Education Payzant was the first superintendent selected by the appointed School Committee Upon Dr Payzant s retirement Chief Operating Officer Michael G Contompasis former headmaster of Boston Latin School became Interim Superintendent and was appointed superintendent in October 2006 Dr Manuel J Rivera superintendent of the Rochester City School District had agreed to become the next superintendent of the BPS but instead accepted a post as deputy secretary for public education for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer In June 2007 the Boston School Committee voted unanimously to appoint Dr Carol R Johnson as the next superintendent beginning in August 2007 Dr Johnson had served as superintendent of the Memphis City Schools since 2003 Dr Johnson s tenure ended in summer 2013 and John McDonough served as interim superintendent until July 1 2015 10 The superintendent was Dr Tommy Chang until his resignation in 2018 Laura Perille served as interim superintendent until July 2019 when Brenda Cassellius began her tenure Cassellius resigned effective June 2022 and was replaced on an interim basis by Dr Drew Echelson Mary Skipper will serve as superintendent effective September 2022 The mayor and Boston City Council have control over the overall appropriation for the Boston Public Schools but the School Committee has control over how funding is allocated internally and has control over policy 11 List of superintendents edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Boston Public Schools news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Nathan Bishop 1851 1856 John Dudley Philbrick 1856 1878 Samuel Eliot 1878 1880 Edwin P Seaver 1880 1904 George H Conley 1904 1905 Walter S Parker 1905 1906 Acting Stratton D Brooks 1906 1912 Maurice P White 1912 1912 Acting Dr Franklin B Dyer 1912 1918 Frank V Thompson 1918 1921 Jeremiah E Burke 1921 1931 Patrick T Campbell 1931 1937 Arthur L Gould 1937 1948 Dr Dennis C Haley 1948 1960 Dr Frederick Gillis 1960 1963 Dr William H Ohrenberger 1963 1972 William J Leary 1972 1975 Marion Fahey 1975 1978 Robert Coldwell Wood 1978 1980 Paul Kennedy 1980 1981 Acting Joseph McDonough 1981 Acting Robert R Spillane 1981 1985 12 Dr Laval S Wilson 1985 1991 Lois Harrison Jones 1991 1995 Dr Thomas Payzant 1995 2006 Michael G Contompasis 2006 2007 Interim Dr Carol R Johnson 2007 2012 John McDonough 2012 2015 Interim Dr Tommy Chang 2015 2018 Laura Perille 2018 2019 Interim Dr Brenda Cassellius 2019 2022 Dr Drew Echelson 2022 Interim Mary Skipper 2022 History editBPS is the oldest public school system in America founded in 1647 13 It is also the home of the nation s first public school Boston Latin School founded in 1635 13 The Mather School opened in 1639 as the nation s first public elementary school 14 and English High School the second public high school in the country opened in 1821 13 In 1965 the state enacted the Racial Imbalance Law requiring school districts to design and implement plans to effect racial balancing in schools that were more than 50 non white After years of consistent failure by the Boston School Committee to comply with the law the U S District Court ruled in 1974 that the schools were unconstitutionally segregated and implemented as a remedy the busing of many students from their neighborhood schools to other schools across the city 12 In April 2016 after four BPS schools including Boston Latin Academy were found to have levels of lead above the state action level in fountain drinking water 15 the administration of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that it would provide 2 million from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust to fund a testing program operated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to provide technical assistance to public school districts in assessing samples of water both from fountains and from taps used in food preparation 16 The next November Baker provided an additional 750 000 to the program for further technical assistance with sampling and testing 17 In November 2021 an analysis of primary and secondary school enrollment statistics conducted by The Boston Globe found that enrollment in the district s 122 schools and 6 in district charter schools in the 2021 2022 academic year had declined by more than 2 000 students from the previous academic year to less than 50 000 students for the first time in decades after falling by approximately 8 000 students during the previous decade 18 The following month the Boston School Committee voted to close the Washington Irving Middle School the James P Timilty Middle School and the Jackson Mann K 8 School at the end of the school year 19 After a series of audits conducted by KPMG for the city found that the district may have overstated its graduation rates in 5 of the 7 academic years since 2014 20 the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner notified the Boston Public Schools in March 2022 that the state would conduct a second district review following a two year memorandum of understanding between the state and the district in lieu of receivership from the previous district review in 2020 21 22 In testimony before the Massachusetts Board of Education in the same month Boston Mayor Michelle Wu urged the State Board to not place the district under receivership arguing that receivership would be counterproductive in light of her administration s transition and the district s search for a new superintendent 23 24 In May 2022 the Boston School Committee voted to close the Mission Hill K 8 School at the recommendation of the district superintendent following the completion of a report investigating multiple bullying incidents at the school 25 26 In the 2022 2023 academic year enrollment in the Boston Public Schools and the city s in district charter schools fell for the eighth consecutive year 27 Pursuant to a report issued by the Boston Public Health Commission 28 Mayor Wu announced in March 2024 that the Lee K 8 School the McCormack Academy the MLK Jr Elementary School the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School the TechBoston Academy the Henderson K 12 Inclusion School and the Young Achievers School would participate in two programs aimed at addressing a rise in mental health issues among BPS students that her administration was committing 21 million in city government funding 29 Busing and racial equity edit Main articles Morgan v Hennigan School desegregation in Boston and Boston desegregation busing crisis See also John F Collins Urban renewal John F Collins Public housing John F Collins UMass Boston and Boston Public Schools and Kevin White politician Urban renewal and redlining The segregated state of Boston s neighborhoods and school districts that prompted busing were the direct result of redlining the denial of mortgages to racial minorities In most other American cities redlining had prompted large amounts of white flight to the suburbs However unlike those cities at the time Boston s white population was still composed heavily of immigrant and first generation families the vast majority of which either lacked the means or desire to leave the city As a result redlining in Boston saw the creation of neighborhoods that were for the most part equally economically disadvantaged but racially imbalanced 30 Subsequently by the time of forced busing came to be in 1974 the majority of the white population were lower middle and lower class second generation blue collar nuclear families who were heavily reliant on public amenities and infrastructure Neighborhood schools were part of the family centered way of life for white families in Boston a source of neighborhood pride and shared identity citation needed Equally economically disadvantaged the African American communities were heavily reliant on Boston s public amenities and infrastructure as well However due to the racial bias and corrupt oversight the infrastructure of Boston s African American neighborhoods paled in comparison to that offered in primarily white communities 31 This inequality was nowhere more appalling or evident than in the neighborhood schools In many cases the understaffed and poorly funded schools were forced to teach with small quantities of outdated reading material and textbooks as well as carefully rationed school supplies such as pencils collecting them at the end of the day to ensure they would have enough This lack of funding and support for the African American neighborhood schools was a result of the lack of proper and equal allocation of funding between white and black school districts within the Boston public school system This primarily resulted from the racially prejudice all white Boston public schools committee that wouldn t end up integrating until 1977 with the election of John D O Bryant 32 almost three full years after forced busing had begun As a direct result of this infrastructure imbalance when integration was instituted and forced busing began the two communities reacted almost conversely 31 The African American communities although somewhat upset about losing the convenience of the local neighborhood schools welcomed the change with open arms hoping that it would force the school committee to fund all the schools with greater equality than in the past and that it would allow their children to gain a better education in the meantime 31 Unfortunately almost all of the white communities saw busing as an inconvenience and a threat to what little privilege they still had as lower class whites rather than seeing it as an opportunity for greater equality As a result when school began on September 12 1974 many white families refused to send their kids to school and whole neighborhoods engaged in racially charged riots during which many enacted acts of violence such as throwing rocks flipping police cars and even attacking African Americans who happened to be driving or passing by at the time 32 The violence and rioting continued until October of the same year when the National Guard was brought in to quell the violence In September 2006 the district won the Broad Prize for Urban Education for reducing the achievement gap for low income and minority students The national prize sponsored by philanthropist Eli Broad includes 500 000 in college scholarships to graduates from the winning district In most years since the prize program began in 2002 Boston has been a finalist earning 125 000 in scholarships each year citation needed Busing delays edit The district changed school bus route planning using paper and pencil to software called Versatrans in September 2010 which underestimated the time needed to pick up students and caused widespread problems with late buses 33 The problems with contractor First Student continued in the 2011 2012 school year attributed both to misplanned routes and drivers not showing up for work on time 34 BPS switched contractors from First Student to Veolia Transdev effective July 1 2013 35 Bus drivers conducted a wildcat strike in October 2013 demanding removal of GPS tracking devices on school buses that let parents locate the bus and the abandonment of Versatrans 36 Contract negotiation problems caused stranded charters school and special education students in August 2014 37 A group of researchers from MIT won a BPS contest to overhaul bus routes and a new software model was used in at the start of the 2017 2018 school year The number of buses was reduced and on time performance declined compared to the previous year both due to inaccurate planning and drivers not departing the bus yard on time 38 39 In 2018 the bus drivers union threatened a strike over the summer and in August some runs for charter and special education students were not performed due to a bus driver shortage 40 Aggressive hiring then caused bus driver shortages to cascade into suburban districts 41 Problems with late buses worsened again in fall 2019 leading some parents to hire a ride hailing service to pick up students stranded for over three hours 42 The district hired consultant Michael Turza to attempt another fix 43 The COVID 19 pandemic in Massachusetts closed school buildings for much of 2021 At the beginning of the 2021 22 school year school bus delays returned amid a nationwide labor shortage 44 Governor Charlie Baker called up the Massachusetts National Guard to supplement the available pool of drivers in Eastern Massachusetts sending Guard members to drive smaller vehicles in the cities of Chelsea Lawrence Lowell and Lynn 45 Operations editBudget edit The one hundred largest school districts in the nation by enrollment spend an average of 14 000 per pupil every year However census data from 2017 shows that the BPS easily placed second by spending 22 292 Only the New York City Department of Education exceeded this figure 46 Student assignment policy edit Boston Public Schools BPS operates schools throughout the city of Boston BPS assigns students based on preferences of the applicants and priorities of students in various zones 47 Since 1989 the city has broken the district into three zones for elementary and middle school students High schoolers can choose any school throughout the city since they can ride public transportation 48 Due to the geography of East Boston for all grade levels each child in East Boston is guaranteed a seat at a school in East Boston 47 In 2013 the Boston School Committee voted to begin a new school choice system for the 2014 15 school year and beyond The new plan called Home Based measures schools through a combination of MCAS scores and growth which are grouped in four tiers Every family has at least two schools within the top tier four in the top half of performance and six in the top 75 Families also are able to list any school within one mile of their home The plan was first approved by an External Advisory Committee made up of parents academic experts and community leaders It was developed by an academic team from Harvard and MIT which volunteered for the project after hearing about the community process in 2012 The District launched a website 49 to help the community follow the process and contribute Geography edit In 2017 the district s schools switched from the Mercator map projection which accurately shows directions but inflates areas in high latitudes to the Gall Peters projection which distorts directions but is one of many equal area projections 50 Schools editEarly childhood education edit These schools offer programs starting at either age 3 K0 or age 4 K1 and ending in either the first or third grade Baldwin Early Learning Center Pilot East Boston Early Education Center Ellison Parks Early Education School Haynes Early Education Center West Zone Early Learning Center Elementary schools edit Adams Elementary School Bates Elementary School Beethoven Elementary School Blackstone Elementary School Bradley Elementary School Channing Elementary School Condon Elementary School Chittick Elementary School Conley Elementary School Dever Elementary School K 6 Dudley Street Neighborhood School Charter Elihu Greenwood Leadership Academy Defunct old building now used by Another Course to College Ellis Elementary School Everett Elementary School Grew Elementary School Guild Elementary School Hale Elementary School Haley Elementary School Harvard Kent Elementary School Henderson Elementary lower school Henderson Elementary Upper school Hennigan Elementary School Holland Elementary School Holmes Elementary School Kennedy J F Elementary School Kennedy P J Elementary School Kenny Elementary School Manning Elementary School Marshall Elementary School Mason Elementary School Mather Elementary School Mattahunt Elementary School McKinley Elementary School Mendell Elementary School Mozart Elementary School O Donnell Elementary School Otis Elementary School Perkins Elementary School Philbrick Elementary School Quincy Elementary School Roger Clap Innovation School Russell Elementary School Sumner Elementary School Taylor Elementary School Tynan Elementary School Winship Elementary School Winthrop Elementary School K 8 schools edit Boston Teachers Union School K 8 Pilot Curley K 8 School Donald McKay K 8 school Edison K 8 School Eliot K 8 School Greenwood Sarah K 8 School Haley K 8 School Pilot Hernandez K 8 School Higginson Lewis K 8 School Hurley K 8 School Kilmer K 8 School King K 8 School Lee K 8 School Lyndon K 8 School Pilot Lyon K 8 School Mario Umana Academy McKay K 8 School Mildred Avenue K 8 School Murphy K 8 School Orchard Gardens K 8 School Pilot Perry K 8 School Roosevelt K 8 School Tobin K 8 School Trotter K 8 School Warren Prescott K 8 School Young Achievers Science and Math K 8 Pilot Middle schools edit Frederick Middle School Pilot UP Academy Charter School of Boston 6 12 schools edit Dearborn STEM Academy Henderson Upper School Josiah Quincy Upper School Pilot TechBoston Academy High schools edit Another Course to College Pilot Boston Adult Technical Academy For students ages 19 22 Boston Arts Academy Pilot Boston Community Leadership McCormack Academy Pilot Boston Day amp Evening Academy Charter Boston Green Academy Charter Boston International High School For students not yet proficient in English Brighton High School Charlestown High School Community Academy Alternative school Community Academy of Science and Health Dorchester Academy East Boston High School Edward M Kennedy Academy for Health Careers The English High School Excel High School Fenway High School Pilot Greater Egleston Community High School Pilot Jeremiah E Burke High School Lyon High School Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Margarita Muniz Academy Mary K Lyon High School Pilot McKinley Preparatory High School New Mission High School Pilot Newcomers Academy For students who are recent immigrants not yet proficient in English Snowden International School at Copley K 12 schools edit Carter Development Center Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Dr William W Henderson K 12 Inclusion School 51 Josiah Quincy Elementary School Exam schools edit The following schools serve students in grades 7 12 and admit students based on their grades and the Independent School Entrance Examination John D O Bryant School of Mathematics amp Science Boston Latin School Boston Latin Academy Former Boston public schools edit Alexander Hamilton Elementary School closed in 2010 now Baiis Yaakov of Boston High School 52 Boston Technical High School Boston Trade High School Clarence R Edwards Middle School closed in 2021 seventh and eighth grade departments moved to Charlestown High School Copley Square High School David Farragut School K 5 established in 1904 and closed in 2011 Dorchester High School High School of Commerce Hyde Park High School Jackson Mann K 8 School closed in 2022 Jamaica Plain High School James P Timilty Middle School closed in 2022 John W McCormack Middle School merged with Boston Community Leadership Academy in 2021 Louis Agassiz Elementary School closed in 2011 Mechanics Arts High School Middle School Academy Alternative school closed in 2015 Mission Hill School Pilot closed in 2022 Odyssey High School closed in 2011 Now Boston Green Academy Patrick F Gavin School closed in 2011 now UP Academy Rogers Middle School closed in 2015 Roslindale High School Roxbury Memorial High School Now Boston Latin Academy South Boston High School Now Excel South Boston High School Washington Irving Middle School closed 2022 West Roxbury Education Complex closed 2019 See also edit nbsp United States portal nbsp Schools portal METCOReferences edit Office of the Superintendent Office of the Superintendent bostonpublicschools org a b Contact Information Boston 00350000 Massachusetts Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education Per Pupil Expenditures Statewide Report Profiles doe mass edu February 7 2019 Retrieved August 21 2019 a b Teacher Data 2021 22 Boston 00350000 Boston Public Schools at a Glance 2009 2010 PDF Boston Public Schools February 25 2010 Archived from the original PDF on November 10 2010 Retrieved November 17 2010 Massachusetts Department Of Elementary And Secondary Education 2017 18 SAT Performance Report All Students Statewide Report Profiles doe mass edu September 20 2018 Retrieved August 21 2019 Enrollment Data 2017 18 Boston 00350000 profiles doe mass edu School Committee Members Nomination and Appointment Procedure BPS Website Archived December 3 2008 at the Wayback Machine Founding Legislation Chapter 108 BPS Website Archived July 9 2010 at the Wayback Machine Boston School Committee appoints John McDonough as interim Superintendent Boston Public Schools www bostonpublicschools org Archived from the original on August 7 2013 External Actors and the Boston Public Schools The Courts the Business Community and the Mayor Archived October 6 2007 at the Wayback Machine Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Robert R Spillane Boston Public Schools superintendent in early 1980s dies at 80 The Boston Globe bostonglobe com a b c About Boston Public Schools Archived October 4 2006 at the Wayback Machine United Nations Associate of the United States of America UNA USA Notable Events in Massachusetts History www masshome com Pohle Allison April 26 2016 Mass dedicates 2 million to testing lead in public school water fountains Boston com The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved March 12 2018 Massachusetts public schools get 2M to help test for lead in drinking water WCVB April 26 2016 Retrieved March 12 2018 Massachusetts Officials Announce Additional 750 000 for Drinking Water Tests at Public Schools www mass gov November 15 2016 Retrieved March 12 2018 Vaznis James November 18 2021 Boston Public Schools enrollment drops below 50 000 students for the first time in decades The Boston Globe Retrieved November 24 2021 Cronin Colleen Russell Jenna December 16 2021 Boston School Committee votes to close three schools The Boston Globe Retrieved December 16 2021 Toness Bianca Vazquez Vaznis James January 31 2022 BPS may have overstated graduation rate for five of last seven years The Boston Globe Retrieved March 18 2022 Vaznis James March 18 2022 State to conduct second review of Boston Public Schools amid concerns it could pursue receivership The Boston Globe Retrieved March 18 2022 Larkin Max March 18 2020 What The State Sees Inside Boston Public Schools Change Bright Spots And Lots of Dysfunction WBUR Retrieved March 19 2022 Martin Naomi March 22 2022 Mayor Wu urges state education board against Boston Public Schools takeover The Boston Globe Retrieved March 22 2022 Lannan Katie March 22 2022 Receivership counterproductive for Boston schools Wu says WBUR Retrieved March 22 2022 Toness Bianca Vazquez May 5 2022 Boston School Committee votes to shutter Mission Hill School The Boston Globe Retrieved May 6 2022 Martin Naomi April 27 2022 Scathing investigation prompts Boston superintendent to recommend closing failed Mission Hill School The Boston Globe Retrieved May 6 2022 Huffaker Christopher Martin Naomi December 2 2022 Boston Public Schools enrollment drops for 8th consecutive year The Boston Globe Retrieved December 3 2022 Health of Boston 2024 PDF Report Boston Public Health Commission 2024 Retrieved March 27 2024 Daniel Seth March 21 2024 Boston targets 21M to combat youth mental health crisis Dorchester Reporter Retrieved March 27 2024 Ofulue Camille November 4 2021 Redlining in Boston How the Architects of the Past Have Shaped Boston s Future The BPR Retrieved March 18 2024 a b c Can We Talk Learning from Boston s Busing Desegregation Crisis YouTube Mercer Media Relations 14 Sept 2012 www youtube com watch v 4D8PtwUZkGc amp t 1725s a b The Boston Busing Crisis Story 1974 1975 YouTube Unstripped Voice 14 Dec 2016 www youtube com watch v ZgM9sX7deOs Vaznis James September 21 2010 School bus delays anger parents Boston s new software causes late pickups The Boston Globe Johnson Akilah January 30 2012 Hub school bus drivers gave warning of route troubles Boston com Retrieved October 29 2021 Bookmark Thomas McMahon Boston school bus contract goes to Veolia www schoolbusfleet com Retrieved October 29 2021 Boston school bus drivers end wildcat strike but city officials wary Christian Science Monitor October 9 2013 ISSN 0882 7729 Retrieved October 29 2021 After Morning Delays BPS Bus Routes Staffed www wbur org August 26 2014 Retrieved October 29 2021 More than 10 percent of city school buses are late despite MIT s help The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 On the first day more Boston school buses arrived late The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 Problems persist with missing delayed Boston school buses The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 It isn t just Boston that has school bus problems The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 Late school buses continue to plague Boston students The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 Boston Public Schools superintendent hires consultant to fix tardy buses The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 Busing woes plague Boston s first day of school The Boston Globe BostonGlobe com Retrieved October 29 2021 Neuman Scott September 15 2021 Massachusetts Calls On The National Guard To Mitigate A School Bus Driver Shortage NPR Retrieved October 29 2021 Top 10 Largest School Districts by Enrollment and Per Pupil Current Spending United States Census Bureau May 21 2019 a b Student Assignment Policy Archived June 13 2010 at the Wayback Machine Boston Public Schools Retrieved on April 15 2009 WBUR http www wbur org 2009 06 03 school choice http www bostonschoolchoice org Archived 2013 08 17 at the Wayback Machine Boston public schools map switch aims to amend 500 years of distortion The Guardian March 19 2017 Retrieved March 21 2017 Student arrested for violent attack on principal staff member at Henderson School in Dorchester the Boston Globe The Boston Globe Brighton s Hamilton Elementary slated to close major reorganization for other local schools External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Public schools in Boston Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools boston k12 ma us at the Wayback Machine archive index Broad Prize for Urban Education LINC III Technology Plan Careers with BPS City of Boston Boston Teachers Union The James W Fraser collector photograph collection 1905 1976 bulk 1974 1976 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries Archives and Special Collections Department Boston MA The Citywide Educational Coalition records 1972 2001 are located in the Northeastern University Libraries Archives and Special Collections Department Boston MA Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Boston Public Schools amp oldid 1215889308, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, 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