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Takeover of the BPS by the State? Pro and anti in the Globe today, with Julia Mejia standing up for those closest to the issues:
"Making the move to take BPS into receivership is inherently anti-democratic in a time when 78 percent of Boston voters approve of returning to an elected School Committee. Parents, teachers, students, and members of the community want more of a voice, not less. But the discussions surrounding a potential BPS receivership represent yet another decision being made about us, without us. And for the parents who have been crying out for decades that they want to be engaged in their children’s education, this is yet another attempt at creating barrier after barrier that stands in the way of a school district where all voices can be heard."
www.bostonglobe.com
Making the move to take BPS into receivership is inherently anti-democratic in a time when 78 percent of Boston voters approve of returning to an elected school committee.Boston students walk out this morning, call for remote learning and stronger COVID-19 safety measures - The Boston Globe
www.bostonglobe.com
Students across the Boston Public Schools system walked out of class Friday morning in an effort to urge officials to provide remote learning options and stronger COVID-19 safety measures.More on the Charlestown HS proposal. Thanks to teacher Cole Moran for this. "While there are some promising initiatives outlined in the proposal such as a fully funded co-teaching model — some of which students and staff support — the wholesale remaking of the school without community input smacks of elitism and circumvents democratic safeguards meant to ensure all children receive an equal education." !!!
BPS needs a democratic vision for the future of open-enrollment schools - The Boston Globe
www.bostonglobe.com
My colleagues and I vehemently oppose the plan to ‘innovate’ Charlestown High School.The recent push to change Charlestown High School into an innovation school, making all teachers reapply for their jobs and giving priority to students from certain neighborhoods is based on the premise that the school is a "failing school." Here's some background about how that's measured and what that means for a school like Charlestown.
Is Charlestown High a “failing school”? Is your school? How can you tell?
schoolyardnews.com
A new approach piloted in Boston offers more meaningful and actionable information than state ratingsAdvocacy for Quality, Equity, and Transparency Within the Boston Public Schools System
QUEST Parents Release Analysis of Boston Public School Fundraising
April 13, 2021
In 2018, Boston Public Schools did an audit of private fundraising in its 125 schools. The information was quietly released in school-by-school reports.
QUEST has now collated the data in easy-to-read spreadsheet, examined it for racial and socio-economic inequities, and requests further study and policies to address the disparities. We believe it’s especially critical to pay attention to this information now, as Boston examines its exam school admissions policies and schools struggle to recover from the effects of Covid-19.
Current issues QUEST is focused on:
Facilities, Resources and School Closings
Quality education requires a commitment by the school district to the efficient, sustained, and equitable use of resources.
Privatization of Education
Public education, including its physical facilities, is a public good that should be under community control.
Student Assignment
All students should have equitable access to quality school options through a transparent and accessible system of school assignment.
ABOUT QUEST
QUEST (Quality Education for Every Student) is a volunteer grassroots organization of parents with children in Boston Public Schools. Founded in 2012, the group initially came together over concerns about the inequities of proposed changes to the BPS assignment system. We continue to ask how education policies and practices can help to dismantle past oppression, increase opportunity, and provide greater access to quality education for all.
Copyright © 2018 QUEST