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Big news for exam school admissions!
"The Supreme Court has declined to review an elite public school admissions process based on zip codes. The court's action was the second time the justices declined to intervene in an admissions program based on geography since their 2023 ruling invalidating affirmative action in higher education."
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Boston's school admissions policy
www.npr.org
The court's action was the second time the justices declined to intervene in an admissions program based on geography since their 2023 ruling invalidating affirmative action in higher education. So many reasons Linda McMahon is supremely unqualified to be the Secretary of Education. Share just 1 on this petition.
Tell Your Senators to Vote "No" for Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education
actionnetwork.org
The Network for Public Education Action strongly opposes the nomination of Linda McMahon as U.S. Secretary of Education. Ms. McMahon is unqualified and inexperienced in school governance. She has demo...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Been thinking about what’s coming for education under Trump? Read this, by Tracy O’Connell Novick.
A couple of election-related education stories you may have missed this week
who-cester.blogspot.com
I'm planning on doing both a "because careful what you wish for/gosh, I wish people would actually read my Board of Ed coverage" post on Q...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
QUEST members are mourning the loss of our long time member and friend Karen Oil, who passed away last week. Karen was a passionate advocate for educational justice and justice of all kinds. She brought her lived experience, academic knowledge, and professional experience to our work, and she always reminded us to focus on those students with the greatest needs and those communities with the least political power.
We send our deepest condolences to her wife Janet and her daughter Olive. Information about remembrances and ways to honor Karen’s memory can be found in the link.
Karen Oil Obituary - Brookline, MA
www.dignitymemorial.com
Celebrate the life of Karen Oil, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Levine Chapels.3 CommentsComment on Facebook
We will miss you Karen. You touched many lives in both big and quiet ways. Working with Quest you were a strong public education advocate. Love to Janet and Olive during this very painful time. Karen Oil. Presente!
I am so very sorry to hear this news. Karen’s passion and voice will be missed. My condolences to Janet, Olive, and all of her loved ones ❤️
I am so very sorry to learn of Karen’s passing. She was always a kind, thoughtful and caring person, and her memory will be a blessing. My deepest sympathy to Janet and all who loved her.
Can another consultant help get facilities planning right this time?
Lots of community members have been in this discussion longer than current BPS employees. Will you let us help?
www.bostonglobe.com
The consultant also would assist BPS with standardizing the district’s process to close and merge schools with an emphasis on equity and what is best for students and families, according to the requ...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Advocacy for Quality, Equity, and Transparency Within the Boston Public Schools System
Boston school facilities data project
Have you heard rumors that BPS is planning to merge and close schools in the district?
In 2023, Boston Public Schools embarked on a project called Reimagine School Funding, seeking to update its school funding policy in a collaborative way. BPS invited a variety of stakeholders and personnel to work on the project, including a steering committee, a principal working group, a funding policy design working group, and consultants, sixty people in all.
At the end of the yearlong process, a report was written making recommendations and reviewing intended impact. To date, the report has not been released publicly, despite requests. QUEST believes that the work of the Project should be made public and in the interest of transparency, is releasing the report here.
We especially applaud the recommendations of the committee that BPS “collect and make available all revenue information by school, inclusive of philanthropy, fundraising, and other private sources” (page 28), echoing QUEST’s ongoing work on equity in funding and private fundraising in schools.
NOTE: When the Reimagine School Funding project was announced, QUEST asked to bring our historical knowledge and equity perspective to the new plan through a seat on the working group. Our participation was denied.
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
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Three cheers for the minds that came up with this approach! It needs some refinement, but this decision suggests a new direction for affirmative admissions programs of all sorts.