Our WorkTopics:Student AssignmentPrivatization of EducationBoston Compact and Unified EnrollmentFacilities, Resources, and School ClosingsStudent AssignmentSee also:QUEST position statement onStudent Assignmentandin Further Reading:Student Assignment * “Timeline of Home-Based student assignment, 2012-2018” * Letter: School zone plans fly in face of Boston parents’ wish for quality, by Harneen Chernow, October 10, 2012 * Op Ed: "Making quality and justice keys to BPS plans,” by Mary Battenfeld and Megan Wolf, Jamaica Plain Gazette, December 21, 2012 * Press release: “BPS parents skeptical about new school assignment proposals,” January 23, 2013 * Petition to “Slow down the assignment plan” * Letter to External Advisory Committee about assignment proposal, January 30, 2013 * Press release: “BOSTON parent group takes position on school assignment proposals,” February 20, 2013 * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Sai Samant and Megan Wolf), “Parents discuss school choice and equity,” February 27, 2013 * Paper on Student Assignment, prior to the adoption of the Home-Based plan * Op Ed: “Neighborhood over school quality,” by Mary Battenfeld, Boston Globe, March 1, 2013 * Letter to School Committee Chair after adoption of home-based assignment plan, April 26, 2013 * Questions about school assignment, 2014 * Letter to Superintendent after adoption of home-based assignment plan * Press release: “Parents give Boston School Committee cake and criticism for failure to review BPS student assignment plan,” April 5, 2017 * Forum with Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts and Union of Minority Neighborhoods, “Whose children? What schools? Unveiling the politics of school assignment in Boston,” October 21, 2017 * Joint student assignment letter, January 2018 Privatization of EducationSee also:QUEST position statement onPrivatization of Educationandin Further Reading:Privatization, Charters, and Portfolio Districts * Petition: “Adequate Funding for Public Education and Maintaining the Charter Cap," March 12, 2014 * Press release: “More than 1000 sign Boston parent group petition to fully fund education and keep charter cap,” March 18, 2014 * Letter: “Don’t lift the cap until impact is fully understood,” by Megan Wolf, Boston Globe, March 19, 2014 * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Mary Battenfeld and Kevin Murray), “Parents voice concerns over charter school expansions,” April 3, 2014 * Op Ed: “We’re real parents in a real crisis,” by Mary Battenfeld, Washington Post, April 13, 2014 * Press release: “BPS parents call on Massachusetts legislature to ‘keep the [charter] cap’,” May 20, 2014 * Op Ed: “State should keep the cap on charters,” by Mary Battenfeld, Boston Globe: Podium, May 23, 2014 * Press release: “BPS parents urge senators to reject charter cap expansion,” July 1, 2014 * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Maura O’Toole and Megan Wolf), discussion of lifting the cap on the number of charter schools, July 8, 2014 * Petition: “Maintain the charter cap and support district public schools,” July 12, 2014 * Letter: More charter schools are not the answer, by Harneen Chernow, Boston Globe, November 3, 2014 * Interview on WBUR (Mary Battenfeld), “Charter schools and public schools: Is there another way?” March 24, 2015 * Letter: “Boston parents say ‘NO’ on 2,” by Mary Battenfeld and Odette Williamson, Beacon Hill Times, November 4, 2016 * Petition: QUEST and YOUNG Coalition, “Bostonians say NO to lifting the charter cap,” October 21, 2016 Boston Compact and Unified EnrollmentSee also:in Further Reading:Boston Compact and Unified Enrollment in Boston and Nationally * Press release: “BOSTON parent group questions renewing Boston Compact and pursuing a unified lottery,” September 17, 2015 * Flyer: “Unified enrollment: including charter schools in the BPS assignment system?” October 2015 * Press release: “Attorney general rules that charter-district group is not subject to state open meeting laws,” July 12, 2016 * Paper: “Enroll Boston: A dangerous plan for our students and our schools,” September 18, 2017 * Press release: “Boston parents call on Mayor Walsh to abandon unified enrollment plan for city public schools,” September 19, 2017 * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Mary Battenfeld and Kevin Murray), “Parents question combined school enrollment,” September 27, 2017 Facilities, Resources, and School ClosingsSee also:QUEST position statement onFacilities, Resources, and School Closingsandin Further Reading:Facilities, Resources, and Build BPS * Workshop on the budget with Citywide Parent Council, February 8, 2015 * Statement on school closings at budget hearings, March 2015 * Press release: “BPS parents press for increased transparency after school closings controversy,” November 22, 2015 * Press release: “Boston parents demand full disclosure regarding plan for city’s public schools,” November 30, 2015 * Press release: “Parent group uncovers ‘McKinsey Report,’ rejects legitimacy of audit of Boston Public Schools” April 29, 2016 * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Kevin Murray), “Group disputes facilities report,” May 5, 2016 * Press release: “BPS parents release e-mails showing City Hall’s secretive plans on school closings,” June 7, 2016 * “QUEST Summary of Emails Released June 7, 2016” * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Kevin Murray), “Group airs process emails,” June 14, 2016 * Interview on Boston Neighborhood Network News (Mary Battenfeld), “Parent reacts to ‘BuildBPS framework,” March 3, 2017 * Op-ed: "Where is the road map for Boston Public Schools facilities?," May 22, 2018 * Community Groups' Statement on Build BPS and School Closings, November 14, 2018
