0 Without Quality, Is there Really Choice for Boston Families?

At the most recent community meetings regarding the school assignment proposals Boston Public Schools (BPS) presented to the External Advisory Committee on School Assignment (EAC), the most common question or comment from the public is still regarding the lack of quality schools in Boston. Though long, it is informative to watch the video from the February 4, 2013 Community Forum.

From the beginning of this process on March 10, 2012, the consistent feedback from the public has revolved around the lack of quality schools in BPS, not whether a school is close to home, which was the original focus of the new assignment proposals by BPS. Of course, schools close to home are also popular, but since many families do not have a high-performing school, or in some cases any schools at all, close to home the public has continued to focus on the lack of "quality" schools in Boston. Because of the push-back by individuals and groups, BPS and the EAC turned their focus to "equity access to quality seats." 

Equity access does not mean equity assignment which is a distinction that needs to be made. Just because a new model may bump your chances up by 2.9 - 6.0% does not mean your child will actually get assigned a seat at that quality school, only that you have a statistically better chance of it happening, in theory. Unfortunately, equity access to seats in quality schools will not fix the underlying issue which is that there are few quality schools overall, therefor the number of seats available stay the same whether we re-draw or eliminate the lines on our maps. 

In addition to the lack of seats available, is the issue that we also lack the ability to add seats at many of our schools, high-performing or not. This became more evident to me at the community forum held at the Trotter school when one woman said that no matter which proposal the EAC picked, students in Dorchester and Roxbury would continue to be bused out of their "home district" due to the lack of capacity to add seats at any of the schools. 

BPS is proposing to expand capacity at schools, but having gone through the exploration process at the Mozart without success I am well aware of how much red-tape is involved along with what could potentially be lost to accommodate such additions: children placed into "modular classrooms" (trailers) and playgrounds eliminated just as an example. And after a year of exploring the options to merge the Mozart and Bates or add seats at either of them we found out it could not be done primarily due to push-back from neighbors, so I tend to be skeptical that BPS would have better success in the more highly-populated areas of the city.

In a district which has 79 elementary, K-8 and middle schools, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Accountability data our BPS elementary and K-8 schools fall into the following designations:

13 schools have "insufficient data"*
9 schools are "Level 1"
17 schools are "Level 2"
32 schools are "Level 3"
8 schools are "Level 4"

Boston Public Schools District overall is designated as "Level 4" and determined as "Needs Intervention" for special education technical assistance or intervention. 

Understanding DESE designations is important to understanding how BPS is now classifying schools into a "Tier" system under their new proposals. Below is the explanation of what each level represents:

Accountability and Assistance Level: Massachusetts' Framework for District Accountability and Assistance classifies schools and districts on a five-level scale, classifying the highest performing in Level 1 and lowest performing in Level 5. Eighty percent of schools are classified into Level 1 or 2 based on the cumulative PPI for the "all students" and high needs groups. 

For a school to be classified into Level 1, the cumulative PPI for both the "all students" group and high needs students must be 75 or higher. If not, the school is classified into Level 2. A school may also be classified into Level 2 if it has low MCAS participation rates for any group (between 90 and 94%).

Schools are classified into Level 3 if they are among the lowest 20 percent relative to other schools in their grade span statewide, if one or more subgroups in the school are among the lowest performing 20% of subgroups relative to all subgroups statewide, if they have persistently low graduation rates (less than 60% for any subgroup over a four-year period), or if they have very low MCAS participation rates for any group (less than 90%). 

The lowest achieving, least improving Level 3 schools are candidates for classification into Levels 4 and 5, the most serious designations in Massachusetts' accountability system. 

*A small number of schools each year will not be classified into a level: small schools, schools ending in grades 1 or 2, new schools, or schools that were substantially reconfigured.

In general, a district is classified into the level of its lowest performing school, unless the district was independently classified into Level 4 or 5 as a result of action by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

For more information regarding the data used by the DESE to classify schools and districts, please read the DESE Accountability Report.

According to the DESE data above and explanation of the levels, this means that of the 79 elementary, K-8 and middle schools over 50% (50.632911% or 40 schools) are in "the lowest 20 percent relative to other schools in their grade span statewide" or are "the lowest achieving, least improving Level 3 schools". BPS has 57,000 students, of which there are 6,366 students in Level 4 schools (11.2%) and 23,763 students in Level 3 schools (41.8%) for a total of 30,129 BPS students in the lowest performing schools (53%). 

For the purpose of the new BPS assignment proposals, a colorful rating system  (green being best and red being worst) has been added on the maps which indicates three "quality indicators":

MCAS Tier Level
DESE MCAS Level (Spring 2012 data)
Popularity (Choice data)

According to this new BPS Tier system, the following is a list of the schools and which Tier they fall into. This table does NOT include the middle schools, even those designated as part of a "feeder" pattern already (i.e. Irving or McCormack).


Please keep in mind that all of the BPS data used to predict school choice patterns and the quality levels of schools for their proposals is based only on school years' 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 MCAS results and information regarding new students (no siblings) during Round 1 Kindergarten registration data. This means there is no current analysis which takes into account how the information would change when impacted by choices made for children over the age of 5, new students who have sibling preference, families who do not take part during round 1, transfers, students who are English Language Learners (ELL) or students with disabilities (SWD) whose school choice is designated primarily via their Individual Education Plan (IEP) pursuant to special education laws or other pertinent data I have not outlined here. 

I am providing all of the above in an attempt to help create a better understanding of how BPS currently designates schools as "quality" schools and is predicting choice patterns for incoming students. 

Myself included, many families do not choose a school based on the MCAS designation or because other people choose a school; we pick a school based on what our individual child needs and how the schools in our choice set match up with what we quantify as being important for our family and child. One of my daughters' is in a Level 3 school because despite it's designation as such, I know from 3.5 years experience that the school is actually a quality school which is only now starting to show the progress that can be made with a dynamic principal and dedicated staff. Of course, since each family chooses schools based on individual need and assessment, this means there is no concrete manner to evaluate exactly how families will choose a school, but I give credit to BPS and the MIT partners who have used what they  have available to make generalized predictions for this process.

Many people made similar observations as I do above at the community meetings held March - June, 2012 so the EAC came up with a definition of a quality school:

Acknowledging that quality varies for each individual, the EAC Defining Quality and Equitable Access Subcommittee – with its members’ expertise, community feedback, and BPS research on quality – has drafted the following preliminary definition of a quality school to include: 

•Academic excellence and student academic growth in all grades, across all subgroups of race, ethnicity, English Language Learners and students with disabilities; 

•Principal effectiveness and teacher excellence with caring teachers and school staff;

•Parent engagement and a sense of community within and outside of the school;

•Effective community partnerships; 

•Focus on the development of the whole child and the needs of all learners, through arts, music, athletics, and program and course offerings;

•Safe and positive school climate including social and emotional support; 

•Adequate and appropriate facilities; and,

•As close to home as possible.

BPS acknowledged that not all of the components listed above can be measured by current data and that they will work toward creating a way to measure quality using the above definition. As all of the above are in line with my recent article regarding school climate and I have submitted my proposal for increasing the number of quality schools in Boston to Dr. Johnson, my hope is they incorporate some of my suggestions.

Unfortunately, whether the EAC picks one of the Home-based models or the modified 10 zone aka the new "11 zone" assignment model, we still have a serious problem in BPS regarding the lack of quality schools within the district. As it is unlikely that any of the 40 schools that fall into the lowest performing levels is miraculously going to become a level 1 or 2 in time for the registration process to begin in January 2014, the choices families may have under the new proposals could be even more limited and lead to further inequities across the city. 

I understand and agree that we need a new assignment model for a number of reasons, but as an advocate for students and public education I want to be sure that we are not only simplifying the process for families, but are also ensuring that every child receives a superior educational experience no matter which school in Boston they may attend. I truly believe that Boston can provide every student with an exceptional education in all our schools if they are given the funding and resources necessary to improve, not measured by MCAS testing alone.

Before a school assignment proposal is chosen, I urge you as current and potential families and community members, to get involved now. Attend an EAC meeting (listed on right side of bostonschoolchoice.org site) if possible. We should all be calling and writing/emailing the EAC members, BPS Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson, the Boston School Committee (BSC) members, Mayor Menino and our elected officials to insist that detailed, concrete plans to increase the quality at each of our schools be produced by BPS prior to the Boston School Committee voting to pass any proposal recommended by the EAC and Dr. Johnson. A complete list of email addresses for the people listed above is available here.

The only way to provide true equity for all students is to ensure that all of our schools are high-performing, quality schools. Unless we have detailed plans to improve quality for every school and the guarantee of funding (in writing by BPS and Boston city officials) to put those plans in motion as well as benchmarks to assess their effectiveness for each school, our students are at risk of simply being guinea pigs for a new assignment model. 

If you would like to contact me with questions/comments or send me a copy of your emails to any of those I listed above, please email me at bpsnightmare@gmail.com.

0 Increasing the Number of Quality Schools in Boston: School Climate

Whether we realize it or not, when selecting a school to send our child to, we all assess the climate of each school we examine prior to making our choices regarding the school we would like our child to attend. We have all gone into schools which feel friendly, inviting, and supportive, and others which feel exclusionary, unwelcoming, and even unsafe. These feelings, attitudes, and the reputations which evolve from a school’s environment are referred to as school climate. This is true whether we live in Boston or a suburb.

School climate has been recognized by educators and researchers as one of the key ingredients to whether a school succeeds or fails. Boston Public Schools recognizes the importance of school climate and in fact attempts to measure it through their annual "School Climate Survey" which is sent to every BPS family as well as teachers and students who each receive their own version of the survey. Unfortunately, the rate of response is extremely low as you can see in BPS' school climate reports from 2010 (seems to be the most recent one online):

• Out of 56,486 surveys sent to families, only 7,598 were returned which equals 13.5%. 
• Out of 4,401 surveys sent to teachers, 2,258 were returned which equals 53.3% which is better, but still makes me wonder why didn't all the teachers return these? 
• Out of 41,491 (survey is only given to grades 3-12) surveys given to students, only 23,840 were returned which equals 57.5%. My problem with this one is: this was given in school, via pencil and paper, so how come all of them were not returned? Check out pages 3 and 4 for individual school numbers, quite interesting!

As we are now in the midst of trying to create a new assignment system for Boston schools, there has been quite a bit of conversation regarding "quality" schools. For the purpose of producing the required models requested by the External Advisory Committee on School Assignment (EAC), the measurement regarding which "tier" a school falls into regarding their level of "quality" are being based solely on two years of MCAS scores: achievement (2/3) and the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) (1/3). According to Patricia Kinsella, a QUEST member who attended the January 23, 2013 EAC meeting, the people who came up with SGP as a measure said that it should never be used to evaluate schools because there is no way to know what part of growth came from school and what came from non-school factors. Many of us who attended the EAC meetings have additional concerns about the chosen measurement tools as there are issues regarding whether they should be used, how often review of a school's "tier" should occur and more.  

Right now parents can review each school's "Report Card" (BPS Report on Teaching and Learning) on the BPS website, which gives a profile of the school inclusive of racial and socio-economic status, types of students (regular ed - ELL), MCAS and NAEP scores and a brief written description submitted by school personnel. 

The issue with the use of the above tools for measuring a school is that though we arm ourselves with the information, many parents, myself included, have chosen schools for our children despite what the BPS information tells us about a school. I toured schools, asked questions, spoke with teachers and parents and then ranked my choices with the highest weight given to my own feelings about each school and honestly, the test scores really were not as relevant to me. Of course, we should also recognize that what feels perfect to one parent may feel horrible to another parent because we are each individuals. Because of the low response rate regarding school climate, even with the BPS surveys which I do believe ask the right questions, we can not really utilize the climate reports when assessing a school's climate which seems to be one of the top factors parents consider when choosing a school, according to years of conversation on choosing schools with others.

In November I submitted my application to the Citizen Nominating Panel (CNP) for the open Boston School Committee (BSC) seat. The application was made up of twelve questions regarding everything from experience to specific school district priorities. One of the questions specifically asked how I would address school climate. Considering the importance of the ongoing discussions district-wide on how to assess schools and what factors contribute to parents' choice of schools, I am sharing my answer to the climate question with all of you below as I feel it is an important piece that has been left out of how we rank each school for their quality standing. I will also share my suggestions with Dr. Johnson and the BSC at their next meeting. 

Question: Given the diversity of the students in the Boston Public Schools, how would you address the school climate?

My answer:

School climate is influenced by several factors inclusive of:

• Norms, values and expectations that support people feeling socially, emotionally and physically safe.
• All members of each school community being engaged and respected.
• Students, families and staff working together to develop, live and contribute to a shared school vision.
• All staff’s modeling and nurturing attitudes that emphasize the benefits and satisfaction gained from learning.
• Each person’s contribution to the operations of the school and the care of the physical environment.

Each School’s climate is also influenced by unique factors:

• The physical environment of the school,
• The characteristics and mix of students, teachers and parents who are members of the school community, 
• Connections between the school and its surrounding neighborhood, 
• Social interactions within the school, 
• The leadership role played by the school principal, 
• The morale of the teaching staff, 
• Teaching practices in classrooms, and 
• The formal school policies.

I believe that addressing school climate begins with ensuring collaboration among the principal, personnel, students and their families. The key to creating effective team-work leading to school success is the principal as she or he generally sets the tone for the entire school. An effective principal is a strong leader who is able to motivate the school staff regarding the importance of performance and focuses on results as well as fostering a safe, supportive, and rigorous climate for everyone. The most successful principals will create an environment where teachers, staff, students and families feel that they are respected and share in the fundamental operations of the school thus providing multiple opportunities for each to develop new ideas and methods, assume leadership roles and contribute to the success of not only these individual groups, but also the school as a whole. In addition, these principals are able to galvanize everyone to work toward higher expectations and achievement for every student by utilizing effective instructional practices that nurture and challenge, take into account the diversity of the school population and are culturally relevant. A sustainable, positive school climate fosters youth development and the learning necessary for a productive, contributing and satisfying life in society. This positive climate will generally lead to higher success rates for all of the students within the school. 

To address the climate of the schools in Boston, I suggest that we assess all of our schools to find out if they already have a principal like the one described above as well as assessing whether we have highly qualified staff at the school, whether there are facility or safety issues which need to be addressed, the level of family and community engagement taking place, and students', parents' and school personnel's experience of school life. I realize we have school climate surveys annually which may help in any assessment, but historically the response rates to those surveys is extremely low, so we should seek other ways to accurately assess each of our schools going forward. 

One way we should consider evaluating our schools’ climates is by creating deliberate sets of focus groups for each school as I have found that staff and families become much more open and solution-focused when in a group discussing the issues that need to be addressed rather than just taking an individual survey. These focus groups, in addition to the SPC and SSC, could then become another tool to increase the engagement of students, staff and families toward the goal of whole school improvement and fostering a more inclusive school climate. 

At both the Mozart, under Al Taylor, and at the Irving with Arthur Unobskey, I have seen exactly the type of principal I described above and I have worked closely with both of them to help turn what were once under-selected schools into schools which are now highly-selected, or on the way to becoming such a school as I truly believe the Irving will become the best middle school in Boston within the next few years. I have also had the honor of working closely with the staff of both schools by forming partnerships that have led to greater family and community involvement and pride in each school as well as allowing us to work as a cohesive team to move the schools forward by improving content-area and elective curricula, methods and practices, obtaining the funding necessary for each school to improve the academic, arts, physical education and extra-curricular offerings and to purchase much needed supplies, computers and other items necessary for the schools to provide every student with a rigorous and relevant educational experience. I also continue to advocate for my children and all of the students of each school by encouraging, and sometimes pushing, the principals and staff toward higher goals for themselves and each student as well as thinking “outside the box” to improve each school. 

If a school does not have a principal like the one described above, we should encourage the Superintendent to either create professional development which can assist the current principal to develop these traits and abilities, or hire principals with these traits and abilities. We should start with the schools which are under-performing first and then move on to the other schools as necessary. As we increase the number of schools within the district which have a positive school climate, the climate of the district as a whole should become more positive which is a goal I believe all of us would like to achieve.

In addition to the answer I gave on my application above, please consider the following when thinking about how school climate affects each school and families' choice:

I picked the Mozart prior to most of the data we now have available being created and despite being told "Oh no! You do not want to send your daughter there, it is a horrible school!" (by a BPS central office administrator fyi!) because of the reputation that person had heard (which was a few years out of date). Unfortunately, poor reputations of our schools persist even years after positive change has occurred which I see all the time with the Irving despite the phenomenal progress we have made! 


I chose the Mozart as my first choice for kindergarten for my daughter because I toured the school, asked questions, spoke with teachers and parents and, lol, because the Principal, then Al Taylor, was the ONLY BPS principal who, upon learning that I was Chair of the BPS SpedPAC at that time, was thrilled by that information (instead of the usual gritted teeth and "polite" smile I usually encountered). The school felt wonderful and everything I learned during my tour and by speaking with families and staff made me sure it was the school I wanted my precious daughter in, so I was thankful when she got her assignment to the Mozart that March. 

Three years later I again chose the Mozart as my first choice for her sister, my other precious daughter, because my feelings about the school had proved correct as my older daughter was receiving a fabulous education and thriving there. My younger daughter also obtained a K1 seat at the Mozart and we were a proud Mozart family for the past ten years! 



As for the Irving school, when choosing it for my oldest daughter, if you read my piece regarding Advanced Work Class under the new proposals, you already know I took a leap of faith during the registration process. What I did not mention in the AWC article is that when looking at middle schools for my son in 1998-99, due to the unwelcoming attitude of the AWC teacher for a child with ADHD as well as my experience as an advocate who attended several meetings at the Irving over the years, I swore that my children would never attend the Irving. Seriously, the climate of the school was so horrendous that it gave off a depressing vibe due to the actions of the prior admistrators.

Thankfully, in June 2009 (prior to my daughter starting sixth grade in September), due to community pressure, Dr. Johnson removed the former principal and appointed Arthur Unobskey as the new Irving Principal. 

Because of the partnerships formed between Mr. Unobskey and members of the Roslindale Pathway Advisory Group (RPAG) as well as the larger community, we started to see improvements at the Irving within the first year as reported by the Roslindale Transcript in January 2010. The formation of the Roslindale K-8 Pathway in March 2010 added yet another sense of urgency to the staff of the Irving to improve outcomes for every student at the school and the whole school, and as a bonus I observed a complete turn-around to the climate within the Irving. The team-work and shared leadership which developed as a result of the improved climate at the school, as well as expanding our school day, have all contributed to the amazing progress we have seen our Irving students make in  a short amount of time, inclusive of our 6th grade students making a 29% increase in growth on the 2012 Math MCAS!

I would strongly urge Dr. Johnson, BPS, the BSC and EAC members to all consider the lessons we can learn from the Irving and the Roslindale Pathway when attempting to designate which schools are truly "quality schools". In addition to the recommendations I make in my answer, I suggest utilizing what we learned at the Irving and incorporating key elements, such as putting in place an advisory group of parents from each of the schools in the new pathways, as "best practices" for helping the schools which are still struggling. 

And for those of you wondering, I did get get asked to interview with the CNP for the open BSC seat and I am proud that, after the interview with the twelve-member panel, the CNP recommended me as one of the candidates for the Mayor to consider for the open seat, which I see as a great accomplishment. As expected though, Michael O'Neill was re-appointed to the BSC for another four year term and I congratulate him on his re-appointment. 

4 Defining Quality Schools in Boston

Until we have a definition of "quality schools" that is accepted by the majority, how can we accurately evaluate the proposals made by Boston Public Schools? The consensus is that not all BPS schools are considered "quality schools", so who are the winners and who is going to end up getting the short-end of the stick once a model is accepted and passed by the school committee? 

After further perusal of the models proposed by the Boston Public Schools' to the External Advisory Committee (EAC), there are many unanswered questions that need clarification. Many of them have been raised on Facebook, email lists and through conversations, hopefully we will get answers to them soon.

A few issues many of us are encountering while trying to evaluate the proposed models are:

• "walk zone" in the proposed models is not clearly explained and many of us have heard that there will be changes to what constitutes the walk zones once a new model is put in place
• "grandfathering" of students in current schools is still up for discussion, so in effect, all of our students could be changing schools once a model is accepted! 

Both of the above concerns need to be addressed immediately to help families and community members understand exactly what they are evaluating and make decisions regarding how they would like to respond to the proposals.

In the meantime, the biggest problem remains: there is no way BPS can say that all children will receive a seat at a "quality school, close to home."  In fact, if "grandfathering" of current students is not approved, families who have children currently in what they consider a quality school could find their child moved to a school that is not as fortunate.

My list of major obstacles to achieving the goals set out by BPS:

1. We need to define quality first.
2. We need a commitment, in writing, that BPS and the City of Boston will commit to working with families to ensure that every school becomes a quality school. That means committing money, resources, possibly more personnel and working with groups who have already achieved some success with a project like this (like the RPAG with the Roslindale Pathway). 
3. WE, as parents and partners, need to commit time and energy, to ensure that every school becomes a quality school. We also need to commit to seeing the process through to the end.

In order to define quality, we must first survey everyone - not just the 2300 who responded during the first round of the School Choice process, but EVERYONE who is currently a Boston Public School family, those who live in Boston and could potentially send a child to one of the schools as well as partners and organizations who have already invested in BPS. I give BPS credit, they did ask for input from anyone and everyone by making the surveys available online and having community meetings. Unfortunately, for something this important, there should have been a lot more marketing of both the survey and the meetings. Even now, there needs to be a greater push by BPS for this feedback part of the process:

• Radio, TV, Newspapers, Web announcements, billboards, etc;
• Fliers sent to every school in Boston; if possible, even the charter and parochial schools as well as hospitals/health centers, community centers and groups and other organizations that serve children in Boston;
• ConnectEDs every week to all Boston residents (with several language translations) about taking part in either a meeting or the online survey;
• Utilize the SPC/SSC groups of each of our schools to get the word out; have Team BPS Ambassadors get the word out; and
• schedule more meetings if necessary!

I understand that this means spending money to do properly, but I am sure Mayor Menino and our City Council can find a way to fund this as it is so important to our city.

Now, BPS will say that they DID define quality, through the initial community meetings and online survey this past spring. I agree that we have a rough idea of what needs to go into the definition of "quality school" thanks to the participation of those who did respond to the first part of this process. I also believe that we can utilize the themes that came up with to further narrow down the definition:

• Participants spoke in terms of “equality” and “democracy”:  A quality education “builds character” and helps children become “productive and good citizens”;
• Participants see a quality education as: “preparing students” to “reach their full potential” and “succeed as an adult” in the world after his or her K-12 education. “serving the needs of all learners”;
• Participants see a quality education as:“more than academics”, as “holistic, creative and hands-on”, promoting “critical thinking”;  “child/student-centered” focused on the “whole child”;
• Participants believe that a quality education is: when “caring and excellent teachers” (who have “high expectations” for all learners) work with “strong school leaders” to form “relationships” with “involved parents” to foster a strong sense of “community” both “within and outside” of the school. Source: School Choice Report Spring 2012 updated August 2012

To see all of the data used by the EAC, please check out the External Advisory Committee Page which I am still wading through myself.

You will need to decide for yourself whether the above constitutes a "definition" of what a "quality school" is and I would love to hear your thoughts on this, so please comment or email me.

I for one believe the above is a good start, but still needs more work as it does not address how test scores, school report cards and facility environmental reports play into a families decision to send their child to a particular school. Physical issues are also important to what a "quality school" needs like safe and healthy environments and physical space, but also technology and materials (books for every student!). I could go on with this list, but I think you get the general idea.

I missed the meeting I wanted to attend on Thursday as the Irving's Back-to-School night took longer than expected, but plan on bringing up the above issues and suggestions as well as those I raised in my previous blogs at the next meeting I can attend. I hope to see you there!

ADDED 10/2/12:
The EAC DRAFT Quality Definition, per meeting materials on August 20, 2012

Revised Definition of Quality
Acknowledging that quality varies for each individual, the EAC Defining Quality and Equitable Access Subcommittee - with its members’ expertise, community feedback, and BPS research on quality - has drafted the following preliminary definition of a quality school to include:

• Academic excellence and student academic growth in all grades, across all subgroups of race, ethnicity, English Language Learners and students with disabilities
• Principal effectiveness and teacher excellence with caring teachers and school staff
• Parent engagement and a sense of community within and outside of the school
• Effective community partnerships
• Focus on the development of the whole child and the needs of all learners, through arts, music, athletics, and program and course offerings
• Safe and positive school climate including social and emotional support
• Adequate and appropriate facilities
• As close to home as possible

Special thanks to Megan for pointing this out to me, my brain must have been numb when I first went through that document, so am glad you saw it!  

I am still trying to get clarification on whether this definition of quality has been voted on and passed yet. So far, from other documents I have found to date it is still being referred to as a "draft" definition, but If I hear differently I will update this post.

2 Quality Schools Close to Home?

On the home page of the website created for the School Choice project, Boston School Choice, BPS states:

Boston Public Schools is working to improve school choice and student assignment. Join us to create a system that supports great choices with quality schools, close to home.

On the Why the Time is Right? page, there are many good reasons stated for why a change should be made now. I would not argue that many of the reasons are valid, but there is one glaring omission to the reasons behind this push which is also the major reason why there is such a huge push to change this now: to lower the budget costs for busing students all over the city. BPS spends an exorbitant amount on busing, and not just for the students who actually attend the BPS schools either:

BPS also provides – and pays for – bus transportation for charter school, private school and parochial students who are not enrolled in the Boston Public Schools. State law requires BPS to drive charter school students to their schools even if they are outside their home zone, which is a much higher level of service than is provided to most students in BPS. Transportation costs are expected to rise by $2.6 million in FY13 and $20.3 million in FY14 as the number of charter school students in Boston increases.  http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/budget

I have no issue with cutting our transportation costs, as a BPS parent though my children qualified for busing, due to several horrible incidents with their busing, I transport them to and from school myself.  We do have to retain busing for students with disabilities of course and I suppose since the state law requires BPS to provide transportation for charter school students they will need to continue providing that also (at a higher service level than for their own students!)*.  Some questions that need to be answered by BPS:

1. Why are we paying for transportation of parochial students?
2. Many of our buses are not full, in fact some are practically empty, has BPS looked at expanding routes to include more students on each bus and therefor cut down the amount of buses used? 
3. Can you show us a detailed break-down of the exact costs for all categories of students transported by BPS? 
• District regular education students
• District special education students
• "In District Charter Schools" transportation costs
• Non-BPS Charter School students with sub-categories for special and regular education students
• Parochial school students
• Other students
4. Detailed list of number of students per route/trip, per bus should also be looked at.

No matter what we do, there will be those who go back to the Garrity decision of 1974 which desegregated Boston's schools and started busing here. The violence that ensued after forced busing was put in place still scars this city that I love and still scares many. Given Boston's racially diverse population and neighborhoods it is highly unlikely that we would see the schools segregated the way they were prior to the Garrity decision, but it is still a slim possibility in a couple of areas. 

However, there is a bigger segregation issue that may come into effect with the way BPS has changed recently and will continue to do so according to the proposals: our special education students could end up being the ones who are segregated despite the "Least Restrictive Environment" mandates within both state and federal special education laws. I will get into that again in a different post soon. 

The biggest problem I see with ALL the proposals as they stand are this: NONE of the proposals can ensure that every student receives a seat at a quality school close to home. 

Why is that? Simple: because not all schools in BPS are created equal and are not all "quality" schools, so therefor there can't possibly be a quality school within walking distance of EVERY CHILD in Boston.

Wasn't that what this whole process and these proposals were supposed to guarantee? Ut-oh.....