The Boston Public Schools (BPS) School Committee held its first meeting of 2026 this week, coming at a critical moment for the district with new committee members, the current $53 million budget deficit, as well as serious questions about inclusion and transparency.

Superintendent’s Report: Staffing, Closures, and Next Steps

Superintendent Mary Skipper began her report by addressing the district’s next steps following the recent vote on school closures. Superintendent Skipper stated that BPS has held meetings with school leaders to plan transitions, assigned senior project managers to each affected school, and started reviewing student-level data to provide targeted support. Additionally, Superintendent Skipper noted the focus is on student and family transitions, staff support, and community engagement.

Later in her report, Superintendent Skipper turned to one of the district’s most urgent challenges: a projected $53 million deficit in the current fiscal year. She attributed the shortfall primarily to rising health insurance costs, filling vacant positions, additional bus routes, food services, and out-of-district special education.

New Committee Members: 

The Superintendent also acknowledged changes to the composition of the School Committee. Two new members, Lydia Torres and Franklin Peralta, joined the body, and Rachel Skerritt was named Vice Chair. The changes come alongside notable departures. Long-time member Michael O’Neill resigned after 17 years of service, and Brandon Cardet Hernandez was not reappointed despite applying for a second term.

Inclusive Education: Two Divergent Visions 

The most contentious portion of the meeting came during a joint presentation on services for students with disabilities. Superintendent Skipper reaffirmed the district’s commitment to inclusive education as part of the now-concluded DESE Systemic Improvement Plan.

But Edith Bazile, Chair of the Boston Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpEdPAC), offered a starkly different assessment. She argued that BPS lacks a clear inclusion strategy, a defined timeline, and a dedicated budget. Instead of expanding successful inclusive models, she noted, the district is closing them, including nationally recognized programs like Henderson Upper School.

Ms. Bazile also raised concerns about access to data, particularly data needed to assess outcomes for students with disabilities. She highlighted autism as a racial and gender equity issue, noting that nearly 80% of students with autism in BPS are male and that Black and Latino students make up the majority of these students. Inclusion, she argued, must be measured by outcomes and the district has not provided sufficient data to evaluate its own practices. Notably, what was framed as a joint presentation often felt like a public debate, revealing deep misalignment between Kay Seale, Director of Special Education for BPS, and parent advocates. The contrast raised serious concerns about communication, trust, and whether the district’s vision for inclusion is shared. 

Conversation with a Former Committee Member: 

Lastly, we had the opportunity to speak with former School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez. Member Cardet-Hernandez spoke about the recent decision relating to the Madison Park rebuild, how failure of the district to adhere to MassCore requirements, as well as a number of other topics. 

Here at the Shah Foundation, our team put together a deep-dive into both the renovation of Madison Park, the state of MassCore completion, and the aforementioned budget gap. To gain a clearer grasp of the district’s budget concerns, please click here. To learn more about Madison Park, please click here, and to better understand how students in BPS are handling MassCore, please click here. 

The next meeting will be on February 4th at 5:30pm. We look forward to connecting with you then!

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At last night’s meeting, many important issues were discussed and decided. These included an important memo about enrollment decline, a school closure vote, and a budget update. Conversations between the Committee and district pointed to long-term issues for BPS.

The School Closure Vote: 

The most anticipated item of the evening was the vote on school closures. Chair Robinson framed the decision as part of a broader strategy to improve academic outcomes, address underutilized facilities, and strengthen the district’s long-term sustainability. Superintendent Skipper emphasized declining enrollment, excess capacity, and the need to concentrate resources in fewer schools, referencing the district’s long-term facilities framework and enrollment projections as justification for the closures.

Committee members expressed significant unease ahead of the vote. Several members raised concerns about students who have already experienced multiple school transitions due to prior closures and questioned whether the district has tracked outcomes for those students. Others noted confusion around the district’s emphasis on facilities, particularly in cases where school buildings remain in usable condition. Members also highlighted broader systemic failures, including the absence of a clear, actionable long-term facilities plan and a history of delayed accountability.

Despite widespread concern, unresolved questions, and visible discomfort among several members, the Committee approved the school closure plan by a vote of six in favor and one opposed. The discussion made clear that some members viewed the vote as a necessary fiscal decision rather than an educational one, underscoring the tension between budget realities and student-centered outcomes.

A Financial Update: 

The final presentation of the evening focused on the district’s financial outlook as budget season begins for the Committee. Superintendent Skipper described mounting fiscal pressures, including rising healthcare costs, collective bargaining agreements, transportation expenses, special education costs, and continued enrollment decline. District leadership also introduced the transition from weighted student funding to a new rules-based funding formula, intended to more equitably fund schools and provide greater transparency.

Chief Financial Officer David Bloom explained that the new funding model prioritizes required staffing and non-personnel costs before allocating remaining resources, marking a shift away from per-pupil funding. District leadership emphasized that transition support will be provided to schools over the next two years, as the shift occurs. Committee discussion highlighted the district’s nearly $150 million transportation budget, inefficiencies in service delivery, and parallels between rising healthcare and transportation costs. Members raised concerns about accountability and questioned whether longstanding inefficiencies are being meaningfully addressed.

Committee members also questioned the growth in support staff amid declining enrollment. District officials indicated that staffing reductions will largely affect classroom teachers and paraprofessionals, while attempting to preserve positions tied to inclusive education and student support services. Estimates suggest that several hundred positions may be eliminated as enrollment continues to fall and schools close, reinforcing concerns about the district’s long-term workforce planning.

A Closing Recognition and Looking Ahead: 

The meeting concluded with the Committee honoring Vice Chair Michael O’Neill for his 17 years of service to the BPS and the City of Boston. 

The next public meeting will be held virtually on January 21st, 2026 at 5:30pm. In the meantime, we hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with health, joy, and community. We will see you in the new year!

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Introduction: 

The meeting opened with an executive session to discuss a tentative agreement with the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASAS), which the Committee will vote on at its next meeting on December 17th. Additionally, the Committee recognized Taylor McCoy, an Inclusion Specialist at Mattahunt Elementary School, as the 2025 Shattuck Award recipient. Members celebrated her dedication as well as the work of countless educators who serve students every day.

Public Comment: 

Public comment was emotional and dominated by strong opposition to the proposed school closures, including Another Course to College (ACC), the Community Academy of Science and Health (C.A.S.H.), the Henderson Inclusion School, and Lee Academy. There were 60 speakers scheduled to comment at the meeting, though the actual number of speakers was closer to 50. Students, parents, teachers, and community members emphasized the importance of each school community and the lack of clear transition plans for impacted students. Speakers also pointed to the contrast between the district’s update on inclusive practices and the forthcoming vote to close many schools with high-needs students. Additionally, in response to requests from the public, Committee Members Skarrett and Cardet-Hernandez requested that the district present detailed transition plans for students.

For the fourth meeting in a row, public speakers also raised concerns about the lack of citywide bilingual education programming and urged the district to expand multilingual learner support. The district released a memo to the public about proposed expansion prior to the meeting. Notably, the findings from the district underscored the cost of transportation for students as a major challenge in developing citywide programming. In a separate memo released earlier in the day, the district announced that a system-wide cell phone policy will be released in 2026. We will continue to monitor how this situation plays out.  

Inclusive Education Plan Update: 

The only report of the evening focused on the district’s progress toward implementing inclusive education. Superintendent Skipper framed the update as a continuation of the district’s 2022 strategy to move all schools toward inclusive classroom models. BPS previously submitted its Inclusive Education Plan to DESE in October 2023 as part of the Systemic Improvement Plan. District staff described improvements over the past three years and highlighted tools and practices they believe are beginning to show positive student outcomes.

Committee members raised multiple concerns about implementation, clarity, and outcomes. Member Cardet-Hernandez questioned why some schools’ student populations still do not reflect district demographics and pushed the district on protections against over-identification of Black boys and multilingual learners for substantially separate placements. District staff acknowledged ongoing concerns, noting that although the rate of substantially separate placements has decreased to 30.7%, it remains unacceptable.

Member Alkins asked directly about the challenges the district still faces in implementing inclusive practices. The response focused on professional development and cross-functional collaboration rather than on student outcomes or systemwide effectiveness. Member Skerrett pressed for clear benchmarks and targets to measure whether inclusion efforts are actually improving student progress. The presentation offered few concrete indicators, raising lingering questions about outcomes as well as how the district will measure success during upcoming budget discussions.

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Last Night at School Committee - November 19th, 2025: 

Here’s what happened Last Night at the Boston School Committee meeting.

Superintendent’s Report:

The Superintendent began with updates on transportation and enrollment, noting that the district has seen record-high transportation performance this fall. Morning on-time performance has reached 95% or higher on nine separate days, a remarkable increase given that in past years BPS only hit that mark twice during the first 45 days of school. Member Cardet-Hernandez, however, inquired about the headline the Superintendent avoided mentioning: the recent bribery and kickback scheme involving a Transdev employee, and the long-standing oversight failures that allowed uncertified drivers and other safety lapses to occur. The Superintendent stated that the latest transportation contract includes stronger accountability provisions, but did not elaborate on what those measures look like. 

The Superintendent then shifted to enrollment, reporting that the district currently serves 46,824 students, an astonishing drop of 1,700 students from this time last year. She attributed the decline to reduced international immigration, fewer children being born in Boston, and smaller cohorts moving through the system. Vice Chair O’Neill followed with questions about how this compares to projections, how much revenue depends on enrollment, and what the district expects for next year. In response, CFO David Bloom explained that Boston’s budget is largely insulated from enrollment declines because city appropriations are not tied to student count. Instead, the budget is tied to local taxes. Moreover, supplemental state and federal grants are based on prior-year enrollment, so the shifts will not have any impact on this coming year.

The Long-Term Facilities Plan: 

The main report of the evening was the long-term facilities plan. Superintendent Skipper framed the work as an effort to align buildings with a shared definition of a high-quality student experience. She asserted the vision is one informed by thousands of surveys, listening sessions, and community engagements. Superintendent Skipper also emphasized that decades of deferred maintenance and sharply declining enrollment have made this planning unavoidable. 

Chief of Capital Planning Delavern Stanislaus then presented an in-depth review of the district’s proposed school closures, mergers, and reconfigurations. The plan includes closing Lee Academy Pilot School, Another Course to College (ACC), and the Community Academy of Science and Health (CASH); restructuring the Henderson School into a unified PreK–8 program; and reconfiguring both Tobin and Russell into PreK–6 schools. Stanislaus also previewed a broader arc of closures, noting that by 2030, the district anticipates approximately eight additional elementary schools and six high schools will ultimately close

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Last night’s Boston School Committee meeting was filled with votes on various topics crucial to the future of the district, including an adjustment to the Exam School Admissions Policy as well the Competency Determination for the Classes of 2026 and 2027. Here’s what happened: 

Superintendent’s Update: Food Security for Students

Superintendent Mary Skipper opened with how the district is responding to the federal pause on SNAP benefits. She emphasized that all students will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch at BPS sites, and highlighted ongoing school-based food drives and a centralized drive at the Bolling Building.

OAG Task Force Membership Proposal: 

The Committee reviewed and advanced a new group of members for the Opportunity & Achievement Gaps (OAG) Task Force, which advises and holds the district accountable for a shared plan to close gaps. The updated slate of members were unanimously approved by the Committee later in the evening.

Public Comment: Exam Schools, AI, and Dual Language:

There were 32 speakers during the public comment period, and many addressed the pending exam school admissions vote, but the night also featured a notable student call for a formal district AI framework, including teacher training and certification for responsible use. Additionally, a number of speakers, once again, urged expansion of dual-language programs, echoing similar requests from last week. It will be interesting to monitor whether the Committee moves forward with this request due to the high volume of testimony. 

Adjusted Exam School Admissions Policy: 

In a long-awaited vote, last night was the culmination of months of testimony, presentations, and discussion regarding a change to the Exam School Admissions policy. Superintendent Skipper framed the proposal as a compromise of keeping the benefits of the old system while tweaking other aspects. The recommendation preserves the socioeconomic tier structure while adding a citywide pathway for top-scoring students. In speaking about the decision, Member Stephen Alkins urged deeper equity analysis and simulations to surface nuance for marginalized populations who comprise the district’s majority. Member Rachel Skerritt stressed the core issue in the district: across BPS, there are not enough students meeting grade-level standards in ELA and math to fill the ~1,000 seventh-grade exam school seats.

The adjusted policy passed the committee, with 4 members in favor and 2 members opposed (with one member absent).

Secondary Schools/Competency Determination: 

After the exam school vote, the Committee then considered three more votes:

Chapter 74 (CTE) Admissions Policy for five high schools (Madison Park, English High, Boston Arts Academy, Boston Green Academy, and EMK).

Middle School Career Exploration policy to better inform students about CTE pathways earlier.

Updated Competency Determination (CD) policy aligned to DESE’s summer 2025 changes (the Committee had approved a BPS CD framework in June 2025; this update brings it into compliance with DESE’s revisions).

Member Skerritt sought clarity on what Competency Determination now means for the Classes of 2026 and 2027 versus graduation requirements. She emphasized that the competency determination is a temporary substitute for grade-10 MCAS as a graduation gate and does not equal a diploma. Instead, it’s merely one eligibility condition alongside MassCore and successful completion of four years of study. 

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Last night’s Boston School Committee meeting covered declining enrollment, the Superintendent’s contract and an update on transformation schools.

Enrollment and Graduation Rates: 

Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez raised two key questions about district trends, enrollment and graduation rates, both of which have been ongoing areas of concern.

Superintendent Skipper confirmed that enrollment is declining across the district, particularly among “newcomer” students, whose numbers are “roughly half” of what they were last year. She explained that while BPS is working to support families, several upcoming cohorts will be smaller, a trend driven by both post-COVID demographic shifts and broader declines in birth rates. The Superintendent also noted that a more complete enrollment report will be presented in November. As for graduation rates, Skipper said that while internal numbers suggest an increase in June graduations and a “robust summer cohort,” final figures will not be available until the state releases official data later in the school year.

Public Comment and the Upcoming Exam School Vote:

33 speakers addressed the Committee during public comment, with many focused on the exam school admissions policy. The upcoming vote on this issue will take place next week, and the evening featured impassioned arguments on both sides of the debate, some defending the current system with others pushing for policy shifts. In addition to the exam school discussion, quite a few speakers advocated for increasing access to dual-language programming.

Superintendent’s Contract Discussion: 

The Committee then voted to approve several grants before turning to a discussion of Superintendent Skipper’s new contract. In framing the conversation, Superintendent Skipper spoke passionately about her commitment to Boston and the mission of BPS. Absent in the discussion was a lack of benchmarks or goals tied to Skipper’s renewal. Member Cardet-Hernandez echoed this sentiment, and he called for a more calibrated and evidence-based evaluation process.

Transformation Schools Accountability Update: 

The Committee then heard an update on Transformation Schools, schools identified by the state as requiring targeted intervention. Superintendent Skipper noted that while there are “signs of progress,” persistent challenges remain, including low student achievement and chronic absenteeism. She highlighted that for the third consecutive year, more schools improved their accountability percentile than declined, with 18 schools improving and eight remaining steady.

Member Cardet-Hernandez called the presentation both encouraging and sobering, noting that despite incremental gains, roughly one-third of BPS schools remain in transformation status, serving the highest concentrations of Black, Latino, low-income, multilingual, and special education students.

State of the Schools Address:

Special guest, Greg Maynard, from the Boston Policy Institute discussed the first ever State of the Schools address from Mayor Michelle Wu. While the Mayor touted new bilingual education, an increase of air conditioning units, and improvement on  transportation times, there were a number of more thorny issues that the Mayor avoided.

The speech stopped short of confronting the district’s most pressing challenges. For instance, while Mayor Wu cited examples of students taking advanced coursework, her discussion of overall academic performance was minimal. Mayor Wu did not address Boston Public Schools’ recently released MCAS results, which remain far below pre-pandemic levels.

Finally, on transportation, Wu noted that 96% of school buses arrived on time yesterday but did not address the district’s long-term failure to meet the standards required under the 2022 Systemic Improvement Plan (SIP), which set a monthly 95% on-time goal.

To read the full speech, please click here. 

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At last night’s Boston School Committee meeting, members dove immediately into another discussion about the Exam School Admissions Policy Recommendation, foregoing the usual Superintendent’s Report. In response to committee requests from the last meeting, the district presented new simulations that gave equal weight (as opposed to 70% grades and 30% MPA score) to both GPA and MAP assessment scores. The district found that there was minimal change in the overall makeup of students admitted to exam schools.

Secondary Schools Policy Update:

The Committee then moved through grant approvals and then heard a report on secondary school policies, including graduation and vocational admissions criteria. The Committee discussed adding weighted lotteries for all vocational programs, spurring questions about the complexities of admissions for families.

District leaders outlined new competency determination requirements to align with updated state (DESE) standards for the Class of 2026 and beyond, with adjustments for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and those with exceptional circumstances. Embedded in the district’s presentation was also a recommendation for a watered-down MassCore with a “D-” signaling mastery in certain courses. This raised concerns about expectations and abiding by the previous Committee votes to use MassCore as the graduation standard. 

Additionally, the district failed to present data for the Class of 2025, prompting Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez to question how many students are currently on track to meet graduation standards. He noted that in the presentation disseminated by the district only 41% of the Class of 2026 appears to be on pace to complete MassCore, and therefore graduate.

Summer Learning Initiatives:

Next, the Superintendent presented on Summer Learning 2025, reporting participation from 14,600 students, up 600 from the previous year. The district highlighted stronger collaboration across departments and improved multilingual family communications. However, outcomes from these summer programs were nonexistent. 

Member Cardet-Hernandez questioned whether the district is truly committed to evaluating outcomes. He pressed for evidence that these expensive programs are actually closing achievement gaps. Member Skerritt echoed that same concern, asking for longitudinal tracking of student outcomes, noting that with today’s data tools, the district should be able to easily compare participants’ attendance, growth, and testing results to prior years.

MCAS and Accountability Results:

The final report of the night centered on 2025 State Assessment and Accountability Results. Superintendent Skipper cited “encouraging progress” in literacy for grades 3–8 and said Boston outperformed other large districts statewide.

But a closer look revealed troubling trends. Member Cardet-Hernandez questioned the effects of “social promotion,” advancing students who haven’t met grade-level standards, and how this impacts high school achievement. Member Skerritt then asked what proficiency targets the district is actually aiming for, suggesting BPS set clear districtwide goals through 2030.

As the below chart indicates, MCAS scores remain below pre-pandemic levels across all grades:

Despite these declines, the district framed the results as “encouraging,” a characterization that is difficult to reconcile with the data.

What’s Next: 

The meeting was emblematic of the district’s current crossroads: a push for optimism and narrative control amid academic stagnation. The next meeting will be held on October 29th. We look forward to connecting with you then!

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The Boston School Committee held their second meeting of the school year last night, primarily to present a proposal to change the exam school admissions policy. This was the sole report of the meeting and much of the public comment surrounded this proposal.

After the Superintendent’s report, Member Cardet-Hernández pressed for updates on graduation rates and summer school outcomes. Superintendent Skipper noted those would come at the October 8th meeting, alongside official enrollment numbers.

The district formally presented its recommended changes:

Remove all school-based points, which Skipper described as confusing, inequitable, and less impactful over time.

Reduce housing-based points from 15 to 10 points, aligning with observed differences in composite scores.

Add a “citywide round”: the first 20% of seats at each exam school would go to applicants with the highest composite scores citywide, regardless of tier.

Maintain the current four-tier structure, based on neighborhood population, not applicant numbers.

Superintendent Skipper emphasized that these changes would ensure fairness, prevent inflation of scores above 100, and preserve the original intent of the 2021 policy. However, School Committee members raised important questions about the implications of the policy shifts. For instance, Member Polanco García pressed for plans to better support newcomers and English Language Learners, whom Skipper admitted still lack sufficient resources. Meanwhile, Member Rachel Skerritt sought clarity on whether the proposal preserves equity while creating a pathway for the city’s highest achievers. She also noted the district’s failure to deliver on earlier promises to strengthen rigor in grades 4–6, which was promised five years ago. Zooming out a bit, Member Cardet Hernández questioned why BPS continues to frame admissions around three schools instead of tackling system-wide quality, noting families’ desire for options across all grades. And Member Stephen Alkins asked about the drop in projected Black student enrollment (from ~20% to 15%) and urged more transparency in data and grading practices. To cap it all off, Chair Robinson underscored the Committee’s failure to improve early-grade preparation, warning that focusing solely on exam school admissions leaves thousands of other students behind. Clearly, members have many questions, and it is unclear if this policy change will meet the stated goals of clarity, stability, and simplicity.

Exam School Admissions Policy Recommendation:
What’s Up Next?The Committee will take a final vote on the admissions policy on November 5th. The next meeting will be held on October 8th at 6pm. We look forward to connecting with you then!

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Last Night at School Committee – September 10, 2025

The Boston School Committee met last night for its first meeting of the school year. The meeting covered a wide range of topics, from the district's back-to-school updates to the ongoing discussion of the exam school admissions policy. Here’s a recap of what happened:

Mayor Wu Makes a Surprise Appearance: 

Mayor Michelle Wu kicked off the meeting with a heartfelt welcome to the Boston school community. The Mayor touched upon some major areas of improvement for the district, including better transportation arrival times. The Mayor and Superintendent complimented each other for their partnership in overcoming enduring challenges across the system. 

Superintendent Mary Skipper began her report with a comprehensive overview of how the first days of school have been going. She highlighted some key areas and spoke to some important data points that illuminate both weaknesses and strengths throughout BPS

Enrollment Numbers: As of the first week of school, enrollment was just over 48,000 students, with 2,400 new registrations since June. However, the district cautioned that enrollment numbers would fluctuate, especially as the district waits for students to report.

Attendance: The first day attendance was 78.8%, a two-point increase from the previous year. By the end of the week, that number rose to 79.8%, showing steady improvement. Yet, this is still alarming as it means that 1/5 children are not showing up to their school.

Transportation: The district touted its best-ever on-time performance for school buses. While the numbers are up, 3 out of 10 kids are still arriving late to school, which remains a significant issue, considering the $188 million spent on school transportation. For comparison, other districts like Newark, New Jersey, spend $105 million less for similar levels of service.

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Note: This episode originally aired June 12, 2019.

In the final installment of our series about MassCore, Jill Shah interviews Orin Gutlerner about the challenges of scaling rigorous and engaging curriculum and teaching practices. They dissect a report called “The Opportunity Myth,” which attempts to answer the question of whether K-12 schools are fulfilling the fundamental promise that if students put in the effort and succeed with their work, they will be prepared for higher education. The short answer: It's not even close.

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