Last Night At School Committee

Wednesday’s Boston School Committee meeting ran over five hours, with an overflow room and 59 public speakers, as Superintendent Skipper recommended closing Charlestown High School, Greater Egleston High School and the East Boston Early Education Center. The committee votes in December. Jill Shah and Ross Wilson walk through the Cycle IV facilities plan, including relocations for Boston Green Academy, BINcA and BATA, K-6 conversions at the Hurley and Kilmer, and 7-12 expansions at Boston Arts Academy and Fenway High. They dig into Charlestown’s 32% enrollment drop, a shortened one-month engagement window, the 2022 innovation school proposal that could have changed Charlestown’s trajectory, and what may move into the building next. Plus: why on-time bus performance isn’t “sustained improvement,” and why committee members and families need a public data dashboard. Read more on our Substack: https://substack.com/@lnascteam Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lastnightatschoolcommittee Questions or concerns about how BPS is serving your student? Email [email protected].

Boston’s School Committee previews a cell phone ban and reviews the district’s 2026 accountability, attendance, MCAS, and English learner results. BPS calls it stable progress. Measured against 2019, the picture looks different. Accountability rankings barely moved: of 86 schools, 39 improved and 40 declined, and 23 of the 35 schools in the bottom 10th percentile in 2023 are still there today. Chronic absenteeism has fallen to 31% from its 2022 peak of 42%, but 44% of high schoolers remain chronically absent. In grades 3-8, MCAS proficiency is still below 2019 levels in math and ELA, and gaps between White students and Black and Hispanic students have widened. Gains for multilingual learners largely reflect a return to 2022 levels. We also look at the research on phone bans, Chair Jeri Robison’s question of “when do you say enough is enough,” and the baselines BPS should use as it finalizes its new strategic roadmap. Read the full analysis with charts on our Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-220588932

At last night's Boston Public Schools School Committee meeting, the Superintendent reported strong first-day numbers, including improved bus on-time rates, rising attendance, and all previously displaced teachers now placed in permanent positions. That was quickly undercut by two parents who testified about serious transportation failures, including children stranded on buses for hours with no help from the district. The meeting also touched on a new Inspector General report on procurement problems, which prompted a payment pause and a review, an update on the long-term Madison Park vocational school rebuild that isn't expected to finish construction until around 2033, and public comments pushing for more advanced coursework access, faster action on Madison Park, clearer measurable goals, and support for families navigating the special education process. The evening ended with the district presenting its five-year Strategic Roadmap, which committee members criticized as vague and lacking concrete, measurable targets. Several pushed back and asked for real benchmarks instead of broad goals. Grants and donations passed unanimously, and a charter school agreement was presented but held for a future vote.  Since the last meeting, we've seen a number of data drops and educational updates that we've further detailed in our post. That includes the final recommendations for the new statewide graduation standards, which fall short of meeting the moment. New absenteeism data shows uneven progress, and persistently high chronic absenteeism in Boston's high schools. A brand new survey of Massachusetts educators highlights how problems in the classrooms dominate teacher concerns. Finally, we help out the district by providing some actual targets for their proposed Strategic Roadmap.    Follow us on Substack for more.

Last night's School Committee meeting kicked off with some key updates from Superintendent Skipper. She started off by breaking down the district’s plan to cut around 568 positions. She explained this is a direct response to losing roughly 3,000 students over the last two years, though she promised a steady 10-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio would remain. The Superintendent also touched on summer programming across the district, including the statistic that thousands of students are enrolled in credit recovery, which she framed as a positive sign for students, even though this would mean that more students are failing courses. Skipper also announced that Boston is joining the massive nationwide lawsuit targeting tech giants like Meta, TikTok, and other corporations for harming kids' mental health through social media. During public comment, the only two speakers of the night called out the district for withholding promised exam school outcome data and demanding clear, measurable goals to track student success. Later on, the Committee conducted a marathon voting session, voting on and approving 19 items! These include collective bargaining agreements, grants, private school applications, evaluations, and appointments.    The district's changing infrastructure and facilities footprint dominated the rest of the night. Chief of Capital Planning, Delavern Stanislaus, noted that the district aims to downsize from its original 114 schools to an even 100 by the end of the 2026–2027 school year, with a final target of 95 schools by 2030. While the Committee formally voted on and approved the Superintendent's evaluation for the past year, we decided to conduct our own evaluation of the evaluation using available data. Relying on key data points, we wanted to offer further context regarding the progress, or lack thereof, throughout the district.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s Boston School Committee meeting covered a wide range of issues, beginning with Superintendent Mary Skipper’s report on the district’s ongoing budget concerns, staffing updates, teacher diversity, as well as the implementation of a new cell phone policy. While district leaders highlighted student achievements and positive developments across Boston Public Schools, the public comment period created an emotional reaction focused on proposed changes to the Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) program. Teachers, advocates, and families passionately defended the program, emphasizing its critical role in supporting English learners whose formal education has been interrupted by circumstances such as displacement or political instability. Speakers argued that reducing SLIFE services would disproportionately impact some of the district’s most vulnerable students and raised broader concerns about whether budget pressures are beginning to undermine the exact programs designed to close achievement gaps. Additional testimony focused on challenges families face navigating special education placements and accessing appropriate supports for students with disabilities. The Committee later unanimously approved several routine measures, including grants, donations, and other financial governance documents. The Committee members then unanimously approved a new district Artificial Intelligence policy, and an updated Opportunity and Achievement Gap Policy aimed at advancing academic excellence and improving student outcomes. Members also heard a powerful presentation from the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SpedPAC), whose leaders stressed the urgency of improving inclusion, accountability, and communication with families of students with disabilities. SpedPAC emphasized that while systemic change takes time, students experience educational opportunities in real time, making delays in services, staffing, transportation, and interventions especially consequential. The meeting concluded with a review of Superintendent Skipper’s annual evaluation, where she received an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, placing her in the “Proficient” category. Committee members praised progress in instructional leadership and district operations while identifying family and community engagement and stronger use of measurable performance data as key areas for growth. Budget overruns and ongoing fiscal challenges were also central themes in the evaluation discussion, underscoring the difficult balancing act facing district leadership heading into the next school year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s Boston School Committee meeting was straightforward and relatively mundane, highlights of the evening included conversations about transportation, budgeting, and the district’s effort to prepare for the rapid growth of artificial intelligence in schools.  The evening began with a recognition ceremony honoring graduating seniors from the Boston Student Advisory Council. Superintendent Mary Skipper then spotlighted improvements in bus reliability, noting that morning on-time performance climbed from 85% in February to 94% in April, while afternoon performance increased from 81% to 89%. The Committee then approved more than $1.45 million in grants, including a major state rebate supporting the expansion of electric school buses. The district then submitted a request for an additional $22.8 million supplemental appropriation to balance the current fiscal year budget, with officials again pointing to rising health insurance costs, transportation expenses, and special education obligations as major drivers of the deficit. The most forward-looking portion of the meeting came during the district’s presentation of its proposed artificial intelligence policy framework. District leaders described the proposal as a set of guardrails intended to promote ethical, safe, and responsible AI use while ensuring that human judgment remains central to education. Committee members raised questions about academic integrity, overreliance on technology, and the potential loss of foundational skills. The final version of the policy will be voted on and approved in July. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night’s School Committee meeting touched on a number of critical issues for BPS, including a vote on a policy amendment to MassCore, an ask for more money to fill a budget gap, an update on decade old policy surrounding opportunity and achievement gaps, a new strategic roadmap, as well as an an approval for a new MSBA statement of interest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last night was the first full meeting in a month after a series of budget hearings. The meeting covered three topics; vote on the 2026-2027 budget, update on MassCore and the annual discussion on school choice. We dig into each of these areas on our blog and on the podcast. We are also excited to unveil a new tool to help you better understand the BPS budget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earlier this month, we recorded a special conversation with Boston Globe reporter Christopher Huffaker. Huffaker is a reporter for “The Great Divide” - an investigative arm of the paper that analyzes and reports on educational inequities throughout the state.  Huffaker spoke to our team about a prominent issue we have covered at length on Last Night at School Committee: MassCore. The interview began with a conversation about AP scores around the Commonwealth, and whether the results indicate true success for the state. From there, Ross asked Huffaker to talk a bit more about his recent report that almost one-third of BPS seniors risk not graduating high school in June. In his analysis, Huffaker noted that MassCore, put forth by the state, is a logical benchmark for students to meet, as it aligns with requirements for entry to the Massachusetts college system. He also flagged that this new system, initially voted on in 2021, was really a situation that raised the standard for many students. As a result, while some students reached a new level of academic achievement, others were left without an opportunity to graduate. Throughout the conversation, Ross and Huffaker touch on whether the district will vote to amend MassCore as a graduation standard at a future meeting, what “exemptions” may look like for students, and ways to ensure all students meet the completion of MassCore requirements Be on the lookout for more from the Shah Foundation team later this month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Wednesday evening, the district held a hearing focused on the Central Office budget. In their presentation, district leadership stated that they prioritized "student-facing" investments that directly supported schools. Highlights from the central office budget (https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1772555621/bostonpublicschoolsorg/ohke7hrux3oayndphpag/FY27BudgetPresentation-CentralBudgetProcess1.pdf) include an $86 million increase due to four main categories: health insurance, transportation expenses, special education, and collective bargaining. More specifically, transportation saw a year-over-year rise of 9%, and special education saw a significant jump of 22%. The district was able to find some operational efficiencies in the budget. For instance, they were able to reduce the number of staff at the central office, thus saving $11 million for FY 27. Nevertheless, there are significant financial outlays in the district’s budget that hamper the impact of these minimal savings.  During the public comment period of the hearing, there were 38 public speakers, many of whom were concerned about the impact of staffing cuts on student life and experience. School committee members then pushed the district to respond to questions about cuts to paraprofessional staffing levels, the enormous cost of transportation, and how student outcomes align with the budget. The budget process will continue with a final hearing on March 18, followed by a School Committee vote on March 25, before heading to the Boston City Council for final appropriation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices