In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The six-hour meeting began with the Superintendent preemptively framing the evening’s conversation around the recommendation from the Exam School Task Force for a new admissions policy to the three exam schools. The Superintendent also provided updates on summer learning, saying, with just a week before summer programs begin, 75% of seats are filled. The meeting then moved to public comment, in which nearly every commenter spoke in opposition to the new admissions policy, with many advocating for a return to the decision that was reached just two days earlier before it was subsequently revised. The School Committee then voted to approve the Superintendent’s performance evaluation and extend her contract by two years, coming just one week after a new report showed overwhelmingly low morale and disengagement from district leaders.

The School Committee then heard a report from Tanisha Sullivan and Michael Contompasis, co-chairs of the Exam School Task Force, on the Exam School Task Force’s recommendation for a new admissions policy to the three exam schools. The proposal uses a weighted composite score consisting of a test score and grades to rank students first city-wide (20%), and then via tiers based off of census tracts (80%). While the task force co-chairs presented the final policy, multiple members dissented and expressed their discontent with the new policy. The meeting concluded with a report regarding the federal funding coming to the district and how funding could be spent.

With summer programming starting next week and the committee set to vote on the exam school admissions policy at the next meeting, we are left with the following questions:

• How will the school committee vote on approving the recommendation of the Exam School Task Force if questions of implementation haven’t been resolved?


• Will BPS be able to fill the empty summer school seats, and do we know who still needs a plan for the summer?


• Where will the Horace Mann students attend school until their new school is built? How are the issues being resolved with the McCormack BCLA merger?


• How many teachers have been hired for the 2021/22 school year and how many vacancies remain? 


• What are the updated enrollment projections for next year based on the first round of student assignments?


• What are members of the graduating class of 2021 doing next?

Ways to Engage and Resources:

• Attend the next exam school task force listening session on July 7
  


• The commission to advise the superintendent on how to spend the incoming $400m will have 5 public meetings, which you can attend. They will meet on the following date:


• Thursday, July 1, 5:00 pm


• Read each of the school committee member’s individual evaluation of the Superintendent’s performance:


• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Hardin Coleman


• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Ernani DeAraujo


• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Michael O'Neill 


• 
  Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Jeri Robinson 


• Superintentendent's SY20-21 Evaluation - Quoc Tran 


• Meeting Presentations and Materials


• Exam Schools Admissions Task Force Policy Recommendation 


• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding Update


• Suspension of the Maximum Age Policy, School Year 2021-2022


• Horace Mann In-District Charter Renewal: Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School

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