Boston School Committee: 11·6·24 Meeting Recap

Last night’s School Committee meeting was focused on MassCore and graduation requirements, a timely topic following the passage of ballot Question 2 ending the use of MCAS as a state graduation requirement. The Superintendent also spent time talking about transportation, which reached 95% on-time arrival but still only 85% on time performance for afternoon buses. There was no mention, however, of recent reporting that highlighted a 30% decrease in ridership over the past decade and spending nearly $171 million on transportation.    The School Committee then heard a report on MassCore and graduation requirements. In 2019, following a Boston Globe report, “The Valedictorian Project,” it became clear that graduation standards varied widely across schools, leading to inconsistent outcomes for top students. Since then, the district has worked to ensure all students are equally prepared, as highlighted in one of our earliest podcasts from 2019. In line with state recommendations, MassCore requirements were adopted district-wide in 2021. Last night’s report revealed that while more students now have access to MassCore, only 50% of students complete the requirements. As MassCore becomes the sole graduation requirement in Boston for the class of 2026, there are still challenges in scheduling and support for students with disabilities and multilingual learners. As the district awaits further guidance from DESE, this issue remains a top priority.   On Wednesday, November 20th, the School Committee will have a retreat at 6pm, which will be held in-person at the Bolling Building. The next School Committee meeting will be held in person or via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4th.   Applications are now open for an opening on the Boston School Committee! If you would like to be considered, submit a completed application  and email it to [email protected] by Friday, November 15th at 11:59pm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices