Ep. 18, Last Night at School Committee: 10/21 Meeting Recap

In this episode, Jill and Ross discuss the highlights of last night’s Boston Public School Committee Meeting. The meeting was centered around the proposed exam school admissions policy, presented by the Exam School Admissions Working Group. Lasting almost 9 hours, we heard from students, families, teachers, city councilors, and even Mayor Walsh regarding the new recommended policy. Although it was announced on Wednesday that Boston Public Schools would be going fully virtual with another uptick in the city-wide COVID-19 positivity rate, there was a focus on the exam school admissions policy and the vote taking place. The working group presented on the policy, and we heard from many asking school committee members to vote yes, including Mayor Walsh and other city councilors from across Boston. Public comment featured almost 180 speakers, with many discussing their feelings about the new exam school admissions criteria. After hearing from 180 speakers, the School Committee ultimately voted to approve this new admissions policy for this school year.  This morning, Chair of the School Committee Michael Loconto resigned from his position with many urging him to do so after appearing to mock names during public comment. You can find more information on the School Committee’s website. Resources: Recommendation of Exam Schools Admissions Criteria for School Year 2021-22 Update PowerPoint Exam Schools Admissions Criteria for School Year 2021-2022 October 8, 2020 PowerPoint  Memo from Exam School Admissions Working Group to Superintendent Cassellius re: Admissions Recommendation, October 5, 2020 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices