As I read the news about the Boston Public Schools seeking funding for a proposed new school in southern Dorchester and Mattapan (“City to seek funding for new school building,” Metro, March 14), at first I thought I was reading a chapter out of Jonathan Kozol’s “Death at an Early Age.” The description of what many of BPS’s school buildings look like inside is shocking: Schools without gyms, without libraries, without auditoriums. BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper said she was excited about “the opportunity to build a world-class facility to serve the Dorchester and Mattapan communities for generations to come.”
Parents need good schools for their children to succeed. Decaying school buildings cannot be acceptable to anyone serious about educating our young folk.
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Sadly it looks like we have not advanced enough as an urban school system to make sure no children are left behind because of their ZIP codes. Schools in West Roxbury or Roxbury, Mattapan or Dorchester should all be providing the best education possible to every single student.
Kozol’s expose revealed a national disgrace when it was published. Boston used to be the standard for all public school systems. If some Boston Public Schools provide a good education to students, it is necessary that all public schools provide the same high-quality education.
We shouldn’t be having this debate in 2023. Apparently much of what Kozol wrote about Boston Public Schools still hasn’t been reformed today.
Sal Giarratani
East Boston
