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The Great Divide

Race, class, and opportunity in our schools

Thousands of Boston’s neediest students remain in the dark about schools’ plans for fall

With less than three weeks left before the start of school, huge questions remain about what the fall will look like for thousands of students with disabilities in Boston, including when they will be able to return for in-person instruction and how extensive it will be.
These parents take online instruction to a new levelNearly a dozen Massachusetts districts faulted for asking parents to sign away special education rights

Spotty broadband challenges Western Mass. schools

Six years after the state completed a $90 million data network to serve the region, thousands of Western Massachusetts families and small businesses still do not have access to reliable high-speed Internet service.

Your child’s a no-show at virtual school? You may get a call from the state’s foster care agency

Massachusetts school officials have reported dozens of parents to state social workers for concerns related to online learning.

Families with means leave public schools for private schools or ‘learning pods,’ raising concerns about worsening inequality

While experts say the shift is predictable, it could also have dire consequences in the near and long-terms, as these families — who are much more likely to be middle or upper-income — take with them vital funding and political advocacy for the public schools.

‘My voice matters’: Brighton Debate en Español team gives students a platform to grow

Throughout the winter, scores of Boston students devoted much of their weekends to fervently argue about a single topic: whether the United States should limit its arms sales. Teens in the Boston Debate League verbally jabbed back and forth, poking holes in their opponents’ arguments.

Visit our archive of all stories from The Great Divide team

Opinion

IDEAS | ALFIE KOHN
When school’s out, education might suffer less than you think
Losing their exposure to academic content doesn’t necessarily diminish students’ intellectual development.

With the first day of school approaching, parents and students share dueling anxieties

Many anxious parents and children have grown increasingly vocal this week, as districts finalize plans and negotiate with teachers’ unions over what education will look like this year.
Latest school reopening news

Ahead of students returning to school, Mass. launches public awareness campaign

Massachusetts education officials announced Thursday they’ll be launching a public awareness campaign to remind parents, students, and teachers how to keep each other safe as school buildings begin to reopen.

Here’s what R.I. is telling parents who want to send their kids to school

Governor Gina Raimondo turned heads this week when she suggested that Warwick parents who want their children to attend school in person would have a “very good case” if they choose to sue the district.

Open those school windows to help stop the spread of coronavirus, experts say

The experts say that the improved airflow can dilute virus particles that may be floating around, looking to make people sick.

Wednesday would have been the first day of classes for many. These parents are pushing the schools to reopen.

Parents voiced frustration about school reopening plans, saying they don’t feel the data-based guidelines laid out by Governor Charlie Baker’s administration are being used to orchestrate a full-time return to learning.

Andover educators vote no confidence in superintendent, return to school buildings ‘under duress’

After refusing to enter school buildings Monday, members of the Andover Education Association returned “under duress” on Tuesday and voted that they have no confidence in the district’s superintendent, Sheldon Berman.

Read all of our stories about school reopening and education amid a pandemic

TRACKER
What are Mass. school districts deciding for the fall? Track their decisions here
Districts across Massachusetts are finalizing their school reopening plans.

Featured Stories

A tale of two schools and the way they teach — or fail to teach — about racism

Boston Latin and the biggest test of their young lives

For low-income students, the suburbs are no sure path to college

‘I didn’t come to Boston because I thought it would be easy’: Boston superintendent ends tumultuous year

Education, Interrupted
This series explored how school closures in the spring of 2020 affected individual students.

Online, but off-kilter: A day in the life of a Boston sixth-grader

Malaki Solo is one of more than 50,000 students in Boston studying at home to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Without enough to do, the 12-year-old spends much of his time bored inside his small Dorchester apartment.

Read our full Education, Interrupted series

With daycares closed, it’s sometimes older siblings watching young children
It’s a common scenario affecting countless teenagers across the city and state, as more parents juggle a full schedule with limited childcare support.

For high school seniors with disabilities, school closures can feel like walking off a cliff
For high school seniors, school closures have brought angst and logistical hurdles, including concerns about graduation and college delays.

Academics and Learning

Thousands of Boston’s neediest students remain in the dark about schools’ plans for fall

With less than three weeks left before the start of school, huge questions remain about what the fall will look like for thousands of students with disabilities in Boston, including when they will be able to return for in-person instruction and how extensive it will be.

‘I’m horrified that we didn’t get this right’: Worcester schools see rocky rollout of online learning

School districts across the state have struggled with the abrupt shift to online learning. But Worcester has had an unusually rocky experience. Interviews with more than 20 parents, students, teachers and school committee members, and review of a half dozen district documents paint a portrait of a district focused on process and procedure at a time when nimbleness was imperative.

With some remote learning likely for the fall, schools agonize over how much Zoom time to impose

With very little time — or training — educators across Massachusetts tried to move their teaching online. Many took one of two opposite approaches, each with drawbacks: Offering very limited real-time interaction with teachers; or striving to replicate the normal school schedule online.

When it comes to online learning, Mass., Rhode Island take wildly divergent paths

The two states epitomize the starkly different approaches states are taking to learning in the era of COVID-19.

Equity and Access

Dozens of students were not admitted to Boston exam schools because of an error

Boston Public Schools mistakenly denied 62 students — many of them children of color who came from private, charter, or parochial schools — entry to the district’s coveted exam schools since last year.

Boston schools deny some students with disabilities enrollment into dual-language programs

Experts say districts are violating state and federal laws if they exclude students from any educational programs just because they have a disability.

One in five Boston public school children may be virtual dropouts

At least 10,000 Boston public school students have not logged in to class since schools shut down in March due to the coronavirus epidemic, making them virtual dropouts whose formal education stopped two months ago.

Vocational schools become the latest front in the battle for educational equity

Many of the state's vocational schools have been transformed from their blue collar roots into high-tech training centers that prepare students equally for college or for well-paying jobs in the trades.

Race and Diversity

In Arlington, Black voices challenge a white suburban school district to do better

A national uprising against racism has reinvigorated criticism of persistent racial inequalities in education, in mostly-white suburbs as well as more diverse cities.

Poll shows racial split on whether in-person schooling is safe for fall

A slim majority of Massachusetts residents doubted whether schools can reopen and keep students and adults from contracting the virus.

A tale of two schools and the way they teach — or fail to teach — about racism

This tale of two schools and the ways in which they talk —and avoid talking — about race is reflective of a broader divide in America, where people in majority-white settings have long shied away from discussions of race, to the detriment of all.

Why is Massachusetts’ tech sector so lacking in diversity? Take a look inside AP computer science classes

Black and Latino students’ access to advanced computer science offerings is limited in Boston, despite the growing student demand.

Money and Facilities

BPS students see bathroom improvements after Globe story

Students and staff at three schools mentioned in a previous Globe story said they have seen improvements, including more regular cleaning, reduced odors, and new janitors.

Baker budget doesn’t keep state’s commitment to poor students, critics say

Although more students would be classified as low-income under Governor Charlie Baker's budget, districts would get less extra money for each one of those students than they expected to receive.

Boston’s school bathrooms are a big mess

Filthy, unsanitary, and often lacking basics like toilet paper and hot water, the bathrooms of the city’s public schools are, far too frequently, in appalling condition.

Dead mice, crumbling concrete: Education reform won’t fix the sorry state of some schools

Even as local officials celebrate passage of a law that will dramatically increase spending on students, they must face a sobering truth: The extra money will probably do little to address tumbledown schools.
Finalist for a Pulitzer Prize

The Valedictorians Project

The city’s top students from 2005 to 2007 set out to change the world. But then life happened. Explore their stories here.

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Aug. 31: These parents take online instruction to a new levelAug. 24: With a focus on safety, have unions missed an opportunity to improve virtual school?Aug. 17: If your child’s a no-show at virtual school, you may get a call from the state’s foster care agency
STUDENT CORNER

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Event Hub

Upcoming and past events

The Great Divide has been hosting an ongoing series of virtual events, with an emphasis on student voices, during the pandemic. Sign up for our upcoming event and watch some of our past events:
Sign up for our upcoming event on Sept. 10: All in this Together? How to Minimize Harm in Reopening SchoolsGlobeDocs presents: 'My voice matters': Brighton Debate en Español teamThe Digital Divide: Education, Race and Virtual LearningGreat Divide Town Hall: What will it take for you to feel safe when schools reopen?

About The Great Divide

The Great Divide is a two-year reporting effort dedicated to investigating race, class, and inequality in Boston-area schools. It is jointly funded by the Globe and the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based foundation that has prioritized student success in high school and beyond. The Globe maintains editorial control and independence over the project.
IDEAS | Linda K. Wertheimer

Teaching about racism is urgent — but tricky

Many K-12 educators now want to go deeper on the subject of race. Are they equipped to do it well?
Tips for teaching about racism