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The Great Divide

Race, class, and opportunity in our schools

A pregnant counselor with medical conditions asked to work remotely. Then the Bourne superintendent fired her.

By refusing her request to work remotely, Bourne Public Schools violated federal and state laws that protect disabled and pregnant workers, a school counselor contends.

Federal audit slams local districts and Mass. education department’s oversight of emergency aid
Massachusetts schools opened their doors four years ago to over 6,000 students from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands who were fleeing devastation caused by hurricanes. Districts picked up millions in extra federal aid, but a recent audit raises questions about misspending.

Mayor Wu announces new Office of Early Childhood aimed at streamlining child care process

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a new Office of Early Childhood to help parents navigate the often complicated process of finding child care for kids under 5.

Big challenges confront Boston schools amid leadership shakeup: ‘We don’t want things to move backwards’

Big questions remain about whether momentum will stall or if a new leader will shift priorities.

As schools remove mask mandates, some students may struggle with transition

While proponents of mask-free schools often cite a recent crisis in children’s mental health as a reason to end mandates, the removal of masks brings its own complicated reckoning for some children, and the need for patient navigation by adults.

BPS may have overstated graduation rate for five of last seven years

The findings reflect a growing problem across the country as many school districts are increasingly under pressure to raise their graduation rates.
After Globe probe, BPS member asks for new audit of city graduation rates

Most of Boston’s schools lack fully functioning libraries. The superintendent vowed to change that — but will her successor?

Schools, businesses want early college program greatly expanded for underrepresented students — but will Mass. do it?

Some Boston parents cry foul over bonus points for exam school admission

Visit our archive of all stories from The Great Divide team

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Boston teacher creates online bookstore for Black children
Through Lit for Black Kids, Briana Perkins aims to get books depicting Black joy into more homes and schools, lifting Black authors and illustrators while she’s at it.

Globe Magazine

New ethnic studies requirements mean more lessons on race in Boston classrooms
Will these classes help students? We looked to established programs in Holyoke and San Francisco to find out.

Boston public health officials rescind public health emergency, take steps toward ending school mask mandate

The Boston school system is one of a dwindling number of districts statewide that currently requires students and staff to wear masks.

Mass. reports 2,395 new coronavirus cases among public school students and 689 among staff

The 3,084 total cases were 837 fewer, or about 21 percent fewer, than those from the previous reporting period, according to data published by the state.

As the world watches the war in Ukraine, educators are facing the challenges of teaching history in real time
As the war in Ukraine unfolds, teachers have the unique obligation to balance giving students information and historical context about the conflict, while also quelling theirs fears and anxiety.

Two Boston teachers sue union over vaccine mandate agreement with city

Just 367 of the city's educators remain unvaccinated, a small fraction of the union’s 8,403 members, the Boston Teachers Union said last week.

Mass. no longer requiring masks on school buses for K-12 students, officials say
Individual school districts can still maintain mask mandates on their buses if they want to.

Elizabeth N. Smith trailblazed through an integrated Boston Public Schools first as a student, then as a teacher

In the 1870s, Smith started teaching at The Phillips School in Boston’s West End, one of the first schools to teach both Black and white students in the city. There, Smith became the first Black educator to teach in an integrated Boston public school.

More school coverage

When it comes to making facility decisions, Boston keeps students, families, and staff in limbo

Critics say BPS continues to manage facilities with a crisis-response mentality without thinking through the viability of the solutions they are pitching.

Mass. reports 1,345 new coronavirus cases among public school students and 372 among staff

The Boston Public Health Commission on Wednesday recommended the Boston school system end its mask mandate in most settings when the city’s daily case rate reaches 10 cases per 100,000 residents.

Featured Stories

For schoolchildren struggling to read, COVID-19 has been a wrecking ball

A Somerville mother is stunned: How can school officials accuse her 6-year-old son of sexual misconduct and report him to the police?

Eight years after Walsh’s promises, Boston prekindergarten is still not universal

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

A year of grit and despair

For one class of immigrant students, the pandemic threatens to upend their educational dreams

To understand the remarkable forces and obstacles newcomers to America have to contend with, a Globe team closely tracked one class at Boston International Newcomers Academy — BINcA for short — for most of a year.
Leer en español: Un año de lucha y desesperación: la pandemia amenaza con poner fin a los sueños de una clase de estudiantes inmigrantesYvonne Abraham: Students’ dreams made impossible by the pandemic
New to English and technology: One student's remarkable journey
Fredy left Guatemala for Boston in 2019. He was just beginning to learn English at Boston International Newcomers Academy when the pandemic shuttered schools. (Shelby Lum/Globe Staff)
As schools went remote, many students stopped attending
When classrooms went virtual, nationwide as many as 1 and 4 English learners have left their classes. (Shelby Lum/Globe Staff)
This special series features student essays, poems and artwork on living and learning during a pandemic.

It was hard enough being a low-income university student. Then COVID hit

Last fall, Jasmine, a sophomore at a public four-year university in Massachusetts, received an e-mail from one of her professors telling her she was failing her class. This essay is an edited version of Jasmine’s belated response to her professor.

Listen to high school junior Maceo Wright’s spoken word poem, ‘Damn Pandemic’

I swear sometimes it’s like they want to build the world without us. We fought for our equality but still there ain’t no balance. How we supposed to fight back when they holding all the power?

• My name is Mariella Murillo, and I am struggling

• A teenager’s lament

• The lockers, once full of ideas with all the books stuffed inside them, are now just full of memories

Academics and Learning

Families of at-risk children struggle to balance safety and education this fall, with remote learning options strictly limited, little known and slow to access

Weeks into the new school year, an unknown number of families across the city and state continue to struggle with a keenly painful dilemma: how to balance their children’s health and their education.

MCAS scores plummet during the pandemic
Massachusetts reactivated the MCAS this year after canceling them in spring 2020 amid the pandemic and the abrupt shutting of schools.

‘We’re being set up for failure’: Massachusetts’ hard line against remote learning this year has left some families feeling hopeless
With little virtual learning allowed this school year, Massachusetts parents are scrambling for other schooling options amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

Equity and Access

Closing BPS middle schools leaves some children school-less

The school committee will vote Wednesday on a proposal to shutter the Irving and Timilty middle school campuses in June 2022.

Rafaela Polanco is the first Boston School Committee member who doesn’t speak fluent English. Here’s how she’s filling communication gaps for countless families
“I thought advocating for my child’s school would make me vulnerable,” Rafaela Polanco said. “But then I did it. And nothing happened to me ... so I kept going.”

Schools are increasing mental health support this year, but experts fear it’s still not enough
A record number of youths suffered crises during the pandemic, yet even before COVID-19, the educational system was not prepared for the mental health needs of young students.

Race and Diversity

For many advocates, restoring Boston’s elected School Committee is about expanding voting rights in communities of color

Voters across Boston will be able to weigh in on a nonbinding referendum on Tuesday about whether the city should return to an elected School Committee.

Boston’s teacher diversity has barely budged in 10 years. District leaders hope the next decade will look different
Across Boston Public Schools, 85 percent of public school students are children of color, but only 40 percent of the district’s 4,570 teachers and guidance counselors are Black, Hispanic, or Asian American.

More students of color are attending Cape Cod schools. But the vast majority of teachers are white
Across Cape Cod, school districts have failed to recruit and retain enough teachers of color to keep pace with a changing population.

Money and Facilities

East Boston school wins $100,000 prize for steady improvement

Otis beat out two other finalists for the prize, which is named after a former Boston superintendent and is given out by EdVestors, a Boston education nonprofit.

‘I was expecting a plan’: Boston students see few signs of federal recovery money
Much of the more than $430 million in federal coronavirus relief funds is being used on air conditioning, air purifiers, and air quality monitors, rather than on bolstering academics.

Low-income school districts are receiving ‘game changer’ Student Opportunity Act funding. Will achievement gaps finally shrink?
Some education advocates worry that unwise spending could undermine the act’s ambitious goal — to close achievement gaps affecting students with disabilities, students of color, English learners, and low-income students.

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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March 2: Federal audit slams local districts and Mass. education department’s oversight of emergency aidFeb 23: Boston has had a turnstile of superintendents. Why can’t BPS hold onto them?Feb 16: Most of Boston’s schools lack fully functioning libraries. The superintendent vowed to change that — but will her successor?

Make sure your voice is heard

Students, we want to hear from you. Please subscribe to a student-only text line to share your story ideas and tips with our team, and receive occasional news alerts from our team. To join, text the word HELLO to 1-833-335-2777.

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. Watch some of our past events:
The State of Race: EducationAll 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.
The Great Divide

‘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.
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