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The Great Divide

Race, class, and opportunity in our schools

As public health experts advise keeping schools open, superintendents grapple with logistics, politics, and the second wave    

Many are facing pressure from frayed parents on both sides of the argument, and are choosing to take what they see as the safer path, limiting children’s time in school.

Racial gaps in access to in-person instruction worse than expected, according to a new poll

Two months into an unprecedented school year, the racial and socioeconomic gaps in terms of who can access in-person learning appear to be larger than expected.

From individual sessions to taking a real-world approach, here’s how teachers are adapting to the pandemic

Many Massachusetts teachers have begun to feel comfortable with teaching virtually, and now some are starting to experiment.

To Boston parents, treatment of most vulnerable students underscores district’s poor planning, communication

Fears of a repeat experience resurfaced as district officials prepared to bring back a far smaller number of high needs students for in-person instruction.

Mass. school districts' plans vary widely on key practices for pandemic-era education, review finds

The findings of a new survey from the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education underscore the wildly different approaches districts have taken to pandemic-era education.

Visit our archive of all stories from The Great Divide team

Opinion

IDEAS | JOSH BENJAMIN
I’m mourning the sounds of kids arguing in my classroom
Noisy disagreements are fuel for social growth in childhood.

Globe Magazine: Education Issue

METCO schools are at the intersection of the pandemic and racism

Five ways you can help kids learn better in online school right now

Will my kid learn anything this school year? Experts take on the most worrisome questions

Why learning pods could be worse for public schools than the pandemic

Map: A look at coronavirus in Mass. schools this year

The Globe is tracking coronavirus outbreaks and other incidents that have affected Massachusetts schools and students.
Mass. reports 276 new coronavirus cases among public school students, 251 among school staff members

Boston parents rally at City Hall for school reopening

The vast majority of Boston’s 51,000 public school students have been learning remotely since March.

Jinny Chalmers, school principal who championed diversity in the classroom and life, dies at 70
A tireless advocate for diversity, Jinny Chalmers spent two decades as principal of the Young Achievers pilot school in Mattapan.

Public school enrollment plummets statewide amid coronavirus pandemic

The drop largely reflects a wave of families who have pulled their children out of public schools, frustrated that classrooms remain closed during the pandemic.

When teens host parties, some school districts return to remote learning. But does the science support that?

School amid the pandemic

Mayors worry about pandemic’s impact on schools, small businesses, BU survey finds

The mayors surveyed were especially concerned about residents who already faced structural racism and economic struggles, including Black and Latino Americans, immigrants, and renters.

46 new coronavirus cases in two days on Nantucket; schools going remote for remainder of week

Forty-six new cases of COVID-19 were reported at Nantucket Cottage Hospital on Monday and Tuesday, prompting local schools on the island to shift to remote learning for at least a couple of days, officials said.

The impact of kids being out of school this year could be ‘pretty detrimental,’ Walsh says

Long-term remote learning could have a “detrimental” impact on Boston’s students, the majority of whom have been learning remotely since March, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Tuesday.

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

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

From individual sessions to taking a real-world approach, here’s how teachers are adapting to the pandemic

Many Massachusetts teachers have begun to feel comfortable with teaching virtually, and now some are starting to experiment.

Mass. school districts' plans vary widely on key practices for pandemic-era education, review finds

The findings of a new survey from the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education underscore the wildly different approaches districts have taken to pandemic-era education in a state that has largely taken a hands-off approach to local education affairs.

Independent study for 6-year-olds? Some Massachusetts districts are skirting instructional requirements for kids

This school year, Massachusetts has reinstated its requirement that public schools provide at least five hours of “structured learning time” every school day. But interviews with a dozen parents, advocates, and experts reveal that districts vary widely on what constitutes remote education.

As schools reopen, students struggle with COVID trauma

At the outset of an unprecedentedly difficult year, schools are trying to help struggling students cope — a challenge exponentially complicated by the fact that many of them are learning remotely.

Equity and Access

Equity concerns spark discussion about school year

As policymakers think about ways to address learning disruptions students are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, one potential tool that got attention during a Boston College webinar Thursday was the concept of restructuring the academic calendar.

Thousands of Boston public school students cut off from dental care

Oral health programs were halted in March when school buildings closed amid the pandemic. But that has left students without an opportunity to see a dentist or hygienist for the past seven months.

Educational inequality likely to widen this fall as white students return to school and students of color learn from home

Roughly two-thirds of Black and Hispanic students live in districts where schools are starting the year remotely. By contrast, most white students—about 70 percent—live in school districts with “hybrid” back-to-school plans that include some learning time inside school classrooms.

Hundreds of Boston students who need laptops have not received them, advocates say

Data published by advocacy group Lawyers for Civil Rights show in many cases students with disabilities and those at predominantly Black and Latino schools were less likely to receive laptops compared to their peers without disabilities or at whiter schools.

Race and Diversity

Coalition of students urge school leaders around Boston to address anti-Asian racism

In an open letter to school leaders in Boston, Quincy and Malden, a coalition of Asian-American students and their supporters is urging educators to take action now to ensure their safety as a new school year begins.

How teachers are bringing lessons from the racial justice uprisings into the classroom

Galvanized by a summer of civil unrest, teachers across the Commonwealth are planning to integrate the tenets of antiracism into their curriculum during a school year already defined by change amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Black girls in Mass. nearly 4 times more likely to face school discipline than white girls, report finds

The state’s disparity is slightly higher than that of Alabama, the report by the nonprofit Appleseed Network found.

In embrace of W.E.B. Du Bois, Great Barrington names middle school after the civil rights icon

At the end of a two-and-a-half-hour Zoom meeting — in which dozens testified, mostly in favor of the proposed change — the Berkshire Hills Regional School District committee voted unanimously Thursday evening to rename the local middle school in honor of Great Barrington’s best-known native son.

Money and Facilities

How Rhode Island brought most students back for in-person learning — and Massachusetts did not

In Massachusetts, only about a dozen districts, most of them made up entirely of elementary schools, plan to return all students to classrooms full time this fall. Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, the vast majority of the state’s 66 districts and charter schools plan to offer full-time in-person learning by October.

State school funding formula too generous to wealthy districts, report says

The state’s formula for funding public schools has changed over time in ways that pump extra money into wealthier districts while shortchanging low-income areas, according to a report released Monday by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

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.
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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Nov. 30: How educators and parents are talking with kids about the real story of ThanksgivingNov. 23: Racial gaps in access to in-person school loom larger than expectedNov. 16: Here’s how teachers are adapting to the pandemic
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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. 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