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The Great Divide

Race, class, and opportunity in our schools

‘It’s been a desperate call’: Substitute teachers in high demand as districts grapple with teaching shortages

As staffing shortages pummel schools across the region, substitute teachers are suddenly finding themselves as hot commodities.

Tensions rise as Mass. changes school COVID measures for ‘current state of pandemic’
The push to move schools back toward pre-pandemic operations is escalating tensions between two impassioned groups: those who say that schools have done too much, for too long, to stop the virus, and those who maintain that not enough is being done.

Families in Alabama have free, full-day prekindergarten while many Mass. families can only dream of it

Thanks to Alabama’s growing investments in early education, the state’s pre-K system is among the best in the nation in quality — and it’s free for most. Programs like Alabama’s are the envy of families in Massachusetts.

‘Turned out to be a fiasco’: Mask controversy erodes Mass. educators’ faith in state

It’s not clear how many of the masks distributed were the less protective version labeled “non-medical,” or how many districts received them.

Boston superintendent takes on teaching role due to staffing shortage

Brenda Cassellius tweeted early this morning saying “I couldn’t sleep last night I was so excited to teach fifth grade today.”

As COVID cases surge, students, parents, and teachers worry whether schools can reopen — and stay open

Most districts continued as usual Monday after winter break, while at least 10 districts delayed class because of low staffing or to test teachers and students.

Advocates renew calls to make BPS schools safer following second attack at Henderson School

Sharon schools reach $750,000 settlement with former superintendent who alleged racial discrimination

‘We have a mandate’: Boston leaders hear arguments for elected School Committee after voters backed it in November

Visit our archive of all stories from The Great Divide team

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

An Andover preschool hired an unusual teacher’s aide: a robot
“Kebbi” teaches neurodivergent children at Shawsheen Preschool in the hopes of improving their communication, attention, and emotional understanding skills.

opinion

Joan Vennochi
In the pandemic, teachers deserve respect and options
One teachers union suggests a two-week return to online teaching, to give the Omicron surge a chance to peak. Governor Charlie Baker has mandated in-person learning for all school districts.

Mass. relaxes contact tracing in schools that offer rapid tests to students and staff

Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday announced a plan to provide schools with rapid at-home COVID-19 antigen tests to staffers and students on a weekly basis, signaling a shift away from the state’s Test and Stay program in favor of more at-home screening.

Mass. reports dip in new public school coronavirus cases with 28,151 among students and 4,758 among staff

The 32,909 total cases were 15,505 fewer, or a reduction of about 32 percent from last week's report. The decrease in school cases comes as data shows that cases statewide have peaked after an Omicron-fueled surge.

Boston students walk out, calling for remote learning and stronger COVID-19 safety measures
Students across the Boston Public Schools system walked out of class Friday morning in an effort to urge officials to provide remote learning options and stronger COVID-19 safety measures.

‘We may reach a level of staff absences that compromises our ability to safely operate’: Schools hammered by COVID grapple to remain open

The president of the Boston Teachers Union said the union believes most of the staff absences are COVID-related, though some people out Tuesday were on long-term breaks for situations including maternity leave.

Wu warns BPS needs to be ‘realistic’ about staffing shortages amid Omicron
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Monday that the city will do everything it can to keep schools open as Omicron bears down on the region, but warned that keeping classrooms open may not be possible.

Boston School Committee votes to close three schools

All three schools will close in June 2022 as a part of a plan to phase out middle schools across the city in an effort to limit the number of transitions students make during their time within Boston Public Schools.

More school coverage

‘It’s been a desperate call’: Substitute teachers in high demand as districts grapple with teaching shortages

As staffing shortages pummel schools across the region, substitute teachers are suddenly finding themselves as hot commodities.

Lowell High School bomb threat found ‘not credible,’ police say

Lowell police were notified of the bomb threat after the end of the school day Wednesday, and a search of the high school turned up nothing concerning, police said in a statement.

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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Stay abreast of the most pressing issues plaguing our public education system and their possible solutions. Sign up for our free newsletter with updates on our investigative findings, links to stories, and other relevant information.
Jan 19: Tensions rise as Mass. changes school COVID measures for ‘current state of pandemic’Jan 12: As COVID surge hammers staffing in schools, Wu pressures Baker on remote learningDec. 22: What happens when students remove masks? These Mass. schools are finding outDec. 15: Suffolk jury awards $1.7M to Black teacher after finding Boston schools retaliated against him for discrimination complaints

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