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The Great Divide

Race, class, and opportunity in our schools
Members of the Vocational Education Justice Coalition demonstrated at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden during Tuesday’s meeting.

To boost access to vocational schools, Mass. drops requirement to consider grades, attendance, or discipline in admissions

The new admissions policy will apply to the entering class of 2022, but it also could affect transfer applications during the 2021-22 school year.

A third-grade class in Rye, N.Y.
Some lawmakers want to ban critical race theory in schools. So, what is it?
As national debate over race-related curriculums rages on, here is a lesson on the subject and the controversy surrounding it.

Teachers wary of new laws limiting instruction on race
The exterior of Boston Latin School.

In seismic shift, a lottery might govern admission to Boston’s exam schools

A School Committee task force is giving serious consideration to scrapping the assignments and replacing them with a lottery.
A lottery for exam schools in Boston? Mayoral hopefuls react to the idea
The Boston Latin School.

Task force still undecided on use of test scores for admission to Boston exam schools

One of the biggest stumbling blocks is whether all applicants should be required to take an entrance exam to safeguard against grade inflation or whether the use of test scores should be optional.
Khymani James, shown at a March press conference, resigned from the Boston School Committee and Boston Student Advisory Council and called the counseling sessions emotional abuse.

Former student representative to Boston School Committee says he met with Suffolk DA about use of unorthodox therapy

Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins met virtually with current and former members of a Boston Public Schools student government group, some of whom were exposed to an unorthodox form of group therapy under the supervision of an outside contractor.
Katie Yue-Sum Li, the ethnic studies coordinator at Boston Public Schools, said the onus is often on individual teachers to ensure Asian American history is covered.

Why is Asian American history barely taught in Mass. schools?

Asian Americans and their contributions to US history and culture are largely missing from the nation’s social studies curricula and textbooks. Teachers and scholars say the surge in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic is one consequence of that erasure.

Many students and staffers described the Boston Student Advisory Council’s Re-evaluation Counseling sessions as inappropriate and dangerous, among them (clockwise from top left) student Khymani James, ex-staffer Margaret Fiori, student Charlene Adames-Pimentel, and former employee Jeff Foulkes.
Inside the unlicensed counseling that led Boston students to allege emotional abuse
An independent investigator wrote in a report released this week that students described the “Re-Evaluation Counseling” sessions as “weird, uncomfortable, and cult-like." But the report barely scratched the surface of students’ experiences.

Legislative bills take aim at school segregation in Mass.

After a difficult academic year, the majority of Mass. parents want in-person school this fall

They called the police on a 6-year-old. Now, Somerville school leaders are suspending school police programs

Visit our archive of all stories from The Great Divide team

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

At the Otis Elementary School in East Boston, second graders Sky Feliz, left, and her friend, Malak Mariane, held each other as they left school.

Photos: The last day of school in Boston

Friday marked the last day for the academic year for Boston Public Schools.

Globe Opinion

EDITORIAL
Boston Latin School
Yes, Boston can have excellence and equity at its exam schools
Test scores, grades, ZIP codes, lotteries — it’s time to make some decisions.

EDITORIAL
Mayor Janey spoke at City Hall on June 16 to announce next steps for the Boston School Committee and share a COVID-19 update afternoon.
Who covered up the Boston School Committee texts?
The public had every right to see text messages between school committee members on the night of a controversial exam school vote, but the city withheld them.

State education commissioner Riley earns high marks on annual performance review amid unprecedented pandemic year

Secretary of Education James Peyser said Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has been particularly skillful at balancing the competing priorities of both education and public health groups, “which of course was never part of the job description when he came on board.”

Boston public school students can get pre-registered library cards

The initiative will allow students to use their school ID cards to obtain pre-registered library cards which will make it easy for them to access the books, technology, and services, the Boston Public Library said in a statement.

Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey spoke at City Hall on Wednesday.
Janey reaffirms commitment to fill the ‘void’ of Latino representation on Boston School Committee
Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey named Betty Francisco, cofounder of Amplify Latinx and a BPS parent, to the Boston School Committee Nominating Panel on Wednesday.

Janey seeks Latino nominees for School Committee

State education head Riley says he is considering ‘temporarily freezing’ some federal funding to Boston after School Committee shakeup

Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said Tuesday he is “extremely concerned” about the recent resignations on the Boston School Committee and is considering “temporarily freezing” some federal funding that the district is expected to receive.
US Representative Ayanna Pressley.

Pressley urges Mass. lawmakers to shift funding away from school police to counselors, nurses

School discipline policies in the hands of law enforcement often are used to disproportionately punish students of color, Pressley said, pointing to a study published by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.

John Blake became Duxbury High School’s head hockey coach in 2003.
Duxbury parents say officials downplayed misconduct claims against now-fired hockey coach
Several local parents say a number of sexual misconduct accusations through the years should’ve sparked more scrutiny of longtime hockey coach John Blake.

School this fall will look ‘a lot more like it did before the pandemic,’ Baker says

All schools are required to reopen full time in person without a remote learning option.

Boston School Committee may extend superintendent’s contract by 2 years after giving her high marks on job review

The School Committee selected Jeri Robinson as their new chair following a texting scandal that recently prompted former chair Alexandra Oliver-Dávila and member Lorna Rivera to resign.

Wilmington schools suspend staffer after DCF supports abuse allegation; middle school staffer now under investigation

Conn. towns face losing funds if tribal team mascots don’t change

More school coverage

Emily Oster fought to reopen schools during the pandemic, becoming a hero and a villain

She wrote an opinion essay in July 2020 suggesting that schools and child care centers might be able to reopen safely, noting that working parents “can’t wait around forever.

George Clooney’s next project: A public high school in Los Angeles

For the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, the phrase “giving back to the schools” has often meant a cameo appearance on career day or, perhaps more typically, a fat check made out to your own child’s elite private academy. But on Monday, the nation’s second-largest district unveiled the latest in a string of star-studded collaborations: a new high school underwritten by, among others, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Eva Longoria, and principals at Creative Artists Agency.

Medway students participate in virtual Special Olympics

Students from Medway Public Schools ran and jumped their way in the virtual Special Olympics this year, marking the first time students under the age of 8 could participate, the school district said.

Where were coronavirus cases reported in Mass. schools during the 2020-21 school year? Check our map

During the 2020-21 academic year, the Globe tracked coronavirus clusters and other reported cases in Massachusetts schools.

Featured Stories

Maureen Ronayne sits with her son, Daniel, as he reads aloud in the family's Medford backyard.

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

Flavia Peréa and her now 7-year-old son dug for worms in their local community garden in Somerville.

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

Skyla Withers, 5, left, and Giovanni Gamble, 5, play with other children at the Cooper Community Center in Roxbury in January. They are among hundreds of children who have benefited from Boston's expansion of city-funded prekindergarten in recent years.

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

When Em Quiles' second-grade son didn't participate in zoom classes during remote learning due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the school reported her to the Department of Children and Families.

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

Fredy Solís, a recent immigrant from Guatemala, spent the last year trying to learn from home. The Globe followed Fredy's 11-member Spanish class at Boston International Newcomers Academy through the pandemic, to better understand how school closures have affected the city's most vulnerable students.
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

Education, Interrupted
This series explored how school closures in the spring of 2020 affected individual students.
Malaki Solo, a sixth-grader, works on his homework in his family's living room on Tuesday morning. Malaki, who is a generally confident student, has been feeling unmoored during this online learning experiment.

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

Jaliyah Bacchus and her littler sister, Jayda, greet their mother, Trisha Anderson.
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.

Lisa Kincade was with her son Willie, 21, after going for a walk in their Roslindale neighborhood.
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

Jami Entwistle wants her son, Lukas, who has been diagnosed with autism, to repeat sixth grade.

Some students and parents want to repeat lost school year, but school leaders oppose it

Educators point to research showing retention can harm students, especially older ones. But parents, advocates, and researchers say that this year was anything but typical, and that schools should consider the potential harm in advancing students who aren’t academically ready.

Mass. commits over $70 million for summer programs to combat learning loss during the pandemic

The funding will allow school districts and community organizations to set up both classroom and recreational programs for students of all grade levels.

How to make up for the pandemic’s devastating learning loss? Massachusetts families say summer school will be key

As Massachusetts leaders and school officials grapple with how to make up for lost learning from the pandemic, a clear majority of parents say robust summer school offerings need to be a part of the solution.

Struggling Boston teens find few support options, fueling record absentee rates

After schools closed last year, many nonprofit organizations set up learning “hubs” that would allow small groups of students to join together and be overseen by an adult. But they were primarily for younger students.

Equity and Access

Students walked with parents to school in Chinatown.

Vulnerable and long neglected, many English learners with disabilities languish with unmet needs in city schools

Though state and federal laws require schools to address both language and disability, Boston schools too often accommodate just one.

In exploring the history of educational inequity, METCO students find echos of the present

METCO, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, a voluntary school integration program, has been enrolling K-12 students from Boston in predominantly white suburban school districts since 1966 — a history that now spans multiple generations of students.

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

The pre-K program in Boston Public Schools is well-regarded, but without universal capacity, the spots tend to go to savvier families who know about the early application deadline.

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.

Race and Diversity

At Boston Latin School, the temporary plan has notably altered the composition of the incoming seventh-graders receiving admission offers.

Change is boosting diversity at Boston’s exam schools, but some feel angry about not getting in

A slew of data released by the Boston Public Schools in recent days provides the clearest picture yet on the results of a temporary admission policy. But many families, particularly those skilled at navigating the admissions process, are fuming.

Asian American families overwhelmingly reject full-time return to BPS classrooms this month

As Boston prepares to reopen elementary and middle schools full time, Asian American families are choosing to keep their children learning from home at rates higher than any other racial group, amid fears about both the pandemic and a growing tide of racism targeting their community.

‘Learning pods’ taking root in Black, Latino neighborhoods

Pods, also known as learning hubs or study halls, have been slow to arrive in low-income communities. But in the last six months, more have popped up to provide safe spaces for students to do their remote learning.

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.

Money and Facilities

School officials had initially planned to overhaul Jackson Mann K-8 School's deteriorating building on Armington Street and had been seeking an alternative location for the school during construction.

Boston to close Jackson Mann K-8 School in Allston

Officials notified staff and families about the closure on Wednesday, ending nearly two years of consternation over the school’s future.

To help low-income students, build more affordable housing in high-performing school districts, report says

Massachusetts and other New England states should create more affordable housing in well-to-do suburbs in an effort to provide low-income students greater access to a high-quality education, according to a report released Monday.

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.
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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June 21: A lottery might govern admission to Boston’s exam schoolsJune 14: After racially charged texts, two abruptly resign from Boston School CommitteeJune 7: In Massachusetts, legislative bills are taking aim at school segregation
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. 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.
Brighton High debate team members.
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