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The Great Divide

Race, class, and opportunity in our schools

‘That looks like what I eat at home’: City Fresh Foods makes meals for BPS students, by Bostonians

The Roxbury-based food producers in May were awarded a $17 million contract, the largest non-construction contract ever given to a certified Black-owned business by the city.

Bullying incidents at Boston’s Mission Hill K-8 School spur federal lawsuit

The lawsuit is the latest fallout from an explosive report in April by the law firm Hinckley Allen that found Mission Hill K-8 School endangered children by failing to address allegations of sexual abuse and pervasive bullying while also neglecting students with disabilities.

State leaders must act to close education gaps post-pandemic, advocates say

The groups released a report Wednesday outlining the widening gaps and proposing over 30 steps the state can take to address them, including requiring districts to publish pandemic recovery plans with specific numeric targets.

At start of new school year, BPS grapples with late buses again

Late-running school buses have been a chronic problem for more than a decade, testing the patience of families, students, and school staff.

Boston students return to school, weathering transportation woes

The district has over 660 drivers in place for 590 routes but continues to hire to cover for absences, district officials said.
Back in class: Here are the changes to expect this school year

As back-to-school traffic adds more buses to streets, Orange Line shuttles taking twice as long for some

The Orange Line shutdown project faced its biggest test yet on Thursday: the influx of Boston Public Schools students and teachers returning to class.

Boston Public Schools seeks to have exam school case tossed out of federal court, arguing ‘the case is moot’

The fate of the five students is the latest flashpoint in the ongoing legal dispute between BPS and the group of Asian and white parents over a temporary policy for Fall 2021 that largely assigned seats at the three exam schools by student grades and city ZIP codes instead of a citywide competition.

‘Here’s how school is going to help you’: Boston Public Schools team knocks on doors, encourages students to return

After Malden’s Mystic Valley Regional Charter School handling of student’s hijab, questions swirl over why such incidents continue to occur

Boston school leaders check off first tasks under state-supervised improvement plan

Visit our archive of all stories from The Great Divide team

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Randolph teacher receives ‘Oscars of teaching’ award for her dedication to young English language learners
Taylor Thai, who teaches kindergarten and first-grade English language learners at Margaret L. Donovan Elementary School, received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award in a surprise ceremony on Wednesday.

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.

State education board approves controversial proposal raising MCAS graduation requirements

The vote to raise the standards comes two months after the board was initially expected to decide on the proposal by education commissioner Jeff Riley and follows a public comment period that began in April.

State more than doubles investment in early college high school programs

Tucked into the state’s $52.7 billion budget is a $19 million investment to help scale up early college programs in schools throughout Massachussetts, an $8 million increase in funding.

Acting Boston school chief steps into spotlight as state turnaround deadlines loom

Drew Echelson is now front-and-center as the acting superintendent of BPS, charged with temporarily leading BPS through a grueling state intervention plan and preparations for welcoming back 48,000-plus students early next month.
Mass. education officials, Mayor Wu hammer out last-minute deal that averts BPS state takeover and ‘underperforming’ label

Skipper gets four-year, $300,000-per-year contract as new Boston superintendent

Skipper will remain the superintendent of Somerville Public Schools until her contract with Boston begins Sept. 26.

Boston students face new hurdle getting to school: Orange Line shutdown

The 30-day closure of the Orange Line is another headache for the Boston school system. More than 23,000 Boston students take the MBTA, and for many of them the Orange Line is a critical transportation link.

First-of-its-kind law improves college access for students with autism, intellectual disabilities

More than a decade in the making, the breakthrough legislation will require all of the state’s public college campuses to offer accommodations to young people whose severe disabilities prevent them from earning a standard high school diploma.

Nearly one-third of Massachusetts students were chronically absent last year

Chronic absenteeism has more than doubled statewide since before the pandemic. In Boston and other large urban districts, over 40 percent of students missed 10 percent or more of the last school year, according to data through March 2022.

More school coverage

State education board approves literacy screening mandate to detect learning disabilities

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday unanimously approved the mandatory literacy screenings from kindergarten through at least third grade. The mandate goes into effect next July.

Four Mass. schools named National Blue Ribbon Schools

National Blue Ribbon Schools are public and non-public K-12 schools recognized for overall academic achievements or progress in closing achievement gaps.

Adult member of Boston Public Schools community tests positive for monkeypox, officials say

A letter sent to families Monday did not specify whether the person who tested positive works for the school district, and BPS wouldn’t confirm whether the person is a staffer, or a member of the school community in some other capacity.

Incoming Boston schools leader discusses her vision for the district and its challenges at Globe Summit

Mary Skipper says she's been trying to understand people’s perspectives and experiences about what’s working in the district, as well as the priorities of the community.

Featured Stories

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)

Sign up for The Great Divide newsletter

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.
Sept. 21: Bullying incidents at Boston’s Mission Hill K-8 School spur federal lawsuitSept. 14: At start of new school year, BPS grapples with late buses againSept. 7: Amid uncertainties, Boston Public Schools reopens doors to new school year

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 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
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

After mastering English, bilingual students ace tests, including the MCAS

Among all Massachusetts students who took the MCAS exam as 10th-graders in 2019, former English learners had a higher passing rate on the English Language Arts portion of the test than any other group of students.

All Dearborn STEM Academy seniors admitted to Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
All graduating seniors at the Dearborn STEM Academy in Roxbury will be admitted to a two-year program at the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, the college announced Friday morning.

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

Equity and Access

More low-income students gain access to Boston’s exam schools after admission policy changes

The introduction of the bonus points has been widely embraced by civil rights advocates and many parents who contend that it helps level the playing field for applicants who don’t have the financial means for test prep and who tend not perform as well on standardized tests.

Most of Boston’s schools lack fully functioning libraries. The superintendent vowed to change that — but will her successor?
In Boston, after years of decline in library access, a school library with regular hours, dedicated staff, and an up-to-date collection has become an extra bonus amenity, found at exam schools and campuses with robust parent fund-raising efforts — and hardly anywhere else.

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.”

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.
City Council pushes ahead with plan for change to 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

What to know about how Boston Public Schools is spending its federal relief funds

To distribute $50 million per year to schools, the district opted for a simple formula. For each English learner, low-income student and student with disabilities enrolled each year, a school will get $813.

How have Massachusetts school districts spent their $2.5 billion in federal COVID funds? Mostly, they still haven’t.

Among the 78 districts and independent charter schools that have received over $5 million, the Atlantis Charter School in Fall River stands alone as the only one to have spent more than 90 percent. Only five others have spent even half.

Wu to launch a new era of school construction, pledging $2 billion to revamp city’s school facilities
The facilities dashboard will give each school building an overall rating so that parents can figure out how their children’s school stacks up against others in the city and why some school projects are being prioritized over others.

New Boston city budget includes $788 million for school capital projects over five years — but will it be enough?
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.