Podcast School Committee

Last night, the School Committee spent the majority of its time discussing and voting on the Superintendent’s final budget recommendation for the next fiscal year. The School Committee was split on the budget: some members expressed hesitance about adding to the district’s hundreds of vacancies and creating a fiscal cliff in future years, while oth…

Last night’s meeting began with a one-hour budget hearing, followed by a lengthy discussion of three main topics: budget, transportation, and school mergers. Superintendent Skipper began her report with an overview of a new organizational chart for BPS, increasing the number of department chiefs reporting to three deputy superintendents. School Com…

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, the majority of which focused on transportation and transformation schools. Superintendent Skipper discussed the recent controversy over a pending RFP for management of the bus system that received only one bidder – current management company Transdev. She also celebrated the addition of …

Last night’s meeting marked the beginning of the annual BPS budget process. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper discussed the district’s progress in implementing contractually-obligated back-pay for educators and new developments in the school merger process. The Superintendent noted that she has adde…

Last night’s meeting focused primarily on three policy areas. The first dealt with contractually-obligated back-pay for BPS staff. Despite agreeing to pay increases in the most recent union contract, BPS has yet to implement these increases, with Superintendent Skipper noting they hope to have the issue sorted by mid-February. BPS teachers and staf…

Last night was the first full School Committee meeting of 2023, following last week’s annual Organizational Meeting in which the Committee approved their 2023 meeting schedule and reappointed Chair Jeri Robinson and Vice Chair Michael O’Neill to their leadership positions. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Ski…

Last night’s meeting was the last School Committee meeting of 2022, and the School Committee spent the majority of the meeting kicking off the process for next year’s budget discussion. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, where Superintendent Skipper discussed student safety, transportation, and rising COVID-19 cases in Boston – an …

Last night’s meeting was five hours long, beginning with the Superintendent’s Report, the majority of which celebrated the district’s Educator of the Year award recipients. The first Committee report last night was on union contracts for food service workers, police patrolmen, and custodians. All three contracts were approved. The second report was…

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, the majority of which focused on transportation. The Superintendent reported that on-time arrivals for morning buses increased to 89% in November, up from 88% the previous month. School Committee members asked questions about how many students are actually impacted by these delays and how…

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper covered student safety, transportation, absenteeism, and teacher diversity. The Superintendent highlighted the impact of social media on student behavior, noting that tense online conversations often spill into in-person interactions and calling on everyone…

Last night’s meeting was four hours long, with the School Committee hearing only one presentation after deciding to delay their report on hiring and diversity to next week’s meeting. The Superintendent began with her report with updates on enrollment, transportation, and test scores. Superintendent Skipper informed the Committee that, as of this mo…

Last night’s meeting was Mary Skipper’s second as superintendent, and it began with a solemn acknowledgement of recent incidents of violence in the BPS community. Superintendent Skipper continued her report with an update on transportation, in which she discussed continued disruptions for families due to uncovered routes and insufficient bus monito…

Last night’s meeting was Mary Skipper’s first as BPS Superintendent. The School Committee welcomed Superintendent Skipper back to the district and also introduced and welcomed new student representative Diego Mehta. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, in which Superintendent Skipper discussed her vision for “getting back to basics” …

Last night’s meeting was the first meeting since the start of school and the last for Dr. Drew Echelson as Acting Superintendent before Mary Skipper starts on September 26. The meeting began with Chair Jeri Robinson announcing that a report on the Mission Hill School would be postponed to the next meeting. Although there was no presentation during …

Last night’s meeting was the last School Committee meeting of the summer – the last meeting before students go back to school next week. However, for the second time in a row, there was no quorum. For much of the meeting, there was only one other member besides the Chair. The official meeting lasted just fifteen minutes, with a quorum of members vo…

Last night was a short meeting, and it began with three unanimous votes: one to approve athletics association membership for several Boston high schools, one to approve $11 million in grants, and one to approve a contract for incoming Superintendent Mary Skipper. Superintendent Skipper’s contract includes a start date of September 26, an annual sal…

What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. In “Last Night @ School Committee,” Jill Shah and Ross Wilson recap the highlights of each meeting, provide commentary and context, and shine a light on the decisions our leaders are making. Last night was a short meeting and the first featuring…

Last night was a big night for Boston Public Schools, culminating in the selection of Somerville Superintendent Mary Skipper as the next Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included a discussion of the agreement reached earlier this week between BPS and the State Department of Elementar…

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which included data on summer program enrollment and a preview of a report coming next week on federal ESSER relief money spending. Notably, the report did not include an update on negotiations with the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education over their audit of BPS, but wh…

What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. In “Last Night @ School Committee,” Jill Shah and Ross Wilson recap the highlights of each meeting, provide commentary and context, and shine a light on the decisions our leaders are making. Last night’s meeting began with an update on the super…

What happens at each Boston School Committee meeting has big implications for our students and our city. In “Last Night @ School Committee,” Jill Shah and Ross Wilson recap the highlights of each meeting, provide commentary and context, and shine a light on the decisions our leaders are making. Last night’s meeting began with a discussion of the hi…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

The City of Boston has a new mayor, and Mayor Wu and her appointed school committee have begun a search for a new Superintendent of Boston Public Schools. Boston has had 6 superintendents in 16 years - three of whom served Interim roles - and all who worked tirelessly on behalf of students, families and staff to improve aspects of BPS. What type of…

Last night’s meeting began with an update on the investigation that has been ongoing at the Mission Hill School. After a year long investigation by the law firm Hinckley Allen, the firm found that– as detailed by the Boston Globe– that “the school endangered and failed children for years by overlooking allegations of sexual abuse and bullying and n…

At last night’s meeting, the School Committee heard reports on the Superintendent search, new school buildings and transportation contracts.The meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which the Superintendent covered school safety, masking in schools, enrollment and school choice updates that included new data on family choice, and the o…

Last night’s meeting concluded the months-long process of approving the $1.3 billion budget for the next school year. After numerous public listening sessions as well as feedback from the School Committee, the Superintendent and her team brought the budget for a vote. This budget vote also coincides with the recent news that the Massachusetts Depar…

Last night’s meeting marked two years since schools closed due to the pandemic, and it came in the face of mounting uncertainty from families across the district about the future of their students’ education. Prior to the meeting, BPS leaders announced temporary measures to assuage the concerns of the P.A. Shaw Elementary School community about the…

Last night was a short, special meeting specifically dedicated to providing an update on the superintendent search process. The meeting covered four main topics: approval of the separation agreement for Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, discussion and approval of a search committee for the new superintendent, outline of the timeline for that search…

Last night’s meeting was the first School Committee meeting since the announcement that Superintendent Brenda Cassellius will be resigning from her position. Cassellius, who began in July 2019, announced in a press conference with Mayor Michelle Wu that she will step down at the end of the school year, and Mayor Wu expressed her commitment to hirin…

Last night’s meeting kicked off the Fiscal Year 2023 budget process for Boston Public Schools. Over the coming weeks, there will be public hearings on the draft budget proposal unveiled last night, culminating in a vote in March by the School Committee and subsequent consideration by the City Council and Mayor Wu. The meeting began with the Superin…

Last night’s meeting began with the introduction of the newest School Committee member, Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, to round out the seven-member committee. A former advisor to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Cardet-Hernandez is currently the Executive Director of the Ivy Street School, a private program serving students with autism, ADHD, anxiet…

Last night was the first Boston School Committee meeting of 2022, and it began with the introduction of a new School Committee member, Dr. Stephen Alkins, who is a Boston parent, a scientist, and a leader in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Dr. Hardin Coleman and Ernani DeAraujo are no longer on the committee, and there is one op…

Last night’s meeting began with the announcement that two current Committee members, Hardin Coleman and Ernani DeAraujo, would not be seeking reappointment to the School Committee after their term ends. After this announcement, the Superintendent provided a brief Superintendent’s Report that touched on a few subjects, including COVID-19 testing upd…

Last night’s meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which she discussed Acceleration Academies, ELL services, ESSER funding, and a reversal on which elementary schools will be getting a sixth grade. There was a lot of new information during this report but few follow-up questions from members of the School Committee seeking clarity. The…

The School Committee reconvened last night after a two week period in which Boston Public Schools has been featured prominently in the news. This includes issues regarding COVID-19 testing and outbreaks, calls for reforms to the new exam school policy, and inadequate staffing - particularly for our English Language Learners and to support the menta…

What happens at each Boston Public Schools School Committee meeting has big implications for our students, our city, and our state. In “Last Night @ School Committee,” Jill Shah and Ross Wilson recap the highlights of each meeting, provide commentary and context, and shine a light on the decisions our leaders are making. Last night’s meeting took p…

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s Report, which featured an unannounced update on the exam school policy and its implementation. The report left many of the key questions unanswered, and numerous public co…

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The meeting began with a discussion about the persistent issues with COVID-19 testing in schools and transportation, including an announcement from the Superintendent of a new task force to address chronic transport…

Welcome to our bonus special edition of Last Night @ School Committee, which we're calling Fact or Fiction. Every two weeks, we discuss the key moments and open questions from the Boston School Committee meeting. We do this to help Boston parents and community members stay informed and engaged, and to hold the superintendent and district leaders ac…

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The meeting began with the Superintendent’s report, in which she promised an update on exam school simulations at the next meeting. She also discussed the ongoing transportation issues and painted a rosy picture of …

<< In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. With school starting next Thursday, the Superintendent and her team presented on back-to-school and reopening updates. While the updates began on a positive note with a recap of summer programming and backpack di…

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. Just before the meeting began, the public was made aware of a bombshell story, broken by the Boston Globe, that Superintendent Cassellius’ license had expired. We also learned that state officials had notified the S…

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The five-hour meeting began with the Superintendent providing an update on summer learning, the hiring of new positions in the district, and more. The bulk of the meeting focused on the Superintendent’s proposal for…

In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The six-hour meeting began with the Superintendent preemptively framing the evening’s conversation around the recommendation from the Exam School Task Force for a new admissions policy to the three exam schools. The…

Last Night at School Committee Recap: June 16, 2021 Meeting Recap In this episode of Last Night at School Committee, Jill and Ross recap the highlights of last night’s Boston School Committee meeting. The first meeting since the resignation of two committee members, Lorna Rivera and Alexandra Oliver-Dávila, the meeting began with the election of th…