DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE
CONTEXT
WHERE/WHEN APPLICABLE

Click here for Schools/ public education (Entry 2 out of 2)

DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE:
In 1997, "school system" was the second highest concern Boston residents had about their city (preceded only by crime), while in 1999, "school system" ranked as the highest concern (Boston Public Safety Survey, Boston Police Department, 1999). Concerns about the school system are myriad. Many parents worry about school rankings on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), which all seniors are required to pass before graduation from high school. Incoming students and their families are often not assigned to one of the top choices on their preference list. Debates surrounding ethnic balance of student bodies at each school have also been highly charged.

In the Heart of the City and throughout Boston, the quality of the public schools is a major consideration for families with the option of living in the city or the suburbs. Alternatives to the traditional public school system in Boston include charter and pilot schools, which rely on public and private funding and often have long waiting lists, and small neighborhood private and parochial schools, which charge tuition.

(NOTE: Private schools and Education (information and adult) are covered in separate entries of the database).

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CONTEXT:
Children in the Heart of the City:
According to a Boston Foundation report called "Boston Indicators of Progress, Change, and Sustainability," more than half of Boston's children live in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, and Jamaica Plain. In many census tracts east and north of Franklin Park, more than 30% of residents are under the age of 18. The youth population in these predominantly minority neighborhoods grew significantly between 1990 and 2000, and in general the population of Boston Public School students is predominantly minority (85% minority in 1999).

The population of children in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan is also significant in light of the city's overall decrease in school-aged children. Since 1960, there has been a 35% decline in the number of school-aged children in Boston (including those who attend private and parochial schools) (Michele Kurtz, and Anand Vaishnav, "Catholic schools struggle in the city," Mar. 9, 2003).

School assignments:
For elementary and middle school students, the city of Boston is divided into three zones -- east, west, and north. Students apply for schools in the zone where they live or apply to the few citywide schools that are open to all students. All high schools are citywide.

In most cases, half of the spots in each school are reserved for those who live within walking distance of the school. Siblings of current students already attending the school are also given first preference.

Before 2000, the City's system for assigning children to schools sought to create a racial balance in the public schools. In 2000, the City abandoned the old system of school assignments in favor of a new, "race-blind" system. The new system promotes the concept of neighborhood schools regardless of the racial makeup of the particular neighborhoods.

MCAS:
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam is administered to all public school students in Massachusetts in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 (and in some cases in other grades) to measure the performance of students, schools, and school districts. The MCAS tests Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Technology, and History and Social Science. Students must pass the MCAS test before they can graduate from high school in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is the only U.S. state to require students to pass a test in order to graduate from high school.

Inequities:
A gap exists in MCAS performance between various ethnic groups in the city.  In the spring of 2001, 82% of white Boston 10th graders passed the math section of the MCAS. In 2001, 41% of black Boston 10th graders passed. In total, by the fall of 2002, 65% of Boston high school students had passed the English exam and 61% had passed the Math portion. Among ethnic groups statewide, 50% of Hispanics had passed both exams, up from 29% after the May 2001 exam. African Americans have risen to 56%, up from 37% in 2001. Asian students have risen from 68% to 83% (Dennis Wright, "Communities Show Increase on MCAS," www.roxbury.com, Sept. 13, 2002).

MCAS scores at Solomon Lewenberg Middle School and English High School were low enough to trigger emergency state audits.

Drop-out rates:
The 2001 Boston dropout rates were 8.6% for African-Americans; 10.6% for Hispanics; 7.4% for whites; and 3.8% for Asians. At 10.6%, Roxbury had the highest dropout rate of any Boston neighborhood (Megan Tench, "Some question school gains despite possible U.S. honor in Boston," The Boston Globe, May 9, 2002).

From 2002 to 2003, the city suffered an increase in dropout rates from 7% to 7.7% overall. In 2003, 1,045 public school students dropped out of Boston schools. (Anad Vaishnav, "High School Dropout Rates Are Up Sharply," The Boston Globe, April 6, 2004).

Minority students in private schools:
Increasingly, minority parents in Boston are sending their children to private and parochial schools. Over the past two decades, the number of nonwhite children attending private and parochial schools more than tripled, from 3,243 to 11,381. Catholic schools in the city are now 42% minority and private schools are 38% minority, reflecting an emerging black and Latino middle class that is dissatisfied with the public school system, but chooses to stay in the city.

Budget shortfalls:
In 2003, the Boston Public School system as a whole is grappling with dramatic new budgetary constraints. In March 2003, the school system faces a budget shortfall of $114 million out of a $585 million budget. Even after a proposed 1,250 layoffs, the system will still experience a projected budget gap of $34 million in 2004 (Anand Vaishnav and Michele Kurtz, "Educators setting criteria for shutting down schools,"March 7, 2003).

Technology Upkeep:
In 2005, the Boston Public School system was dealing with the issue of high-technology maintenance.  The computers used in the schools were not updated and were starting to get old.  A school audit done in 2005 found that half of the 15,000 computers bought for the schools are five to six years old and are in need of replacement as they are nearing the end of their technology life.  A budget slash for this maintenance has caused the issue, as the maintenance becomes more costly over time because the computers need more upgrading.  The school budget request for 2006 included $650,000 for computer upgrades, falling short of the estimated $3 million per year that is needed.  Teachers and students express their frustration with having to use old "clunker computers," because it takes too long to load anything and sometimes the computers don’t even work.

At the Young Achievers K-8 School in Jamaica Plain as well as other schools around the city, donated computers help to aid the issue.  Bringing in donated computers is said to have its own problems though, as there are too many different computers and printers and no efficiency (Kevin Rothstein, "Hub School Computers Not Making The Grade; $9M Needed For Upkeep," The Boston Herald, March 21, 2005).

Partnerships:
Certain schools in the Heart of the City have created partnerships with local organizations and institutions. The Haley Elementary School in Roslindale established a strong link to the Boston Nature Center. Some teachers and administrators consider the nature center, which is across the street from the school, to be an extension of its campus. One teacher naturalist from the Boston Nature Center devotes the majority of her time to the Haley School, while other teacher naturalists from the center work in multiple schools in the surrounding area. The Greater Egleston Community High School has close ties to the Egleston Square Neighborhood Association and the Egleston Square YMCA, with which the school shares a building.

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WHERE/ WHEN APPLICABLE:
The schools:
The Heart of the City contains ten district public elementary schools: Rafael Hernandez, Agassiz, Manning, and Margaret Fuller in Jamaica Plain, the Endicott in Dorchester, Mattahunt in Mattapan, the Sumner and Haley in Roslindale, and the Ellis, Trotter, and Higginson in Roxbury. The area has two K-8 pilot schools, which are part of the Boston Public School system but, like charter schools, are intended to be "laboratories for educational innovation" and to permit a greater degree of freedom than district schools. The pilot schools in the Heart of the City are the Young Achievers Science and Mathematics Pilot School in Jamaica Plain and the Patrick Lyndon Pilot School in Roslindale. The only district middle school in the area is the Solomon Lewenberg in Mattapan. Three district high schools in the area are English High in Jamaica Plain, Jeremiah Burke High in Roxbury/ Dorchester, and Boston Latin Academy, a testing school that lies on the outskirts of the Heart of the City in Roxbury. The Greater Egleston Community High School in Jamaica Plain is a small alternative public high school for young people between the ages of 16 and 21.

In the fall of 2003, three new district schools will open in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. The three schools will have capacity for 2,000 Boston Public Schools students, including many children from the Heart of the City. The Mattapan middle school on Mildred Avenue and the kindergarten through eighth grade school in Roxbury lie outside of the Heart of the City, while the new middle school on Columbia Road in Dorchester lies on the outskirts of the Heart of the City and has been constructed with input from people throughout the Grove Hall area. The three schools cost a total of $121 million (Ed Hayward, "Hub showcases new schools," The Boston Globe, March 29, 2002).

Underperforming schools:
Since 2001, the state has identified two Heart of the City schools as underperforming. In 2001, the Solomon Lewenburg School in Mattapan was one of twelve middle schools statewide that was reviewed by a panel because of its significant deficiencies. The state assigned the school a rating of low or critically low in 2001 largely because of the relatively low MCAS scores of its students. The panel was convened to determine whether the school has developed an adequate plan to address its problems. In June 2002 the state identified English High School in Jamaica Plain as one six underperforming high schools in the state to be targeted for a similar review.

Meanwhile, the Jeremiah Burke High School lost its accreditation in from 1995 to 1998 due to its poor performance and facilities. The City invested $4.2 million in the Burke to bring the school up to minimum accreditation standards.

College attendance:
The number of students per school in the class of 1997 who attended college or vocational training citywide was an average of 65.18%. More than 68% of English High students attended additional school following graduation in 1997, while 60.5% of Jeremiah Burke students attended additional schooling.


Links to School Info and MCAS Performance for most Heart of the City public schools

(Updated January 2007 - This information for all Boston Public Schools can be found at http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/profiles.asp):

Elementary Schools:

Hernandez School (K-8) (citywide school)
61 School St., Roxbury, MA 02119 - (617) 635-8187
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC301.pdf 

Endicott Elementary School - CLOSED
2 McLellan St., Dorchester, MA 02121

Middle School Academy (formerly Endicott Elementary School)
2 McLellan St., Dorchester, MA 02121 - (617) 635-8234
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC553.pdf 

Mattahunt Elementary School
100 Hebron St., Mattapan, MA 02126 - (617) 635-8792
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC350.pdf 

Agassiz Elementary School
20 Child St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 - (617) 635-8198
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC205.pdf 

Ellis Elementary School
302 Walnut Ave., Roxbury, MA - (617) 635-8257
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC262.pdf 

Margaret Fuller Elementary School - CLOSED
25 Glen Rd., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Haley Elementary School
570 American Legion Hwy. Roslindale, MA 02131 - (617) 635-8169
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC293.pdf 

Higginson Elementary School
160 Harrishof Street, Roxbury, MA 02119 - (617) 635-8247
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC303.pdf 

Manning Elementary School
130 Louders Lane, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 - (617) 635-8102
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC342.pdf 

Sumner Elementary School
15 Basile Street, Roslindale, MA 02131 - (617) 635-8131
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC420.pdf 

Trotter Elementary School
135 Humboldt Ave., Dorchester, MA 02121 - (617) 635-8225
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC428.pdf 

Pilot K-8 Schools:

Young Achievers Science & Mathematics School (K-8)
25 Walk Hill Street, Jamaica Plain, MA - (617) 635-6804
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/RC433.pdf 

* Links to Middle Schools and High Schools will be updated in February 2007

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