The Boston Public School Committee discussed expanding enrollment at a health-related vocational school, addressing significant bus transportation delays and rolling out fresh-cooked meals during its Wednesday meeting.
The Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, a college preparatory and vocational high school for Boston students pursuing health-related careers, will expand its enrollment from 448 to 800 students over the next four years, utilizing a $38 million grant awarded to it by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Caren Gregory, head of school at Edward M. Kennedy, said in her presentation to the committee that the expansion will aim to increase access to high-quality seats and enhance career-connected learning opportunities, such as medical laboratory services, surgical technology and central sterile processing.
“These are all opportunities for our students around health assisting, biotech and medical assistance, so we’re really excited about expanding the opportunities for kids,” Gregory said during the meeting.
This expansion was made possible by the partnership between BPS and Massachusetts General Hospital and will give students the “opportunity to pursue higher education or graduate straight into a well-paying career within the Mass General Brigham system,” according to the City of Boston website.
The BPS committee also addressed school transportation delays that occurred during the first day of school.
BPS rolled out new transportation technology aimed at improving bus arrival times for students’ first day on Sept. 8. This involved the introduction of the Zum app, which allows parents to monitor their children’s bus assignments and track their rides.
Superintendent Mary Skipper acknowledged during the meeting the significant transportation delays experienced on Sept. 8: Only 62% of buses arrived within 15 minutes of the starting bell. Despite the rough start, Skipper said Zum will create “greater reliability for families” in the long run.
“We’re already hearing great feedback from our families, happy that they can see buses in real time and know when their student has gotten on and off the bus,” Skipper said. “We anticipate continuing to make steady improvements in the coming days and weeks.”
Additionally, 108 schools are now serving freshly cooked meals to students as a result of improvements to staffing and cooking facilities.
“Throughout the rest of the fall, we’re going to continue to improve our vacancies in the food and nutrition department to make sure we can continue to open more and more schools for cooking availability,” said Brian Forde Jr., interim chief of operations at BPS.
The BPS Committee will meet next on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
