The Boston Public School Committee discussed transformation school updates and deliberated Question 2 on the Massachusetts presidential ballot during its Wednesday meeting.
A first-quarter update presentation on transformation schools led to discussion on progress and budgeting. Transformation school updates are a requirement of the systemic improvement plan, which was implemented in June 2022 to strengthen district-wide processes that positively impact students.
The presentation was given by Michael Sabin, executive director of district and school transformation, who discussed milestones for certain schools and the need for improvement based on the accountability percentile rating of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Ratings increased for 21 transformation schools over the past year, while five stayed level and 12 declined, Sabin said.
“We are motivated by signs of progress in our transformation schools, and we know that much more improvement is needed,” he said.
However, BPS committee members voiced concern about certain data that pointed towards chronic absenteeism at transformation schools.
“I look at the information … The depression hits me pretty hard,” Committee Member Quoc Tran said. “I hear it’s improving and all that, but look at the percentile. 33% of the student population in a school did not go to school, and on the transformation high school, 56.5% did not go to school.”
Committee Chair Jeri Robinson said she was concerned about the amount of time it was taking for some transformation schools to show progress.
“We’ve got schools that have been in transition for a long time,” Robinson said. “How many generations of kids have come through a building that continues to be underperforming?”
Committee Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez called into question the recent closings of some BPS institutions.
“What point do we as a body and as a district say, it’s this many years, it’s this percentage of growth, it’s this many years of decline, that we remove [the transformation] option?” Cardet-Hernandez said.
Cardet-Hernandez asked the committee to discuss the possible implications given the passing of Massachusetts Ballot Question 2, which would eliminate MCAS graduation requirements and leave such requirements in the hands of the individual public school system committees.
“If Ballot Measure Two goes through, are we changing graduation requirements? … Will we keep graduation requirements as is? Will we get rid of the state graduation requirements and only keep math scores?” Cardet-Hernandez said. “I feel like we’re being cute not talking about it, and so I want to make sure there’s a day-after conversation.”
Robinson said she hopes to hear updates about Question 2 at the committee retreat, which will be open to the public on Monday, Oct. 28 at the Bruce C. Bolling Building.
The BPS Committee will next meet on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m.
