Although Boston boasts the title of being one of the most thriving college towns in the world, its public school system is notably flawed. This problem has caused the topic of education to become among the foremost issues discussed by City Councilor candidates for the upcoming election. Despite the candidates’ diverse approaches to fixing the panoply of problems plaguing public education, and the viability of their specific solutions, what really needs to be fixed is simple: the big picture.
The ‘big picture’ is the host of problems that affect the success of all city public schools ‘- the reasons that bring Boston’s graduation rate down to a paltry 60 percent, according to a Daily Free Press report earlier this week. Basics like teacher quality, adequate funding, family involvement and standardized testing are all things that break rather than make Boston schools ‘- and all of them, not just a few. While the Councilor-At-Large candidates offer strategies to fix one or a few of these problems ‘- like candidate Ayanna Pressley’s idea to institute more relevant after school programs, or candidate Doug Bennett’s plan to increase funding ‘- more needs to be done to fix the overarching ailments of Boston’s public schools in order to begin yielding more prepared, competitive students.
Another distraction from the focus on the big picture of BPS is the increased focus on charter schools. These schools, which receive outside funding but are independently owned and do not charge tuition, are considered to be more appealing options than public schools but are more affordable than private schools, and incumbent candidate City Councilor-At-Large John Connolly is all too interested in them. Candidate Felix Arroyo is right to be for charters but against their expansion. These are schools that cannot facilitate the majority of Boston’s students, who end up at public schools. That being common sense, public schools shouldn’t be anything but the top priority for candidates’ educational platforms ‘- they are the big picture.
As for the involvement of Boston’s area colleges and universities in this debate, candidate Tito Jackson believes they should have a closer, more productive relationship with city public schools. This is crucial in rallying young students’ esteem to aspire for college, and additionally, colleges have far more resources ‘- even just from what their students have to offer their younger prot’eacute;g’eacute;s ‘- than any public school could offer. A city wrought with some of the most ambitious universities and some of the worst public schools in the country needs to be able to find a middle-ground.
A wise group of city councilors would be able to establish a balance for Boston’s public education. Based on the state of the current school system, the incumbents may need to revise their game plans, and challengers will do well to come up with appealing alternatives that comprehensively address the gamut of weaknesses and strength that Boston has to offer its rising young students.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
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