On Monday, the Boston School Committee and the boards of trustees for Boston charter schools compromised after about 10 years of hostility.
Created in an effort to allow Boston Public Schools and independent charter schools to work together on breakthrough learning methods, the three-page pact proposes ideas to fix financial issues and qualifications for charter school students.
“This is an historic agreement that paves the way for a new era of cooperation and collaboration between charter public and district public schools for the benefit of all Boston schoolchildren,” said Kevin Andrews, headmaster of Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester and member of the Boston Alliance of Charter Schools, in a press release.
Challenges, such as a clause that would allow the city to lease vacant schools to charter schools, have caused controversy around the new agreement.
In exchange, charter schools can limit students who require busing, a $3.5 million cost for Boston each year, by targeting recruitment in local neighborhoods.
Boston Public Schools and charters may also be able to work together toward saving budget cuts by creating new plans for lunch programs and purchasing supplies.
The contract “broadens choice for parents, improves collaboration between charter and district schools and facilitates the sharing of innovative practices,” Andrews said.
Charter schools, according to the agreement, must also promise to reach out to more special-education students and English-language learners.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation worked with Boston on its agreement in its national endeavor to support charter schools.
The pact affects 14 charter schools in Boston, including MATCH Charter Public High School located near Boston University’s West Campus.
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