Tuesday, October 9, 2012
A Jamaica Plain parent came away unimpressed with a recent public comment night. The Boston Public Schools have presented five ways to overhaul the district's student assignment system.
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012
[Editor's note: The author of this column, John Radosta, is a Forest Hills resident with a child at West Roxbury's Ohrenberger School. The schools have presented plans ranging from "no zone" neighborhood schools to a 23-zone plan.] Last Thursday, I was one of over two hundred people who came to the Ohrenberger School for a presentation by the Boston Public Schools on the School Assignment proposals. The crowd was the largest of the BPS meetings that are being held over the course of two weeks, perhaps because it is the only meeting near to Roslindale and Jamaica Plain as well. In addition to a number of School Committee, External Advisory Committee members, and about half a dozen BPS principals, Representative Ed Coppinger attended, as …
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
City Council's Education Committee held three days of hearings on student assignment, transportation, and school quality. The next round of public meetings starts June 24.
The Boston City Council's Education Committee recently held three days of intense hearings allowing parents and students to testify about their public school experiences. The hearings, held May 22-24, were chaired by At-Large City Councilor John Connolly, and no Boston Public Schools department officials testified during the three days, but many were in attendance, working in conjunction with the Council. "BPS came to listen and that’s what I wanted and I asked from them. Come and listen to the parent experiences," said Connolly. Superintendent Carol Johnson was present on the first day of hearings, while assistant superintendents and other administration staff attended all three days. Parents testimony ranged the gamut from frustration …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Dr. Carol Johnson, superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, has closed too many schools.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Dr. Carol Johnson has closed too many schools. There are insufficient second grade seats. She seems to be counting on even more middle class families exiting Boston Public Schools. Her wish will be fulfilled. I will keep my second grader home rather than bus her to the poor school to which she has been assigned. And we had a terrific lottery number! There simply is no room in any of the schools I chose -- all have waiting lists filled with siblings. This is an outrage. She closed the Agassiz last year -- there went about 44 second grade seats, I think. I've lived in JP for over 30 years, I want to send my child to public schools; without solid free education for all, we have no democracy. But this forced busing (as opposed to optional …
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Agassiz Elementary School
20 Child St, Jamaica Plain, MA
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
White, mayor during Boston's busing crisis, is being remembered for his many accomplishments.
Kevin White, Boston's mayor for 16 years, died Friday night. The New York Times reports he was surrounded by his family. White grew up in Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury and may be best known for guiding Boston through the turbulent years of the busing crisis. White was mayor from 1968 to 1984. One of his signature moves as mayor came the night after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. While many cities experienced deadly riots, White used a James Brown concert at the Garden to help instill calm. He suppressed turnout at the actual concert while arranging for live broadcast of it on television. The result: People stayed inside watching the concert instead of taking to the streets. White had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's a decade …
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Boston Public School buses have been been delivering students to schools around the city late since September. Have you been affected?
Has your child been late to school because of bus service? The following is a message on the Boston Public Schools website: We are working hard every day to restore normal bus service for our students. If you are still having issues, please call the BPS Transportation Department at 617-635-9520 or email us at schoolbus@bostonpublicschools.org. On Friday, 80.1 percent of our buses arrived at school before the bell. Of these, 44.3 percent arrived more than 10 minutes early, the highest figure so far this year. About 5 percent were 11-29 minutes late, however, with 0.8 percent arriving more than 30 minutes behind schedule. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has threatened to pull the $66-million contract away from First Student, the transportation …
Megan Wolf
9:44 am on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Thanks, John. I was at the meeting too and echo your observations. In our small group (room 105, I think), I asked about translated materials and Jocelyn Wright, Senior Director in the office of the Superintendent, confirmed that no written materials had been available yet at the meetings. more ›