Parents and students in Boston Public Schools are not surprised by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's scathing report on the district.
The report found that the school district has struggled to operate on a basic level, and that it has not addressed "systemic barriers" to equitable education. It concluded by calling for "immediate improvement."
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"I think the way the school system has been, it seems more personal for the children and the parents," said one parent, Anthony Nunziato.
Nunziato has two girls in Boston schools, and he understands how the state could give the district a bad report card.
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"It's after a pandemic, or still during a pandemic, so I would manage they're underperforming because the kids have been out for quite a while and they are just trying to get into the swing of things," said Nunziato.
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"My education experience has been surrounded around a test," said Josie Hanna-Colon, a senior about to graduate from New Mission High School in Hyde Park.
"I think it went pretty well," added senior Xyra Mercer, who will soon graduate from Henderson Inclusion School in Dorchester. "We learned things that matter to us."
Mercer said her teachers tailored the curriculum to the students, making it interesting.
"Last year, I took a global issues class, and we learned about things that happened in the real world and applied it to ourselves and people around us. It was fun," she said.
Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union, acknowledges there are problems that need attention.
"It's not that we think that Boston Public Schools are OK and don't need any help," said Tang. "We have been fighting for changes in BPS that need to happen."
Last week, the Boston City Council passed a resolution in overwhelming opposition to a state takeover of the schools, as The Boston Globe reported.
Read the report here:
