Boston Mayor Michelle Wu held a “State of the Schools” address in a packed auditorium at Josiah Quincy Upper School, Tuesday night. It was the first of its kind for the city that created the first public school in the country.
Wu touted what she views as the accomplishments of the school district during the first four years of her administration. Wu cited improved bus reliability, attendance, and AP course participation, but focused heavily on stability. Superintendent Mary Skipper has been in the role for just over three years after a revolving door of leaders before her.
“We are here tonight because the state of our schools is the state of our city’s future,” Wu said in her address. “The shift to hands-on active learning with high quality instruction materials doesn’t happen by accident. It’s thanks to our educators, and guided by measurement, accountability and alignment.”
Data shows positive progress
It was just three years ago when the district was a heartbeat away from being placed under state receivership. Test scores remain well below the national average, but on Tuesday, Superintendent Skipper pointed to data that showed improvement. “In grades three to eight, we saw every single grade and every single subgroup in that grade make positive progress,” said Skipper. “That’s what we have been looking for.”
Boston Public Schools has pointed to data that shows increasing graduation rates.
Wu also touched on recent city reported test scores that showed an average of 25% of BPS students were at or above grade level for math. The number slightly higher for reading scores at 29%. Both results leave more than 2/3 of students below grade level.
“We are not where we want to be, but it shows remarkable progress and a glimpse of what is possible when we give our educators and students the resources that they need,” Wu said.
Advocate says reform is needed
Education reform advocates are quick to point to those proficiency ratings in their pursuit of policy reform. Mary Tamer runs MassPotential, a statewide organization working to improve education in the state. Tamer served on the Boston School Committee from 2010-2014, put her children through BPS, and is a graduate of the district herself.
“Boston has always been a district that has faced challenges,” said Tamer. “It just seems that when we look at student outcomes in particular, they are as low as they’ve ever been. The data is telling us exactly that. We are not properly teaching kids how to read, and we are not teaching them how to do math.”
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