BPS learns Hub kids ‘off-track’
3,300 fallen behind in school
With more than 3,000 Boston high school students falling behind pace for graduation, the Boston City Council is holding a hearing tomorrow aimed at finding out how the district can get kids back on track.
“When we lose touch with students, it unfortunately happens quickly and quietly,” said City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, chairwoman of the education committee that is holding the hearing. “It is a silent process. We need to make sure kids have appropriate resources in the building. It’s the basics — a school nurse, school psychologist, guidance counselors and other specialists who can focus on the needs of our young people.”
The meeting comes after a report by the EY-Parthenon practice of Ernst & Young LLP, released in May, found that there are 3,300 students viewed as “offtrack” or at least two years behind. And among this group, only one in four, or 25 percent, end up graduating within four years, while 36 percent graduate in six years.
The report, funded by the Barr Foundation, was commissioned by Boston Public Schools last August under former Superintendent Tommy Chang. The hearing is at Jeremiah E. Burke High School at 3 p.m.
“A lot of this has to do with staff support and resources,” said Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union. “If we have high-need populations concentrated in specific schools, those schools should get more resources.”
Tang called for more specialized coursework to catch kids up, smaller class sizes, flexible schedules, more wraparound services and more help for kids involved with the Department of Children and Families.
“The BPS still has a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model for high school,” said Michael Maguire, a teacher at Boston Latin Academy. “Clearly, that is not enough. There should be a true night and evening school. I’d like to see the city offer a better alternative model. Some kids have to work in the daytime.”
“Schools should attract the students,” Maguire added. “You can’t just sit in a room and look at a whiteboard. We need more hands-on learning, more field trips. It is no good to read about something when you can go off into the city to see it.”
Some of the challenges arise from open enrollment schools in which there is no exam or admissions process. The report noted that these schools often fail to meet the needs of many kids — many of whom have high needs and are clustered in the same schools. Off-track youth often switch schools, getting lost in the system. And alternative education schools are not doing enough to re-engage kids.
The report called for bold changes throughout the city’s high schools to prevent students from falling through the cracks and failing to graduate. Recommendations included overhauling the alternative education schools, better identifying early warning signs when students are falling behind and changing policies for admission and funding to enhance equity and create conditions that allow all schools to succeed.