VOICING SUPPORT
Most mayoral candidates support new exam school admissions policy, but Essaibi-George calls it ‘hasty’
Most Boston mayoral candidates said they support the city’s new exam school admissions policy that uses socioeconomic tiers to rank students, with the exception of Annissa Essaibi-George who called the decision “hasty.”
The new policy, which passed unanimously at a Wednesday night school committee meeting, is a drastic change from the previous system under which kids got into the elite schools based on grades and an exam.
Now, students must have at least a GPA equivalent of a B, and those students will receive a composite score based on an admissions test and their grades.
All invitations will then go out through straight rank within eight socioeconomic tiers, a plan opposed by some parent groups that wanted a 20% set-aside of the best applicants regardless of socioeconomic status.
Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who earlier in the week had put forth Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius as the key decision-maker on this front, embraced the proposal after the vote, calling it a “giant step forward.”
“I commend the superintendent and the Boston School Committee for their work in moving the district forward,” Janey told reporters on Thursday. “This is good for our students, and this is good for our school district, and this is good for the city of Boston.”
City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George was the lone mayoral candidate to criticize the move. “With school committee members missing, an interim Mayor who was not elected, and a school year of chaos and uncertainty, this process was a hasty one. While the plan claims to level the playing field and create improved access, it has not,” she said in a statement.
“It is unclear, untested and not informed by families across the city.”
City Councilors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell, also mayoral candidates, both embraced the change.
Wu said in a statement, “I look forward to supporting our BPS students, families, and educators in moving towards greater equity in our district with these changes.”
Campbell said in a statement, “I applaud the task force for working hard to put forward and pass a policy that will create greater equity in admissions and racial diversity in our exam schools, especially at Latin School.”
Former city economic development director John Barros’ mayoral campaign didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The new policy change didn’t come easily.
A task force convened by Boston Public Schools had originally compromised on the plan coming up with a proposal that would have changed it to a split of 80% tiers and a 20% set-aside
‘This is good for our students, and this is good for our school district, and this is good for the city of Boston.’
KIM JANEY acting mayor
for the best applicants last minute, citing “political pressure.”
Tanisha Sullivan, the task force co-chair and president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, wouldn’t divulge details of the political pressure when asked by the Herald on Thursday, but said she would speak about it with the community in the coming days.
Sullivan said, “The last year in particular has reminded us that politics are a constant in policymaking but what we have to guard against are elected officials who are willing to sacrifice the most vulnerable among us in favor of the most privileged.”
The hot button exam schools issue burned through Boston in recent weeks.
Sullivan added, “For as much hope as I have had through this process, if there’s anything that concerns me it is the vitriol and the lies that quite frankly were straight out of the Trumpism playbook and were employed here in the city of Boston.”