In the face of massive parent and teacher and student opposition, the state board of education in Massachusetts deferred a decision about a takeover of the school district.
State Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley hammered Boston Public Schools for its “bloated” central office and “unconscionable” transportation failures in his first public comments Tuesday on a new state review of the district, but held off on recommending any takeover of city schools, saying he remains “hopeful and optimistic” that the state and city can reach agreement on a plan for urgent improvement.
Addressing the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at its monthly meeting, as dozens of people protested outside and dozens more were turned away from the packed meeting room, Riley said he will give Mayor Michelle Wu a chance to respond to his initial proposal for next steps. Details of that plan have not been released to the public...
For now at least, the state’s approach appears to be gentler than some had feared. Board members — who would need to vote to approve a state receivership — appeared in no hurry to call the question. Several acknowledged the passionate opposition to receivership voiced by students, parents, teachers and elected officials who testified at the meeting, and some expressed doubt that a full state takeover could work in the face of such aversion...
Josiehanna Colon, a student at New Mission High School who testified Tuesday, said she has felt the impact of state oversight. Too much of her education has been centered around standardized testing, she said; further intervention would likely bring more emphasis on tests and less diverse curriculum. “I’m angry that our voices may be ignored,” she said, “and that again and again we care about a test score instead of a child.”
The meeting, which lasted more than four hours and included a detailed presentation on the contents of the report as well as lengthy public testimony, was originally scheduled to take place in the auditorium at Wellesley High School, which seats 700 people. Leaders in the suburban district asked state officials to move the gathering elsewhere after learning that attendance would be high and protests could be held, potentially disrupting their school day.
Relocated to a government building in Boston, the much smaller meeting room could not accommodate all attendees, dozens of whom sat on the floor in a hallway outside the room, watching the livestreamed meeting on their cellphones. Several parents in attendance said they were denied the opportunity to speak at the meeting after submitting formal requests; two speakers chose to split their time with others who were shut out.
The fact that state takeovers have a dismal record of failure was apparently never considered. If at first you don’t succeed, fail, fail again.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Josiehanna Colon, … said …Too much of her education has been centered around standardized testing … less diverse curriculum … “again and again we care about a test score instead of a child.” … Several parents in attendance said they were denied the opportunity to speak at the meeting after submitting formal requests.
Well GOD-SPEED to them, but is it not understandable that OTHER neglected and ignored students and parents have concluded that the god is SISYPHUS and say “enough!” and demand alternative schools financed by THEIR money spent on THEIR choice??
How many years will we go on and on and on tolerating the test-and-punish mania and dumbing–down of the curriculum?? And now we have underway–in several states– the takeover of schools by right-wing tyrants, censors and nut-jobs!
Yet on this blog, the only acceptable response is to spend more years struggling against this continued educational malpractice, while criticizing those who have concluded that their children need a change NOW.
Fed up with your kids STILL being bullied or called n_____? The establishment’s response is “We can’t expel a student for this kind of incident” and “We’ve put strong programs in place to deal with this.”
Fed up with weeks wasted each year by testing, and hours each week wasted by test-prep? It’s “This is required by state law” or “Our testing is part of our academic excellence and helps us help students.”
Fed up with high-paid administrators who deny “gifted and talented” classes, “hands-on learning” and elite special high schools to your kids? “These students need more work with the basics” and “We have budget issues and a shortage of qualified teachers.”
From SOME of these “schools” and “educators,” it’s just one excuse after another, but hey! let’s enable and support THEM no matter what, while attacking the citizens who have given up on both the establishment and the reformers; have decided if they want change, they’ll have to do it themselves; and are entitled–by default–to the tax money that was SUPPOSED to be spent for the educational benefit of their children.
Mark, don’t you get it? State takeover is the prelude to exactly what you want. They’ll be given about 3 yrs to “turn things around,” which won’t work, after which the school will be converted to charter. You might want to stick around to see whether the charter conversion will confer some sort of magic pixie dust to eliminate all the problems you’ve listed… /s/ 😀
But seriously, Mark, I relate to your point about “Fed up with weeks wasted each year by testing, and hours each week wasted by test-prep?” The time and $ wasted on that might be applied to some of your wants, and open up curriculum. This is a national problem imposed top-down from fed Dept of Ed on states, and applies to many charters too, not just traditional pubschs. For most of the years I’ve been following this blog, ed issues have been at the bottom of voters’ priority list. But as we have seen, Reps are bringing public ed to the forefront. IMHO, Dems should strike while the iron is hot, and push for grade-span [every 3 yrs] tests like Iowa Basics or Stanford Achievements—no stakes attached—to replace the annual state-stdzd tests 3rd-8th + 1 hisch grade that were NCLB’s creation, still ensgrined in 2015 ESSA law.
Protests work! Protests WORK!
One of the tricks of the Destroy Public Education Crime Syndicate is to hold off when the resistance is heavy and wait to pass bad legislation designed tin increase the wealth of the wealthy at the expense of our children and the working class is to pass it early in the morning while most people are sleeping.
I don’t trust them.