White smoke rose from the Bolling Building tonight
The School Committee did what it was told tonight and made Laura Perille interim superintendent to replace suddenly ex-Superintendent Tommy Chang for the next year or so while the committee looks for a new permanent(ish) superintendent.
Perille has no superintendenting experience, but she is fresh off a turn as CEO of EdVestors, a local non-profit group that has worked with BPS - and raised $26 million for its Boston work. She served on committees involved with re-doing the school-assignment system for lower grades and in a superintendent search that led to Chang.
The NAACP was not very enthused about it all.
In a statement, Mayor Walsh said:
Laura has a proven record of being a strong partner and advocate for Boston's school system, has made significant gains in closing the opportunity and achievement gaps for students and is a proud BPS parent. I am proud to welcome her on board, and look forward to our work ahead to continue putting students on a pathway to success.
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Comments
Does she have kids in BPS
Does she have kids in BPS which attend or have attended any schools besides Boston Latin?
She has had kids in BPS, yes
And while I have no clue what schools they attended, even if they went to BLS, they also attended other schools because BLS is not K-12.
Interesting
How long until Marty gets Mr. C on a bender.... er I mean to agree to head the BPS again, like BLS?
It's July
2 months till school starts. Urgency and level heads should prevail.
Good start Mayor.
Let the process begin.
And please let's not make race, religion, money, or nationality be part of the conversation.
It never works.
it's all Walsh
Walsh controlled the entire process from the "mutual resignation" of Chang to the selection and hiring of an interim replacement but there's a problem, hiring superintendents is an authority of the school committee has not the mayor.
Stakeholders are worried he'll do the same in the permanent hire.
Chang was Marty's hand-picked guy. Now Marty has hand-picked Chang's interim replacement, a person without experience running a large school district, again.
Max Larkin from WGBH was at the meeting.
Parents don't want Walsh to start closing down their schools and using the real estate for neighborhood development. The school district controls the properties. Pickles wants to develop it.
It is a good idea to close
It is a good idea to close the under utilized schools and use the proceeds from real estate sales to improve the infrastructure of the remaining schools. The current schools are in poor condition. It is better to have a fewer good schools than many bad schools.
Closing schools was an idea put forward in the McKinsey study
Closing schools was an idea put forward in the McKinsey study because that was its purpose but their analysis was trash. Build BPS study has made them realize they're short on space. Walsh is trying to hatch a plan to build giant combined middle school/high schools that would create unused schools but it's hard to see how that happens in the next 3 years. Also, he said he would not sell school properties but I won't be surprised when he proposes it. If the people who live in Mattapan are sick and tired of having their schools closed down you can bet the people who send their kids to Boston Schools in the back bay and fens aren't going to put up with it either.
Then what's the point of
Then what's the point of paying attention if there's none of that good stuff? Everyone loves a good mix up
Funny how you started with "race"
I, as a white male, believe that race should play a role in the selection of the next Superintendent. The power dynamics of this city are very one-sided and BPS' student population is not represented in Boston politics.
I believe we should have a person of color hold the most powerful position in BPS; a candidate that looks like our students. A candidate that knows the struggles our students are going through on the streets of Boston. A candidate that will do what is best for our students, not just the parents in West Roxbury or Charlestown.
Boston Schools should hire an
Boston Schools should hire an educator to tun the schools.
The perfect opportunity to act boldly!
She's only in for a year or two. Everyone knows that some schools need to be closed to balance capacity with attendance. She should pick the schools to be closed in June of 2019 and announce it before Christmas. She'll take unholy shit for it, but the blood will be dried and washed away when the new superintendent comes in.
"Everyone knows that some
"Everyone knows that some schools need to be closed to balance capacity with attendance"
Not true.
I've seen this movie a dozen times since 1974.
What makes this one entertaining is the usual critics will struggle to demonize this woman with anything other than her skin color.
Elephant in the room...
doesn't matter who the superintendent is. nothing is going to change because the establishment democrats have made a mockery of our public education system by allowing the teachers union to make it impossible to replace average and bad teachers with our cities best and brightest.
until that changes...nothing will change.
i have seen this first hand through my volunteer work at a local boston public school. such a shame.
wrong
Rare Consensus
In all of the articles, interviews and published letters, no one seems to be sad that Tommy Chang is leaving.