Parents unhappy with the way BPS changed exam-school admissions ask Supreme Court to weigh in - two months after court refused to hear similar Virginia case
Like all the kids that are currently going to BPS that live in Brockton, Randolph, Taunton, etc., using an address of a relative that lives in Boston these parents just need fake addresses in tiers that get bonus points.that's Much easier than fighting BPS.
And Catholic Memorial and BC High must be seeing more applicants now?
Geographic distribution is pretty race-neutral. Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school anymore.
And again, Latin School ain't all that. The teachers get there through seniority in the BTU contract, in some cases being the only applicants available for the subject matter (eg Latin). Some are lazy or insane.
The reputation rides on the laurels of having taken the best performers on standardized tests in Boston and then ruthlessly kicking out the tired, the rebellious and the bored. The survivors tend to be good obedient credential-hunting college application candidates.
There were a lot of cases where Courts ruled legal-seeming actions because of interpreted intent. DACA is a good example of that. Trump said it wasn't legal and tried to cancel it. Seems like a no brainer he could do that; one President created DACA out of thin air with a stroke of a pen, then the next President undid it with a stroke of a sharpie. The Courts said Trump's intent was racist so kept DACA running, despite it not being consistent with the laws passed by Congress.
It's not hard to show that the change to exam school admissions was driven by race not geography. The decisionmakers weren't saying too many kids from WR were going to exam schools. They were arguing that too many white/asian kids were going to exam schools.
The reputation rides on the laurels of having taken the best performers on standardized tests in Boston and then ruthlessly kicking out the tired, the rebellious and the bored. The survivors tend to be good obedient credential-hunting college application candidates.
I can remember my first few months at Latin Academy as a Sixie (seventh grader) - a majority of people left in droves because they couldn't hack the expectations or the coursework (2 hours of homework a night, college-level education), while others were invited to leave (getting consecutive "F's" in a term, excessive tardiness) or expelled (harassment, bringing a gun to school, drugs). It didn't stop at Sixie level either - some who were juniors decided that they couldn't hack it and went to another school for their senior year. Those who left the exam schools went to another school with less rigor and thrived - the rumor that a "B" at the exam schools was worth an "A" elsewhere rang true.
The remaining students who stayed behind were those who those only interested in the college application/selection/acceptance process; those who did stellar work but kept to themselves; those who did decent work (not exactly straight A's, but enough to stay well above water); and those who treading water but didn't leave because they had a deep social network.
I (with a group of BLA graduates) went back to talk about my experience at BLA and the students there were only interested in how to increase their SAT scores. I decided to leave early, much to the chagrin of the people who invited me.
Geographic distribution is not in any way race neutral as a result of housing segregation but the current formula is messed up because census tracts are drawn in such a random way and the key variable is the amount of poverty within the tract. The Charlestown Navy Yard census tract includes the housing projects on Medford Street so wealthy kids in the Navy Yard with harbor views get in automatically as it is deemed a low income tract. Similarly, if you live in the Ritz, the glassy tower overlooking the Common, you are in automatic because it is paired with the low incomes of Chinatown. Meanwhile a low income kid who lives in a multi-family around Andrews Square has little chance because the tract is drawn around the nearby subsidized housing projects so it does not just as low income. At the end of the movie the advocates for change got their way as applications for the exam schools have dropped by 40% and families with any money choose private or move.
It's still a deeply flawed policy to sort kids based on geography and the economic status of the student body in a given school. I don't think pitting neighborhoods and schools against each other is good for parental support of BPS in the long run. It will be interesting to see how it plays out in BPS enrollment in the next 10 years. With no good option for HS, my family (tier 8) went private.
By Michael McAllister on Sat, 04/20/2024 - 9:55am.
“Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school anymore.” Are you one of those former school committee members Adam references above douche bag?
“Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school anymore.” Are you one of the 3 school committee members Adam mentions above or just a random douche bag?
..if I moved to Rozzie or West Roxbury to live in a crap triple decker or a house with aluminum siding and a chain link fence near crap restaurants with poor public transit with the intenti8n of letting my kid coast into an exam school and then having it go to some poor kid of another race,
(This was sarcasm and pointing out how wrong the thinking is)
BPS lost middle class, even working class kids with the $, a long time ago. BPS has sucked for a LONGTIME. Minus Latin until recently. Do you have something against white kids? My impression is your post is tinged with bigotry. Anything to say about "obnoxious" Asian kids, Latino/Hispanic kids?
Love the irony of the author and others like him that never talked about diversity while their child attended BLS but act holier than thou upon their graduation
Racial diversity, huh? Oh, surely you haven't forgotten what Black at BLS was all about, when daughter was a student there. It's one of my few scoops, so I sure remember it. Also see this and this.
Comments
These parents just need Fake addresses
Like all the kids that are currently going to BPS that live in Brockton, Randolph, Taunton, etc., using an address of a relative that lives in Boston these parents just need fake addresses in tiers that get bonus points.that's Much easier than fighting BPS.
And Catholic Memorial and BC High must be seeing more applicants now?
For rent...
My Boston mailbox... $1,000 monthly
Case will lose
Geographic distribution is pretty race-neutral. Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school anymore.
And again, Latin School ain't all that. The teachers get there through seniority in the BTU contract, in some cases being the only applicants available for the subject matter (eg Latin). Some are lazy or insane.
The reputation rides on the laurels of having taken the best performers on standardized tests in Boston and then ruthlessly kicking out the tired, the rebellious and the bored. The survivors tend to be good obedient credential-hunting college application candidates.
There were a lot of cases
There were a lot of cases where Courts ruled legal-seeming actions because of interpreted intent. DACA is a good example of that. Trump said it wasn't legal and tried to cancel it. Seems like a no brainer he could do that; one President created DACA out of thin air with a stroke of a pen, then the next President undid it with a stroke of a sharpie. The Courts said Trump's intent was racist so kept DACA running, despite it not being consistent with the laws passed by Congress.
It's not hard to show that the change to exam school admissions was driven by race not geography. The decisionmakers weren't saying too many kids from WR were going to exam schools. They were arguing that too many white/asian kids were going to exam schools.
Exam school casualties
I can remember my first few months at Latin Academy as a Sixie (seventh grader) - a majority of people left in droves because they couldn't hack the expectations or the coursework (2 hours of homework a night, college-level education), while others were invited to leave (getting consecutive "F's" in a term, excessive tardiness) or expelled (harassment, bringing a gun to school, drugs). It didn't stop at Sixie level either - some who were juniors decided that they couldn't hack it and went to another school for their senior year. Those who left the exam schools went to another school with less rigor and thrived - the rumor that a "B" at the exam schools was worth an "A" elsewhere rang true.
The remaining students who stayed behind were those who those only interested in the college application/selection/acceptance process; those who did stellar work but kept to themselves; those who did decent work (not exactly straight A's, but enough to stay well above water); and those who treading water but didn't leave because they had a deep social network.
I (with a group of BLA graduates) went back to talk about my experience at BLA and the students there were only interested in how to increase their SAT scores. I decided to leave early, much to the chagrin of the people who invited me.
Geographic distribution is
Geographic distribution is not in any way race neutral as a result of housing segregation but the current formula is messed up because census tracts are drawn in such a random way and the key variable is the amount of poverty within the tract. The Charlestown Navy Yard census tract includes the housing projects on Medford Street so wealthy kids in the Navy Yard with harbor views get in automatically as it is deemed a low income tract. Similarly, if you live in the Ritz, the glassy tower overlooking the Common, you are in automatic because it is paired with the low incomes of Chinatown. Meanwhile a low income kid who lives in a multi-family around Andrews Square has little chance because the tract is drawn around the nearby subsidized housing projects so it does not just as low income. At the end of the movie the advocates for change got their way as applications for the exam schools have dropped by 40% and families with any money choose private or move.
Whether or not it's race based
It's still a deeply flawed policy to sort kids based on geography and the economic status of the student body in a given school. I don't think pitting neighborhoods and schools against each other is good for parental support of BPS in the long run. It will be interesting to see how it plays out in BPS enrollment in the next 10 years. With no good option for HS, my family (tier 8) went private.
So...
...how about having the exam schools open only to graduates of Boston public schools?
Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school
“Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school anymore.” Are you one of those former school committee members Adam references above douche bag?
Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school
“Glad that obnoxious West Roxbury kids won't dominate the school anymore.” Are you one of the 3 school committee members Adam mentions above or just a random douche bag?
I’d be upset too…
..if I moved to Rozzie or West Roxbury to live in a crap triple decker or a house with aluminum siding and a chain link fence near crap restaurants with poor public transit with the intenti8n of letting my kid coast into an exam school and then having it go to some poor kid of another race,
(This was sarcasm and pointing out how wrong the thinking is)
you can say that again
How many sockpuppets do you have, "Michael," HP Boy?
Obnoxious West Roxbury kids?
BPS lost middle class, even working class kids with the $, a long time ago. BPS has sucked for a LONGTIME. Minus Latin until recently. Do you have something against white kids? My impression is your post is tinged with bigotry. Anything to say about "obnoxious" Asian kids, Latino/Hispanic kids?
Ah
Found the kid that didn't get accepted. Can you show us where on the doll The Latin School touched you?
Truth hurts buddy.
Some things never change. You Latin kids are charmin soft...
I guess they don't
Since a high school seems to live rent free in your head.
Lol you got me.
Someone's been doing their homework. This is my throwaway, I usually post under the name "MisterMagooForYou".
Oh this is easy, make all BPS
Oh this is easy, make all BPS schools exam schools.
Love the Irony
Love the irony of the author and others like him that never talked about diversity while their child attended BLS but act holier than thou upon their graduation
Love that you have a faulty memory
Racial diversity, huh? Oh, surely you haven't forgotten what Black at BLS was all about, when daughter was a student there. It's one of my few scoops, so I sure remember it. Also see this and this.
Disparate impact
Only counts when it helps white people