ACT Boston

All Children Thrive

Mayoral Memo: A Vision for BPS

Introduction: Continuing Our Work

Last month, ACT Boston shared a set of recommendations and critical areas of focus on educational priorities with the Wu administration. We welcomed the opportunity to speak with Tali Robbins, Policy Director, about our recommendations and to answer some of her questions. One of her requests was for additional information on educational vision and metrics—we provide that information below. 

Having reviewed the Wu campaign’s A Community Vision for Boston’s Students and Families, we want to thank the Mayor and her team for putting forth such a comprehensive plan for our city’s children and families. While robust — touching on everything from transportation to health and teacher recruitment — ACT Boston members strongly recommend the Mayor’s team release a focused, specific vision for educational outcomes in the city, and tie it to clear metrics. Without this focus on the experiences of and outcomes for all of Boston’s students, we risk that many of Boston’s Black and brown children will continue to leave Boston’s education system without the academic skills needed to thrive in the future. 

We want to support and partner with you in work. We recognize that some of the metrics will require additional definition (e.g., robust local school councils) and may necessitate new measurement tools. We are happy to continue to think through this in partnership with you. 

We share below:

  1. Suggestions for a more focused vision for Boston’s schools, and; 
  2. Outcomes the Mayor can use to drive change and measure progress.

ACT Boston Members

A Vision for Boston Public Schools

Mayor Wu’s Community Vision for Boston’s Students & Families is a critical first step towards equity. ACT Boston urges the Mayor to continue to promote equitable access to children and families and release an aligned, specific Vision for Education in Boston that: 

  1. Equally prioritizes academic needs, social emotional needs, and wraparound services;
  2. Improves experiences and outcomes for students and families currently underserved in schools; and
  3. Commits to tangible, measurable, and positive outcomes for Boston’s students and families.

Outcomes & Measuring Progress

We thank Mayor Wu for committing to leading change. We know that getting to results requires establishing clear metrics and outcomes, encouraging focus, and supporting transparency. In addition to her vision statement, we urge Mayor Wu and her administration to identify key metrics and indicators that will be used to measure Boston’s education progress in both the short- and long-term, a timeline to reach those indicators, as well as appropriate intervals to monitor progress. 

Below are potential metrics categories to consider. We outline the priority focus area, aligned to our first memo, and then follow with suggestions for metrics. We understand this work is complex and requires in-depth knowledge about policy and implementation. We are happy to continue to think through the details of both metrics selection and implementation with your team, if helpful, and provide additional resources to support Mayor Wu’s vision.

Across all metrics we suggest tracking overall numbers, as well as numbers that are disaggregated by subgroups, e.g. race/ethnicity, low-income, students with disabilities (SWD), and English learners (EL). 

Student Learning Experiences & Outcomes
(Priority Focus Area 1)

ACADEMIC RIGOR & ACHIEVEMENT

  • Pre-K enrollment (across all settings: BPS and community-based)
  • Kindergarten readiness as determined on comprehensive assessment
  • MAP results (Growth assessments currently leveraged by BPS)
  • MCAS results
    • 3rd through 8th grade ELA and Math; 10th grade ELA and Math 
    • 3rd and 4th grade Reading
  • Early literacy rates
  • Percent of ELs and SWDs, respectively receiving all of the services for which they qualify 
  • Percent access to and enrollment in advanced coursework (AP, early college, dual enrollment, etc.)
  • Percent access to and enrollment in arts instruction

ACADEMIC OUTCOMES

  • Percent of graduates completing MassCORE (state recommended high school program of study)
  • High school graduation rates
  • Percent postsecondary enrollment and completion
  • Percent graduating college-, career-, and life-ready (as defined by BPS Strategic Vision, p. 13)

OPERATIONAL SUPPORTS TO STUDENT LEARNING

  • ESSER funding
    • Transparency on use
    • Per-pupil funding at school level
  • Attendance and chronic absenteeism

Healthy & Supportive School Environments
(Priority Focus Areas 3, 4, 5)

STUDENT SUPPORTS

  • Percent of students in need of additional academic or mental health support that receive that support
  • Percent of parents reporting satisfaction with academic and mental health supports
  • Student to mental health staff ratios by school (e.g., school counselor:student; school psychologist:student; social worker:student)

TEACHERS & STAFF

  • Percent of staff feeling supported by district office, by school
  • Percent Teacher retention (by race/ethnicity), district and school
  • Percent Teacher recruitment/hiring (by race/ethnicity)

HEALTH & SAFETY

  • Percent of students with access to safe drinking water at school
  • Percent of students with access to healthy air at school
  • Percent of students with access to recreational space at school
  • Percent of students with access to recommended physical activity during the school day

STUDENT & FAMILY SATISFACTION 

  • Percent of BPS Climate Survey response rate
  • BPS Climate Survey metrics (See Appendix 2, p. 8 for Climate Survey Outcome Scales). We recommend reviewing:
    • Outcome 4: Parent, Teacher and Student climate survey results on whether all students are taught by highly effective, caring and committed teachers
    • Outcome 6: Parent and Student Climate Survey results on preparation for the next grade
    • Outcome 9: Student and teacher climate survey results on whether students are engaged and enthusiastic
    • Outcome 10: Teacher and Parent climate survey results on whether schools ensure all families feel welcome and are involved
    • Outcome 11: Parent climate survey results on whether school promotes inclusion of all students, families and community stakeholders

Family & Community Engagement
(Priority Focus Areas 6, 7)

  • Retention of students in BPS at key educational transitions
  • Percent of parents satisfied with ease of enrolling or transitioning schools  
  • Percent of schools with robust school site councils    
  • Number of community-based organizations with formal partnerships with BPS            
  • Percent of children enrolled in school year after-school programs and/or attending summer programs
  • Percent of students with access to high-quality of out-of-school time opportunities