The landscape of public education in Boston is facing significant changes, as Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper unveiled plans to close three schools due to declining enrollment. The schools potentially facing closure are Lee Academy Pilot School, Another Course to College, and Community Academy of Science and Health, as per statements made during a virtual meeting and reported by WHDH. Skipper cites lower birth rates and a decrease in the number of students requiring English language learning as reasons for the dwindling student numbers.
Further restructuring is also on the district's agenda, including the elimination of certain grades and the addition of a grade to another school. In addition to these closures, these changes were sourced from CBS Boston. Specifically, the proposal includes discontinuing grades 9 through 12 at the Henderson Inclusion School and removing grades 7 and 8 from the Tobin Elementary, with plans to integrate a 6th grade into the William Russell School. These proposed adjustments come on the heels of previous decisions made earlier this year to shut down four other schools and merge two elementary schools into a middle school in Dorchester.
Mary Skipper emphasized the significance of these potential closures and reconfigurations, stating, "We are needing and wanting to create high quality seats, but I just want to be clear that when it comes to closures, merges and reconfigurations, these aren't just seats. These are children, staff, families, communities," in a quote obtained by WHDH. She further expressed the belief that consolidation would afford students improved opportunities and resources.
Residents such as Daquan Cannon, whose daughter began kindergarten at Lee Academy Pilot School just this year, are confronting the reality of these proposed changes, and he shared his personal sentiment with CBS Boston, "Really nice, great staff. My daughter loves her teachers," and "I wanted her to come here and stuff because I like it and that's sad." As these closures reflect more than just numbers, they represent a pivot in the fabric of these local communities, the Boston School Committee is slated to review and possibly approve the proposal on November 19.
