Equity Coalition calls on School Committee to pass the “100 percent” admissions policy

 Equity Coalition calls on School Committee to pass the “100 percent” admissions policy

The Boston Coalition for Education Equity calls on the School Committee to vote to approve the Exam School Task Force’s original “100 percent” admissions policy and to move forcefully to provide all BPS students an education that’s as high quality as that offered by the three exam schools.

We applaud School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson and Superintendent Brenda Cassellius for putting the 100 percent proposal back on the table after a last-minute power move by some city councilors almost knocked it down.

The councilors threatened to vote against the school budget, potentially harming all 53,000-plus Boston Public Schools students, if the Exam School Task Force did not substitute the councilors’ preferred admissions policy for the compromise that Task Force members had worked out among themselves.

The 100 percent policy assigns seats through a competition that’s fairer than in the past because students will compete against peers who are in roughly comparable socio-economic circumstances. The councilors wanted 20 percent of seats set aside for a citywide competition, which data shows favors wealthy, primarily white families that can afford extra tutoring and other kinds of advantages for their children.

“This is what systemic oppression looks like: powerful public and private forces colluding behind the scenes to override a democratic process in service of their own racial and class privilege,” said Lisa Green, representing the Equity Coalition at the School Committee’s July 7 listening session.

“The School Committee has an opportunity to break that cycle by opening the doors at the city's three academically selective schools to a more diverse group of students who look like the Boston we are now and who will lead us to the Boston we want to be.”

We’re especially enthusiastic about the inclusion of a tier for students experiencing homelessness, living in BHA housing, or in the care of DCF. The addition of this tier will be life-changing for those students in our community who are facing the greatest challenges. This innovation is a feature of the Boston system that we can all be proud of and that we hope is emulated in selective admissions schools across the country.

Strong community support has been demonstrated for the 100 percent plan, a recommendation that was the result of nearly five months of study, debate, and open public comment. The School Committee now has a choice between following the public process that it set up, or listening to the whispers of powerful political figures who refuse to show their faces.

Do the right thing.