The Great Divide - Race, class, and opportunity in Boston schools

The Boston School Committee voted Monday night to close the Lilla Frederick Pilot Middle School in June 2025.

Boston School Committee votes to close its last middle school, rename Burke High

The Boston School Committee on Monday night unanimously approved closing the district’s last middle school and consolidating an early learning center into another school.

The exterior of Boston Public Schools headquarters in Roxbury where most administrative departments, including those of the superintendent and School Committee, are located.

Current and former Boston Public Schools administrators allege ‘vindictive, racist, and sexist’ workplace culture

A scathing new report report claims BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper has failed to take seriously any of the employees' concerns and instead has “dismantled all policies or practices focused on advancing racial equity in BPS and silences employees from raising concerns.”

Firefighters extinguish fire after school bus began emitting smoke and then caught fire on Interstate 93 in Dorchester.

Four students taken to hospital after school bus catches fire on I-93 in Dorchester

Four students from the Josiah Quincy Upper School in downtown Boston were taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation after a school bus began emitting smoke and then caught fire on Interstate 93 in Dorchester after they were evacuated Monday afternoon, officials said.

A fan is seen in the cafeteria at the James Otis Elementary School in East Boston, one of Boston’s non-air-conditioned schools. last September.

Staring down another heat wave, how will schools keep kids cool and safe?

Many campuses across the region do not have air conditioning, leaving the handful of districts still in session grappling with what to do with the sweltering heat that is predicted to begin Tuesday.

Seventh-graders at the Curley School on the first day of school in 1975.

Coming Soon: A multipart series exploring Boston’s busing crisis at 50

In an upcoming multipart project, The Boston Globe explores the legacy of Boston’s busing era.

Jaylene Macedo played in the playground near her family’s new Brighton apartment. She, her sister, and mother, Natalia Macedo, were homeless for seven months before they were able to move into an apartment in Brighton.

Boston Public Schools student homelessness hits all-time high. Why has it gotten so bad?

More than 5,000 BPS students have experienced homelessness at some point this school year. It’s a record level for the district, a troubling trend that has been on the rise since the 2021-2022 school year.

About The Great Divide

The Great Divide is a reporting effort dedicated to investigating race, class, and inequality in Boston-area schools. It is jointly funded by the Globe and the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based foundation that has prioritized student success in high school and beyond. The Globe maintains editorial control and independence over the project.

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May 29: Cambridge School Committee votes in favor of superintendent’s resignationMay 22: Concord residents want to name new middle school after Black abolitionist Ellen GarrisonMay 15: Most Massachusetts parents think state should require the ‘science of reading’ in classroomsClick here to see past issues

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Education Headlines

Haverhill educator arraigned for allegedly sending pornographic images of himself to 16-year-old student

Justin Smith, 25, who worked at Gateway Academy, was ordered held on $4,000 bail at his arraignment in Haverhill District Court, according to the Essex district attorney’s office. 4:03 p.m.

A screenshot of Caitlin Harding from her Middlesex Superior Court arraignment that was held via Zoom in April 2021.

Mistrial declared in case of former Hudson middle school teacher accused of sexually assaulting student

Caitlin Harding was accused of sexually assaulting a student multiple times in 2010. 2:24 p.m.

Mother sues Marblehead schools over restraint tactics allegedly used on third-grader

A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges there were “at least eleven incidents” from September to December where school employees physically restrained the 9-year-old boy, in some cases triggering asthma attacks and requiring emergency medical attention. 8:41 p.m.

Johanna Peña, right, walked into White Stadium during the BCLA-McCormack graduation ceremony. Peña is the inaugural recipient of Robert and Ruth Starratt Scholarship from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

BCLA-McCormack graduate earns inaugural scholarship for students intending to return to BPS as educators

The $1.9 million scholarship, endowed by the estate of deceased Boston educators Robert and Ruth Starratt will fund up to four years of tuition at the UMass Boston College of Education and Human Development for graduating BCLA-McCormack Academy students who plans to pursue a career in education, 1:52 p.m.

Students wait in lines with their classmates at Holmes Innovation School in Dorchester.

Despite ongoing concerns with the district, City Council approves $1.5 billion budget for Boston Public Schools

Councilors noted concerns about ongoing inequities in the district, the lack of a long-term facilities plan, declining enrollment, and worrisome student performance. 6:57 p.m.

Outgoing Cambridge Superintendent Victoria Greer will receive more than $200,000 in severance.

Cambridge Schools to pay ousted superintendent more than $200,000 in severance

The Cambridge School Committee voted in May to sever its contract with Victoria Greer about a year before it was due to expire, following a wave of public criticism. 5:44 p.m.

Cal and Owen Hammerstrand were among the group of twin students graduating.

Needham middle school graduates 23 sets of twins

The 23 sets of twins, 46 students, make up a 10th of the 454-person eighth grade class that graduated Wednesday. 5:06 p.m.

EDUCATION

Providence School Department offices in the Dr. Robert Roberti Administrative Building.

Providence set to boost funds for public schools after superintendent accuses mayor of ‘shortchanging’ kids

The proposed $2.5 million increase is less than what the district has claimed it needs to balance the school budget and avoid more layoffs. 4:20 p.m.