FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 13, 2020
On behalf of Boston Teachers Union
Contact: Vishakha Mathur, 617-890-9165, Vishakha@617MediaGroup.com
Boston Teachers Union issues statement regarding memorandum of agreement and report issued by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
“The report validates well-known concerns that the Boston Teachers Union long ago identified for the state as reasons for urgent and additional state investments – not takeovers – in public education, particularly with regard to the special education and English learner needs of Boston students.
The state has ignored those needs for decades, and is just now catching up to them, so the state has no grounds to say it should run the Boston schools that it has starved for so long.
Thirty years of state-level divestment from public education combined with a churn of district leadership has had dire consequences for Boston students.
While the memorandum does not constitute a state takeover, it appears to leave the door open in ways that could be dangerous for students and our communities, given the failed track record of top-down district takeovers across the country.
We support the new district strategic plan that was already forged with community input by the recently appointed superintendent, Dr. Brenda Cassellius, which addresses the challenges outlined in this report.
Lastly, it is troubling that the state would release this memo at a time when the community is grappling with an unprecedented state of emergency. We were not at the table for the creation of this MOU and believe educators and families need to be at the table moving forward.”
– Jessica Tang, President, Boston Teachers Union
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