Two weeks after BPS officials proposed the closure of John W. McCormack Middle School on Columbia Point, members of the school’s community are urging the School Committee to consider other options. Jessica Tang, president of the Boston Teachers Union, said the decision to close the McCormack “came out of left field.”
“We didn’t find out about the specifics of the proposal until literally the day before [BPS officials] were visiting the schools,” said Tang. “So, there was frustration on our end because we said we’re willing to be a partner, we’ll help you to think this through, but if we get the information last minute, there’s only so much time we can actually help to inform a better plan.”
According to Tang, the McCormack’s staff had been in talks with BPS officials for well over a year about a possible future transition to a 7-12 school, in line with the city’s plan to eliminate all middle schools in favor of a new two-school structure of K-6 and 7-12 facilities.
But the proposal BPS decided on – to close and renovate the McCormack after the 2019-2020 school year as a 7-12 school and have South Boston’s Excel school absorb the current student body in the interim – never came up.