Hoping to improve college retention and graduation rates among former Boston Public Schools students, City Councilor Michael Flaherty has proposed instituting an optional 13th year of school.
“As we know, we live in a competitive global economy that requires our students to have efficient skills to access and fully participate in this economy – and as a result, we need to advocate for collective methods to close the achievement gap in our education system,” Flaherty said in a statement March 22.
Flaherty said he hopes to provide Boston’s students with another way to prepare for life after high school, whether they plan to pursue a traditional four-year college, vocational school or a community college by giving students the chance to stay at high school for one additional year to take college preparatory classes.
“Essentially, what I am presenting is to have a discussion on Year 13 so that we could have an additional resource to close the achievement gap,” Flaherty said.