Now that the Boston School Committee has selected Brenda Cassellius to be superintendent, its next most important task will be to negotiate a final contract with the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) — a contract aimed at advancing student achievement and teacher effectiveness, all while being fiscally responsible.
This contract should be less prescriptive and provide more flexible decision-making at the school level than the last two contracts. In short, it’s urgent that it achieve what those contracts did not.
Recent studies about BPS student performance and MCAS results have documented the importance of school improvement in Boston. Needed change cannot wait for a future contract or series of contracts, each providing only incremental change. Despite system-wide improvements in student graduation and dropout rates, too many schools are underperforming and too wide an achievement gap exists among students.