Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance

https://www.facebook.com/pg/massedjustice

We are students, parents, educators, and community members who are dedicated to creating the public schools and colleges our communities deserve. The Schools Our Communities Deserve Proposals to Strengthen Our Public School System Recognize That Class Size Matters: Reduce class sizes to adequately meet the needs of all students. Educate The Whole Child: Invest to ensure that all schools have recess and classes in physical education, art, theater, dance, and music. Ensure that those classes have the appropriate equipment and materials. Social studies and science courses should be provided every year, year-round. Offer world languages and a variety of subject choices. Provide every school with a library, technology center and staffing for both. Create More Robust Wrap-around Services: Due to lack of funding, the BPS is behind recommended staffing levels suggested by national professional associations. The number of school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists must increase dramatically to serve Boston’s population of low-income students. Additionally, students need safe, timely and affordable transportation to school. Address Inequities In Our System: There is a growing two-tier school system that denies resources to the neediest schools, uses discipline policies with a disproportionate harm on students of color, underserves ELL and special needs students and enacts policies that increase the concentrations of students in high poverty and racially segregated schools. Privately run Commonwealth charter schools take resources away from students who need them the most. This system must be fixed. Help Students Get Off To A Good Start: We need to provide age-appropriate (not test-driven) education in the early grades. All students should have access to pre-kindergarten and to full-day kindergarten. Respect And Develop The Educators: Teachers need time to adequately plan their lessons and collaborate with colleagues, as well as the autonomy and shared decision-making to encourage professional judgment. BPS needs to hire adequate staffing to ensure no students fall through the cracks. Culturally competent Boston educators should reflect the diversity of the students they serve. Teach All Students: We need to fully fund Special Education and English language instruction so that the unique needs of all students are met by a team of educators whose skills and experiences reflect both the diversity and the learning requirements of the student body. We must also stop the misuse and abuse of high-stakes standardized tests that are used inappropriately to evaluate students, their teachers and schools. Provide Quality School Facilities: No more leaky roofs, broken toilets, or windows that refuse to open or shut. Students need to be taught in facilities with appropriate classroom temperatures, free of pests and other respiratory or allergy triggers. Inadequate investment in facilities should not be a reason to close schools. Prioritize Student, Family and Community Engagement: Parents and Community are an integral part of a child’s education. Families and caregivers need to be encouraged and helped in that role along with organizations and congregations in our communities. All students and families need consistent quality engagement by school and district leadership so that their voices and experiences regularly inform policies and reforms that directly affect them. Students and their parents should be elected and represented on school based decision-making bodies of their schools and the district. Fully Fund Education: Our country, state and city can afford can afford to provide a quality public education for all students. Schools must be adequately funded through a fair tax system and adequate revenues. There is no excuse for denying students the essential services they deserve.

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