Boston Public Schools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Located: | Boston |
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| Students: | 57,000 |
| Staff: | 8,814 |
| Schools: | 145, pre-K through Grade 12 |
| Founded: | 1647 |
| Budget: | $734.5 million in FY07 |
| Website: | http://www.bostonpublicschools.org |
Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts.
In September 2006, the district was named the top city school system in the nation, winning the Broad Prize for Urban Education. The prize, sponsored by philanthropist Eli Broad, includes $500,000 in college scholarships to graduates from the winning district. Each year since the prize program began in 2002, Boston has been one of five finalists, earning $125,000 in scholarships each year.
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[edit] Overview
The district serves nearly 57,000 students, in pre-kindergarten through adult education, in 145 schools. Nearly 75% of the students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch. Approximately 20% of students have disabilities and are served in special education programs. Almost 17% of students are English language learners.
[edit] Leadership
The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino. The School Committee sets policy for the district and approves the district's annual operating budget. This governing body replaced a 13-member elected Committee after a public referendum vote in 1991. The Superintendent serves as a member of the Mayor's cabinet.
From October 1995 through June 2006, Dr. Thomas W. Payzant served as superintendent. A former undersecretary in the US Department of Education, Payzant was the first superintendent selected by the appointed School Committee. Upon Dr. Payzant's retirement, Chief Operating Officer Michael G. Contompasis, former headmaster of Boston Latin School, became Interim Superintendent, and was appointed superintendent in October 2006. Dr. Manuel J. Rivera, superintendent of the Rochester City School District, had agreed to become the next superintendent of the BPS, but instead accepted a post as deputy secretary for public education for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. As of January 2007, BPS is preparing to start a new search process.
[edit] History
BPS is the oldest public school system in America, founded in 1647. It is also the home of the nation's first public school, Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. The Mather School opened in 1639 as the nation's first public elementary school, and English High School, the first public high school in the country, opened in 1821.
In the mid-1970s, conflict raged in Boston's schools over forced busing of students. The state had enacted the Racial Imbalance Law in 1965, requiring school districts to design and implement plans to effect racial balancing in schools that were more than 50% "non-white". After years of consistent failure by the Boston School Committee to comply with the law, the U.S District Court ruled in 1974 that the schools were unconstitutionally segregated, and implemented as a remedy the busing of many students from their neighborhood schools to other schools across the city. The busing aroused fierce criticism among some residents—there were a great many protests at schools, some of which turned violent. The result was an exodus of the city's white middle and working-class residents which coincided with a continuous decline in the quality of education.
[edit] School assignment system
For elementary and middle school, students may apply to:
- Any school within the location's "assignment zone" [1]
- Any school within the location's "walk zone," regardless of the school's "assignment zone."
- Any citywide elementary school, middle school, and K-8
All high schools are "citywide."
[edit] Distinguished alumni
Many famous Americans attended or graduated from the Boston Public Schools, including:
