Massachusetts

Whether you can get to school shouldn't depend on whether you can afford a subway pass. Students in Boston staged a protest and day-long sit-in this week arguing just that point.

Boston students are playing an active role in helping the city select its new superintendent. Though not officially a part of the search committee, students from the Boston Student Advisory Council, Youth and Board, and Boston-area Youth Organizing Project have crafted a set of criteria and priorities they think are important when selecting a superintendent. 

Here's what they have to say!

OTL allies in Massachusetts played a huge role in passing a 2012 law known as Chapter 222 that required schools to provide continuing educational resources to suspended students. Now, these same allies are playing a role in drafting state guidelines to help schools implement the new law. Check out some of the recent media coverage of their work!

As part of the National Day of Action, hundreds of Boston students, parents, teachers and advocates participated in a Town Hall on December 9 to discuss how to improve Boston Public Schools. The next day, students got a chance to present feedback from the Town Hall in a meeting with new Mayor Marty Walsh and his transition team. 

Warren Simmons, Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, has some advice for Boston's Mayor-Elect Marty Walsh: to improve the city's schools and ensure every student has a great education, he should focus on equity and providing access to a robust web of wraparound student supports. 

If you live in the Boston area, you should come see Gina Womack, Executive Director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC), speak tonight at Wheelock College about how to end the school-to-prison pipeline. FFLIC is a leading voice in the South for children, particularly those in or targeted by the juvenile justice system. 

From Wheelock:

Over 350 students raised their voices against harsh school discipline policies at the third annual Listening Project in Boston. The event was hosted by the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) and other members of the YOUNG Coalition including the Boston-area Youth Organizing Project and Youth on Board. 

OTL ally Citizens for Public Schools will be hosting renowned education historian Diane Ravitch in Cambridge, MA on Oct. 24th. The event is part of a book tour for Ravitch's new book, Reign of Error, which is a must read for education advocates and organizers. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.

Youth organizers in Boston are hosting an Oct. 3rd Listening Project on school discipline. Share your views with them at Forest Hills, Ruggles, Roxbury Crossing, Jackson, and Ashmont MBTA stations.