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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
‘Equitable and fair': BPS leaders weigh significant changes to exam school admissions policy
Related : Any change would require a vote by the board and would come about five years after the district completely overhauled admissions to the three schools: Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science. Tuesday's presentation will lay out a timeline of community engagement throughout the summer followed by a potential superintendent recommendation and committee vote in the fall. The current policy was intended to make the exam schools more demographically similar to the city's schools as a whole. The three schools had long enrolled larger proportions of white, Asian, and non-low income students than the rest of the district. Advertisement 'The exam school admissions policies have been largely successful at making the student body at the exam schools more representative of our communities geographically, [in] racial and ethnic diversity and [in] socioeconomic background,' Mayor Michelle Wu said in an interview Tuesday, prior to the meeting. Advertisement But the policy has also resulted in large disparities in admission rate based on where students live in the city, she said. Some years, there were 100 percent admission rates in certain neighborhoods and less than 50 percent admission rates in others. The simulations outline potential policies that would preserve the socioeconomic tiers but ensure all students have a chance at an exam school seat, regardless of where they live or go to elementary school, Wu said. 'Every policy within BPS, we have to look at to make sure it's equitable and it's fair,' Superintendent Mary Skipper said. 'We want all students to see themselves in the exam schools.' The review of the exam school admissions policy comes a month after the Trump administration Related : 'We're aware of many lawsuits at this point that are happening around selective schools and in process,' Skipper said. 'This was in the courts [and] it came out that the process we've used at the time was considered valid.' The Supreme Court last year Under the district's current policy, Advertisement Applicants receive a composite score out of 100 based on their grades and entrance exam scores. Students can get 15 bonus points if they live in public housing, are homeless, or are in foster care, or a varying number of points if they attend schools where at least 40 percent of students are low-income. The school-based bonus points vary by tier from two points to 10. As part of the review, the district found bonus points have not had a significant impact on invitations, Skipper said, as most applicants attend BPS schools that get bonus points. All the simulations prepared for Tuesday's meeting eliminated the bonus points. Skipper said district staff would analyze versions with the bonus points in the future if the School Committee requests it, but they found the points make the policy more confusing, create a sense of competition between schools. They also have even created unattainable admissions cutoffs in some cases for students without bonus points. The idea of scaling the tiers by number of applicants, rather than the number of eligible students, is a frequent demand from some parents. The most affluent tiers have historically had the most applicants, but since all tiers get the same number of seats, admission is particularly competitive in those areas. New data released Tuesday show that distinction has faded somewhat, with application rates falling in Tier 4 (the wealthiest area), and rising in Tier 1 (the least affluent area). Still, the admission rate ranged from 59 percent in Tier 4 to 77 percent in Tier 1, and the minimum scores for Grade 7 admission remained significantly higher in Tier 4. Advertisement The latest year's data also showed fewer Black students earning admission than in the prior years. Skipper said district staff are still exploring the data for explanations. Related : Under the simulated policy that equalizes tiers based on applicant numbers, the admission rate would have been about two-thirds in each tier. Two simulations with different versions of a citywide pool of seats each result in the wealthier areas having the highest admission rate, around 70 percent. On the other hand, district leaders again rejected a different frequent request in Tuesday's presentation. School Committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez has repeatedly called on the district to abandon school-based bonus points and instead award bonus points based on individual students' socioeconomic status. In a memo for the committee, Skipper said individual bonus points are not feasible due to operational challenges and because some low-income students do not participate in programs used to determine eligibility for immigration status reasons. Wu and Skipper underscored in the interview that while the exam schools are highly-sought after and serve a large and growing proportion of the district's teenagers, they cannot be the only focus. 'The driving goal is for BPS to be the first choice for every family in the city of Boston, and that means making sure we have high quality student experience at seats in every high school,' Wu said. Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Boston Globe
18-03-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Zydeco Meadery makes four meads, and each one tells a story
'You can't grow European style grapes in Louisiana because of the climate. It's too hot and there are some pest issues,' says Depradine. 'But then I discovered mead.' Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Eric, who has both a chemistry and history background, is honest about his trials and errors with initial batches of mead. Taking viticulture classes made Eric more confident. Eventually, to accommodate full-time jobs in other fields, the Depradines moved their business up to Massachusetts, where Eric grew up. Advertisement Zydeco makes four meads, and each one tells a story. Yankee Heritage Cyser is inspired by New England colonial times and made with fermented bittersweet apples and raisins. Bayou Soleil is a co-fermentation of grape juice and wildflower honey and most closely resembles in flavor the wines sampled on the Depradines's honeymoon. I recently opened a bottle of another Zydeco mead, Atlantic Creole, made from knotweed honey collected from the rural areas of Massachusetts. In the glass, the wine smelled floral, but once I sipped a pleasant, nutty honey flavor was most prominent. There was a nice viscosity to the drink also, though not so much as to coat your throat. The story behind Carnival Rose, a hibiscus mead made with honey and ginger, is the most personal. 'Hibiscus based drinks are really popular among Afro Latinos,' says Depradine. 'The Mexican community, especially on the Gulf Coast, and also West Indians and West Africans — because it all came from the Atlantic coast of West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade — people from those regions, from Senegal to Angola, when you had a party, you usually made a red based drink, either out of the cola nut or the hibiscus plant.' Advertisement Eric's grandmother, who lives in a nursing home in Dorchester, would always make a red drink for important occasions, and it stuck with him. Dialing in the recipe, he says, was not easy. 'Oh my goodness, old people don't believe in measuring anything,' Depradine says with a laugh. 'Man, it took me a long, long time and a lot of phone calls to my grandmother.' Asked why he puts so much time and effort exploring the origin of his meads, Depradine says, 'I had some really good teachers at Boston Latin Academy.' Zydeco Meadery is a family affair, with the Depradines's teenage son and daughter giving up their Saturdays to help produce the product. Those interested in purchasing any of the Zydeco meads can email Eric directly at Gary Dzen can be reached at
Boston Globe
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Working behind the scenes on a Grammy nominee can still be a huge win for an artist
Advertisement Lecrae's record ultimately secured a win for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at last year's ceremony. But even before that achievement, the nominations alone attracted prominent clientele – and bigger paychecks – that helped Lacossade support and record his own music. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I'm 100 percent funding myself [as an artist],' he says. 'To actually be from the city, and actually be a product of Boston, Massachusetts — from the Boys and Girls Club, to Boston Latin Academy, to working the summer jobs in Boston...I don't take for granted the fact that I'm amongst the highest levels of music possible.' For every teary-eyed winner you see onstage at the 67th Grammy Awards this Sunday, there are at least a dozen additional people who are also winners through their contributions as songwriters, session musicians, and engineers, among other roles. Many of them – including folks from Boston – go on to reap the rewards of that acclaim with more profitable work and chances to contribute to releases that differ stylistically from their solo projects. Boston jazz singer Advertisement Each artist will receive a certificate from the Recording Academy that acknowledges their contributions to the nominated projects, and will receive a second certificate if a project wins. It's quite not the same as a shiny gramophone trophy, but the opportunities that follow are often just as enviable. 'Every project that I'm part of gives me an opportunity to grow in my musicianship and grow my network, which is always a blessing,' says Malek, who was also nominated in 2022 as a vocalist on 'Crisálida' by In Lacossade's case, the slew of nominations from the past two years have nudged him closer to his personal goals, which include fully producing a Grammy-nominated album, or receiving a nomination for one of his solo rap albums. 'Last year, I gave my all to being the best producer/songwriter I could be,' he says. 'But now coming into this year, I'm trying to be the highest level artist that I could be.' GIG GUIDE Advertisement Devotees of The xx will gather at Roadrunner on After a year that saw New York singer-songwriter Crown Victoria reunite at the Burren on Brighton Music Hall hosts a 'winter reggae splash' on Advertisement On Boston hip-hop veterans STL GLD start the year with the standalone single "Pennies." Rose Glen NOW SPINNING STL GLD, 'Pennies.' After celebrating a decade as one of Boston's most prominent hip-hop groups, STL GLD usher in the new year by unearthing 'Pennies' from their vault. The standalone single finds emcee Moe Pope weaving his wordplay around a deep, teetering beat, with metaphors to spare. Heather Maloney, "Hopeless Nostalgic," the new album from Boston solo artist Savoir Faire, slinks and waltzes through retro lounge melodies. Sasha Pedro Savoir Faire, 'Hopeless Nostalgic.' There's a moment on 'Hopeless Nostalgic' where Savoir Faire likens herself to 'an inside-out cactus,' and there's perhaps no better way to describe the Boston soloist's undaunted demeanor on her latest record. This 10-track project slinks and waltzes through retro lounge melodies, guided by Savoir Faire's gauzy vocals and social commentary. Advertisement BONUS TRACK Victoria Wasylak can be reached at vmwasylak@ Follow her on X @VickiWasylak.
