Latest news with #BostonPublicSchools
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Boston Globe
Ex-Boston Public Schools science teacher indicted on federal child porn charges
Gavin, a Brookline resident, is already in state custody. He was arraigned in February in Brookline District Court on multiple charges, including enticement of a minor to pose nude, the Globe previously Advertisement He pleaded not guilty to the state charges. He was ordered held on $50,000 bail. At the time, Boston Public Schools said Gavin had been placed on leave. He now faces new and similar charges in federal court. Gavin allegedly used the instant messaging app Discord to exchange nude photos with at least 20 girls, who were between 12 and 17 years old, who live in six states, as well as Great Britain and Canada, according to the US Attorney's office. 'It is alleged that, in these chats, Gavin disclosed that he was a teacher, engaged in sexual conversations and often asked the minors to send him pictures of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct – knowing that the children were underaged," prosecutors wrote in a statement released Friday. Advertisement 'The chats also allegedly included conversations in which Gavin expressed his sexual interest in certain students at Josiah Quincy,' prosecutors said. At the time of his arrest on state charges, Gavin was placed on leave from his job at the school. Prior to that, Gavin was a 6thgrade teacher at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Hyde Park and was former classroom aide at the Roland Hayes School in Brookline, prosecutors said. Adam Sennott can be reached at
Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Parents' group sues over BPS exam school admissions, alleging discrimination against white students
Related : Advertisement 'The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause guarantees every qualified Boston student an equal opportunity to compete for a place in an Exam School, regardless of race,' the lawsuit says. 'The Tier System was implemented to limit that opportunity for members of a particular racial group. It must be struck down.' A spokesperson for Boston Public Schools declined to comment. This isn't the first time the Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence or the law firm that represents it, Pacific Legal Foundation, filed a lawsuit against Boston Public Schools over exam school admission practices. In 2020, the School Committee voted to temporarily award seats based on grades and zip code, and the same group and law firm sued over that system as well. The Supreme Court ultimately declined to hear the case last year, with one justice noting the system was no longer in use. Related : Advertisement Prior to the pandemic, admission to the three exam schools, Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science, was determined in a citywide process based solely on grades and an entrance exam score. Under the current admissions system, which has been repeatedly Students apply to enter the schools in grades 7 and 9, and must have at least a B average to be eligible. 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 three points to 10. The wealthiest tier, Tier 4 (or Tier 8 in an earlier version of the system), has tended to have more applicants than the other tiers, but all tiers get the same number of seats. That means admission is particularly competitive in Tier 4, which included many tracts in neighborhoods such as West Roxbury and Beacon Hill. Because the city's white students are concentrated in Tier 4, they have lower odds of admission to their schools of choice. 'This was done ... to limit the proportion of white students who could get into the exam schools,' said Pacific Legal senior attorney Chris Kieser in an interview. 'And it's been remarkably effective.' Advertisement Under the new system, the proportion of Grade 7 exam school invites going to white students declined from 40 percent for School Year 2020-21 to a low of 24 percent for 2023-24. According to the lawsuit, in three out of four years of the new system, white students have made up a smaller share of admitted students than of applicants. The percentage of admitted students who were white has been lower than the share of applicants. Related : Parties to the suit include parents of white and Asian children in Tier 4 who either already applied and were denied admission to one or all exam schools, or parents of white and Asian children who plan to apply in future years. The Pacific Legal Foundation has represented parents in a number of related cases alleging discrimination in efforts to diversify elite public schools around the country. Last year, the Supreme Court also declined to hear a case it brought against Virginia's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, another elite, application-based public high school that recently overhauled admissions. But some conservative members of the court have written that these policies violate their 2023 decision Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Boston's schools don't have to be mediocre
After all, the mayor controls the schools, because she appoints all the School Committee members. The buck truly stops at City Hall. Yet, with a mayoral election heating up, the quality of education in Boston Public Schools is shaping up to be at best a secondary issue in the race. Advertisement That's despite the fact that the Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up In a poll conducted last year, most So why isn't education at the top of the mayoral agenda? There are deeply rooted reasons why schools, despite being the biggest single operating department in the budget and the most important city service, tend to be oddly absent from mayoral races in Boston. Advertisement First, perhaps, is history: Until 1991, Boston had an elected School Committee so mayors could legitimately claim that the schools weren't under their purview. A few years later, former mayor Tom Menino made news when he That was more than 30 years ago, though, and neither Menino nor any of his successors have ever in fact been judged harshly for the schools. Then there's the demographic reality that the number of voters who have a direct connection to the district has decreased, because there are fewer students in schools than there were a generation ago. Boston's population is about 650,000 and there are about There's also sheer political calculation: It's not lost on anyone that when former city councilor John Connolly tried to run as an education candidate in 2013, he lost. 'There's a disturbing culture in Boston politics where politicians believe that you can't win on schools and it can only be a divisive issue,' Finally, as this editorial board put it in the Advertisement That, at least, is a problem voters can end: by getting into the habit of demanding more. We can't afford to be defeatist. Especially in a post-pandemic world, in which many white collar workers can live anywhere, Boston needs schools that are good enough to hold on to residents and produce students who can succeed at college or in careers — and not just those able to land a seat at an exam school. In public debates, the candidates should be pressed on how, or if, they would How would they bring the third of students who regularly miss school back into the classroom? What would they do to stop fistfights (and worse) in the schools? Would they ban cell phones during the whole school day and if so, how would they enforce bans? How would they turn the downsizing of the schools — an inevitability, considering long-term enrollment declines — into an opportunity to make the remaining schools better? When she first ran for mayor four years ago, Mayor Michelle Wu had a lot to say about school buildings — she promised a 'Green New Deal' for dilapidated school facilities — and relatively little about what happens inside them, reflecting the kind of play-it-safe mentality Connolly described. Advertisement Her record in office is more encouraging: Wu has started the painful, but overdue process of shrinking the physical size of the district. She hired an impressive superintendent, Mary Skipper. She But violence in the schools — and Her main opponent, Josh Kraft, has called for more Those ideas should get a full airing. So should Wu's record. But families should make sure to tell the candidates their ideas and their concerns, too, and their priorities. The part we all can play in making the schools better is to demand more — to insist that B or C isn't good enough, and that we won't accept buck-passing from mayors. Advertisement Four years ago, Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us
Boston Globe
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump administration withholds more than $100 million from Mass. schools
'Every day that goes by without this education funding hurts children, educators, communities and our economy,' Healey said in a statement. 'Without this funding, districts are going to be forced to lay off staff, delay or cancel programs and services, and disrupt learning. Our schools were promised this funding, and the Trump Administration needs to deliver it.' Trump proposed to eliminate the programs in question in Advertisement The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, in its notice to the states, it said, 'The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities.' Advertisement Money is also being withheld for the Migrant Education Program, which educates migratory farm and fishery workers and their children, adult literacy programs, bullying prevention programs, and more. The missing funds pose the most immediate threat to the summer learning programs, with many camps and other activities set to begin this week. Massachusetts was set to receive more than $20 million in summer and after school funding, Boston Public Schools summer offerings will be largely unaffected, said Chris Smith, executive director of Boston Afterschool and Beyond, at an event Monday launching the city's 5th Quarter Initiative at Dorchester's Level Ground Mixed Martial Arts. 'They're part of the core city in Boston Public Schools budget because we have such strong leadership,' he said. 'So thankfully, we are full throttle on the fifth quarter for all 18,000 plus kids.' The city does have some programs funded by the 21st Century Community Learning Centers federal grants, which are being withheld, but even those will be 'very minimally cut' thanks to having dedicated city funds said district official Magaly Sanchez. Mayor Michelle Wu, speaking after sparring with a student in the 5th Quarter program, said the city's recent budget process was focused on protecting investments in young people. BPS does benefit from other funds among those cut, including more than $2 million each year in English language acquisition funds. Jennifer Aldworth, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, condemned the Trump administration move in the news release, saying it will affect more than 220,000 children attending Boys and Girls Club programs across the country. The Boys and Girls Club depends on the funding for some of its programs for low income students. Advertisement 'States and community-based organizations have already committed these funds to carry out programming for students and families,' Aldworth said. 'Failure to release this funding will result in summer camp closures, staff layoffs and closures of Boys & Girls Clubs ahead of the 2025-2026 school year — forcing working families to make tough decisions to support their children.' The cuts are likely to set up another legal class between Democratic-led states like Massachusetts and the Trump administration. Just last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined other states in In May, a federal judge forced the Trump administration to This type of withholding of appropriated funds, known as impoundment, seems to violate the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, but Trump administration officials have argued 'Once again, the Trump administration is choosing the path of cruelty and chaos by waiting until the last possible moment to announce their unconstitutional decision to hold back funding,' state Senator Jason Lewis said in a statement. 'These actions will harm our students, increase the burden on working families, and put even more pressure on municipalities and school districts across the state that are struggling with their finances.' Advertisement Christopher Huffaker can be reached at
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Plea deal for adult woman accused of posing as Boston high school student falls apart
A woman accused of posing as a Boston Public Schools student was set to resolve her criminal case Tuesday, but reached an impasse on a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to published reports. Hewitt, 34, has pleaded not guilty to charges including of forgery of a document, identity fraud and violating the standards of conduct for a public employee, records show. State payroll records show Hewitt was employed by the Department of Children and Families when prosecutors say she forged documents to enroll in several Boston high schools for the 2022 - 23 school year. At the hearing Tuesday, Hewitt's defense attorney, Timothy Flaherty, told the presiding judge that Hewitt would only accept a plea deal if her case were continued without a finding, allowing her to avoid a guilty plea. But prosecutors would only accept an agreement where Hewitt pleaded guilty, The Boston Globe reported. 'It's clear to me the commonwealth is not willing to proceed with a plea unless there is a guilty finding... We've done what we can today,' Judge Debra Squires-Lee said, according to NBC Boston. Squires-Lee said the agreement would have recommended a sentence of probation, mental health treatment and restitution for Hewitt, according to the Globe. If no agreement is reached, Hewitt is scheduled to go on trial in February 2026. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper said Hewitt used the transfer process to enroll in Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School under various names. 'I am deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities by posing as a student. This appears to be a case of extremely sophisticated fraud,' Skipper said in 2023. Hewitt's alleged fraud unraveled when administrators at English High School in Jamaica Plain contacted authorities after uncovering some suspicious paperwork from a student, according to a police report. School officials told police they became concerned after a student's parent said they would be withdrawing their daughter and enrolling her into St. Columbkille School because she was being bullied. But the student had enrolled just a week prior and school staff had only just begun addressing the reported bullying, according to the police report. A hearing in Hewitt's case is scheduled for Sept. 30. Flaherty, her lawyer, said he would 'report back immediately' if an agreement on a plea was reached, the Globe reported. Mass. has an on-time(ish) state budget: 3 big things to know about the $61B plan Here's how Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene described support for Trump's 'big beautiful bill' Group behind MCAS ballot question broke campaign finance law, state says Jennifer Aniston cast in new TV series based on child actor's memoir Mass. beach closures: Here are the beaches closed on Wednesday, July 2 Read the original article on MassLive.
