1. Preserving Our Children’s Future

In 2008, The Boston Foundation’s Boston Indicators Project published Boston’s Education Pipeline: A Report Card. That report noted that of the 3,822 students who entered the Boston Public Schools as high school freshmen in 2003, 646 dropped out or were expelled. Of those who actually graduated in four years, only 549 could be expected to earn a Bachelors or Associates Degree seven years later. That’s just 14.4% of the original class.

Clearly if more than 85% of those high school freshmen are projected to not graduate high school in four years and earn a two or four year college degree seven years later, our education system is broken. Failing schools in any neighborhood in this city affects our entire community because a poorly educated workforce cannot compete for and retain jobs, and in desperate times, criminal activities increase making our streets unsafe. Growing up in Dorchester, I witnessed first hand the Vicious Cycle ( Poor Education Poverty Crime & Violence ) that destroys many Boston communities.

A poor education sets the tone for the future of our children. It is for this very reason that many parents who live in this city decide to pay thousands of dollars a year to send their children to private school – it’s the reason my parents worked multiple jobs to send me to Boston College High School. However, the cost of a private education is not an option for everyone and it’s completely unacceptable that children who attend Boston Public Schools are not guaranteed a quality education. Have you ever wondered why the public schools in Newton, Needham, Brookline or Weston are better than the public schools in Boston? Quality public education should be available to everyone regardless of where you live.

Boston is home to many of the nation’s top academic institutions.  Thousands fly into Boston from all over the world to attend our colleges and universities, yet very few local Boston youth are academically prepared to get into these same schools.  We will know we are successful when local students have the option to attend these great colleges and universities in much greater numbers than they do today.

In order to break the Vicious Cycle, we must fix our education system. We need to create an enriching environment that puts learning first. Boston’s public education problem is complex with multiple layers and is plagued by entrenched views on all sides.

As your City Councilor, I will:
• Bring all stakeholders (Boston Public Schools, charter schools, the City, unions, business and non-profit leaders, and most importantly, parents and students) to the table and challenge these entrenched views;
• Shift the Boston Public Schools’ focus to the students; and
• Push to implement successes from charter schools, and other independent schools, across BPS Schools.

I understand first hand the importance of providing our children with a quality education, without one my life could have been very different.