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The Great Divide
Race, class, and opportunity in our schools.

BCLA-McCormack graduate earns inaugural scholarship for students intending to return to BPS as educators

The $1.9 million scholarship, endowed by the estate of deceased Boston educators Robert and Ruth Starratt will fund up to four years of tuition at the UMass Boston College of Education and Human Development for graduating BCLA-McCormack Academy students who plans to pursue a career in education,

Despite ongoing concerns with the district, City Council approves $1.5 billion budget for Boston Public Schools
Councilors noted concerns about ongoing inequities in the district, the lack of a long-term facilities plan, declining enrollment, and worrisome student performance.

Cambridge Schools to pay ousted superintendent more than $200,000 in severance
The Cambridge School Committee voted in May to sever its contract with Victoria Greer about a year before it was due to expire, following a wave of public criticism.

Needham middle school graduates 23 sets of twins

The 23 sets of twins, 46 students, make up a 10th of the 454-person eighth grade class that graduated Wednesday.

Providence set to boost funds for public schools after superintendent accuses mayor of ‘shortchanging’ kids

The proposed $2.5 million increase is less than what the district has claimed it needs to balance the school budget and avoid more layoffs.

Some Massachusetts students are so anxious, they’re missing school for months on end. What can schools do?

School refusal is a form of chronic absenteeism often misunderstood by public school systems, whose staff typically don’t have the training or capacity to meet kids’ mental health needs.

About The Great Divide

The Great Divide is a reporting effort dedicated to investigating race, class, and inequality in Boston-area schools. It is jointly funded by the Globe and the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based foundation that has prioritized student success in high school and beyond. The Globe maintains editorial control and independence over the project.

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May 29: Cambridge School Committee votes in favor of superintendent’s resignationMay 22: Concord residents want to name new middle school after Black abolitionist Ellen GarrisonMay 15: Most Massachusetts parents think state should require the ‘science of reading’ in classroomsClick here to see past issues

Education Headlines

The Great Divide

Anxiety in kids and teens is on the rise. Here’s how to best support them.

Parents don’t have to solve anxiety, but there are things they can do so that it doesn’t interfere with their children's lives.

‘We do not have the luxury to wait.’ With delayed school closure plan, Mayor Wu draws criticism, sympathy on tough issue.

Mayor Michelle Wu’s approach to school closures underscores that even as she aims to lead a new kind of administration, she can’t avoid the challenges that dogged her predecessors.

‘It’s heartbreaking’: 225,000 Mass. students attend substandard segregated schools, new report finds

State education leaders have failed for decades to comply with laws requiring them to foster integration in schools, according to a new report by a state oversight committee.

YMCA providing free summer memberships to Boston teenagers

The ‘Get Summer’ initiative is “aimed at providing young people with safe and productive activities during the months away from school,” officials said in a statement.

A priest who taught at BC High wrote in praise of clerical celibacy. He’s now been charged with raping a child.

A Jesuit priest who is charged with raping a child 15 years ago had written an opinion piece for The Boston Globe in praise of clerical celibacy that expressed “horror at the sin of priests preying upon children.”

Police in Burlington, Vt., apologize for acting out a ‘robbery scenario’ for group of students

“The roleplaying scenario only involved three department personnel simulating a robbery scenario and was not directed at any students or faculty," police said.

Springfield superintendent steps down after calling School Committee member ‘scumbag’ during a recorded conversation

Superintendent Daniel Warwick, who was facing calls for his resignation, notified the mayor of his decision to begin his planned retirement more than three weeks ahead of schedule.

Missing Mashpee girl found safe in Barnstable; 13-year-old girl charged with assault and battery in alleged bullying, police say

A Mashpee teenager was found after an intense search, police said, and a fellow student is charged with assault in the alleged bullying of the girl.