| Boston Public Schools | |
|---|---|
| Type and location | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Established | 1647 |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
| District Info | |
| Superintendent | Carol R. Johnson |
| Schools | 135 (2009-2010)[1] |
| Budget | $817,121,930 (FY2010 - Not including $147,594,750 in grants)[1] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 56,340 (2009-2010)[1] |
| Teachers | 4,671 (2009-2010)[1] |
| Staff | 4,352 (2009-2010)[1] |
| Student-teacher ratio | 12.8 to 1 (2007-2008)[2] |
| Other information | |
| Website | Boston Public Schools |
Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
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The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the Mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified stakeholders.[3] The School Committee sets policy for the district and approves the district's annual operating budget. This governing body replaced a 13-member elected Committee after a public referendum vote in 1991.[4] The Superintendent serves as a member of the Mayor's cabinet.
From October 1995 through June 2006, Dr. Thomas W. Payzant served as superintendent. A former undersecretary in the US Department of Education, Payzant was the first superintendent selected by the appointed School Committee. Upon Dr. Payzant's retirement, Chief Operating Officer Michael G. Contompasis, former headmaster of Boston Latin School, became Interim Superintendent, and was appointed superintendent in October 2006. Dr. Manuel J. Rivera, superintendent of the Rochester City School District, had agreed to become the next superintendent of the BPS, but instead accepted a post as deputy secretary for public education for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. In June 2007, the Boston School Committee voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Carol R. Johnson as the next Superintendent, beginning in August 2007. Dr. Johnson had served as Superintendent of the Memphis City Schools since 2003.
The Mayor and Boston City Council have control over the overall appropriation for the Boston Public Schools, but the School Committee has control over how funding is allocated internally, and has control over policy.[5]
BPS is the oldest public school system in America, founded in 1647.[6] It is also the home of the nation's first public school, Boston Latin School, founded in 1635.[6] The Mather School opened in 1639 as the nation's first public elementary school,[7] and English High School, the second public high school in the country, opened in 1821.[6]
In the mid-1970s, conflict raged in Boston's schools over forced busing of students. The state had enacted the Racial Imbalance Law in 1965, requiring school districts to design and implement plans to effect racial balancing in schools that were more than 50% "non-white". After years of consistent failure by the Boston School Committee to comply with the law, the U.S District Court ruled in 1974 that the schools were unconstitutionally segregated, and implemented as a remedy the busing of many students from their neighborhood schools to other schools across the city.[6] The busing aroused fierce criticism among some residents — from 1974 there were a great many protests at schools, some of which turned violent, and in 1975 the Boston Police Department stationed uniformed officers in South Boston High School, Charlestown High and other schools.[8] The result was an exodus of the city's white middle and working-class residents which coincided with a continuous decline in the quality of education. In September 2006, the district was named the top city school system in the nation, winning the Broad Prize for Urban Education. The prize, sponsored by philanthropist Eli Broad, includes $500,000 in college scholarships to graduates from the winning district. Each year since the prize program began in 2002, Boston has been one of five finalists, earning $125,000 in scholarships each year.
Boston Public Schools (BPS) operates schools throughout the city of Boston. BPS assigns students based on preferences of the applicants and priorities of students in various zones.[9]
Since 1989, the city has broken the district into three zones for elementary- and middle-school students. High schoolers can choose any school throughout the city, since they can ride public transportation.[10] Due to the geography of East Boston, for all grade levels each child in East Boston is guaranteed a seat at a school in East Boston.[9]
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