The School Committee voted Thursday night to eliminate the district’s Office of Educational Equity, delivering a blow to equity initiatives that were expanded as recently as last summer. The cut is the latest of dozens made by the School Committee in the past two weeks, in its efforts to close what started as a roughly… Continue reading School Committee eliminates Office of Educational Equity, rejects hybridization of food services
Author: Vivi Smilgius
New School Committee candidates cite budget problems as reason for running
A slew of new candidates are running for School Committee this year, prompted by widespread concern about fiscal problems in Brookline schools. In early February, eight Brookline residents had indicated they were considering running for three seats. As of March 10, five candidates are still in the race: incumbents Helen Charlupski and Valerie Frias, former… Continue reading New School Committee candidates cite budget problems as reason for running
School Committee approves $3m in cuts, rejects arts reductions as hundreds pack Town Hall
At a packed School Committee meeting on Thursday night, the committee rejected some of the most unpopular cuts proposed by the district, agreed on about $3 million in reductions and left many decisions to be made in the coming weeks. About 200 people, many clad in green or red t-shirts, crowded the fifth floor of… Continue reading School Committee approves $3m in cuts, rejects arts reductions as hundreds pack Town Hall
A century-old tradition of skeet shooting at The Country Club rattles Brookline neighborhood
Nestled between the Country Club of Brookline and Larz Anderson Park, Brookline’s Buttonwood Village neighborhood is immersed in the serenity of nature — for six days a week. On fall and winter Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., gunshots from the country club’s skeet shooting club ring out across the neighborhood, their booms punctuating the… Continue reading A century-old tradition of skeet shooting at The Country Club rattles Brookline neighborhood
Inside Brookline’s school police debate: As BPD allies push for officers to return to schools, critics raise alarm over lack of data
A months-long push to reinstate Brookline’s school resource officer program is coming to a head this spring. So far, Brookline’s Select Board and police chief have recommended that the School Committee bring back police officers assigned to Brookline’s schools, who were removed in 2021 during the backlash to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis… Continue reading Inside Brookline’s school police debate: As BPD allies push for officers to return to schools, critics raise alarm over lack of data
Growth through challenge: How director Chi-Sun Chan transformed the Brookline Community Band
Over the last eight years, the Brookline Community Band has undergone a transformation led by Chi-Sun Chan, a tuba player and band conductor who has performed around the world. When Chan took over as its conductor in 2017, the community band was a 20-piece group that performed by request at senior homes and community events.… Continue reading Growth through challenge: How director Chi-Sun Chan transformed the Brookline Community Band
District leaders propose sweeping cuts to address $8 million school budget deficit
In the face of an $8.2 million budget deficit, Public Schools of Brookline administrators proposed sweeping cuts — including slashing the district’s performing arts program and removing half the instructional aides in first grade classrooms — at a School Committee meeting Thursday. At the request of the School Committee, district leaders put forward about $9 million worth… Continue reading District leaders propose sweeping cuts to address $8 million school budget deficit
Pierce School principal stepping down to take position in Newton
Pierce School principal Jamie Yadoff announced Tuesday she is leaving her position at the end of the school year to take a job in Newton. Yadoff will be principal at Memorial-Spaulding Elementary School in Newton, she told Brookline.News. She declined an interview. “I believe our Pierce community is the very best school in Brookline,” Yadoff… Continue reading Pierce School principal stepping down to take position in Newton
A 27-year veteran of Brookline’s libraries is running for the elected board that oversees the library system
A librarian with 27 years of experience in Brookline’s libraries is running for the Board of Library Trustees, an often under-the-radar group of elected officials which came under a spotlight last fall when the library faced toxic workplace allegations. In Brookline, the Board of Library Trustees oversees the library director — a position that is… Continue reading A 27-year veteran of Brookline’s libraries is running for the elected board that oversees the library system
Boston Ballet School to acquire Brookline Ballet School
The Brookline Ballet School will be acquired this summer by the Boston Ballet School, a larger regional organization with locations across the Boston area. Trinidad Vives and Parren Ballard, who founded the Brookline Ballet School and have been running it for the past 15 years, recently took jobs at the Washington Ballet School in Washington,… Continue reading Boston Ballet School to acquire Brookline Ballet School
Long-time owner sells Aborn True Value Hardware
After more than four decades of selling supplies and doling out advice at Aborn True Value, Jose Monroy, who has owned the store since 2007, is moving on. The shop changed owners on Feb. 3 when Monroy sold it to Karl Smith, who currently owns a hardware store in Marblehead. “There’s a whole bunch of… Continue reading Long-time owner sells Aborn True Value Hardware
School Committee notes: FY26 budget deficit grows, Pierce project under budget, committee drafts mobile device policy
Recent meetings of the School Committee and Pierce School Building Committee provided more information about the progress of the Pierce School renovation, the district’s projected budget deficit and a policy dictating the use of personal electronics in Brookline schools. Schools’ projected budget deficit increases The projected budget deficit for the Public Schools of Brookline in… Continue reading School Committee notes: FY26 budget deficit grows, Pierce project under budget, committee drafts mobile device policy
Town aims to increase equitable early education access with new initiative
The town will soon launch a four-year initiative which will provide free early education for dozens of low-income families and give professional development to early education providers. Brookline’s Select Board chose Trust Early Learners, a Brookline-based preschool that delivers formal education to children as young as 3 years old, to partner with the town and… Continue reading Town aims to increase equitable early education access with new initiative
Brookline schools facing $6m budget deficit
Brookline schools are facing an estimated $6 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2026, according to the latest projections from town and school officials, adding significant financial pressure that could lead to more cuts in a school system already struggling to meet some students’ needs. The projected deficit was first made public in December, as… Continue reading Brookline schools facing $6m budget deficit
Saturday shooting was likely not connected to BHA, police say
A Brookline shooting that injured an 18-year-old and led to the arrest of four teenagers this week appears to have had no connection to the Brookline Housing Authority development near where it took place, according to interviews and police reports obtained by Brookline.News. The reports shed new light on an act of violence which has… Continue reading Saturday shooting was likely not connected to BHA, police say
School Committee notes: Town, committee to audit special education procurement, district makes progress in fulfilling delayed contracts
In December, Brookline.News reported that some Brookline students have not been receiving legally-mandated special education services. Public Schools of Brookline superintendent Linus Guillory and School Committee leaders shared updates regarding the procurement of student services at a School Committee meeting on Jan. 9. School Committee to audit purchasing practices The School Committee announced it will… Continue reading School Committee notes: Town, committee to audit special education procurement, district makes progress in fulfilling delayed contracts
Public school enrollment still below pre-pandemic levels, but BHS hits all-time high
The number of students in Brookline’s public schools remains below pre-pandemic levels and is slightly lower than last year’s enrollment, according to data released in December by the state. Brookline’s student enrollment for the 2024-25 school year is 7,023 students — not quite as many as the 7,039 enrolled for 2023-24. This year marks the third… Continue reading Public school enrollment still below pre-pandemic levels, but BHS hits all-time high
Why a retired Pierce School teacher sends birthday cards to 450 of his former students each year
Phoebe Williams, now in her forties, moved out of Brookline at 17. But each year on her birthday, she receives a little slice of home in the mail: a birthday card from her first-grade teacher, David Weinstein. “There are many years where I don’t get birthday cards from some of my best friends, or some… Continue reading Why a retired Pierce School teacher sends birthday cards to 450 of his former students each year
School Committee approves new literacy curriculum for K-5 students
The Public Schools of Brookline will adopt a new literacy curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grades, following a unanimous School Committee vote in favor of a recommendation made by the district’s educators. Fishtank Learning, which meets all nine Massachusetts criteria for “high quality instructional materials,” will replace outdated curriculum in grades three, four and five… Continue reading School Committee approves new literacy curriculum for K-5 students
Middle schoolers get their day in court as part of mock trial program
Seventh grader Yarden Garfinkel and his classmates spent nine weeks studying the justice system and learning to make a compelling argument in court. On Dec. 12, they tested their skills at Brookline District Court in front of a jury of their neighbors — and a judge. Garfinkel is one of several dozen middle schoolers from… Continue reading Middle schoolers get their day in court as part of mock trial program