Jodi Fortuna, Brookline’s deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, will depart from her position at the end of June, becoming the third high-ranking administrator to leave the school district in the last six months. Fortuna is leaving to take on the role of superintendent of the Lunenburg Public Schools in central Massachusetts, she told Brookline.News.… Continue reading Deputy superintendent Jodi Fortuna to depart at end of school year
Category: Education
News in brief: Are you Brookline’s next Poet Laureate?
If you’re a poet, writer or musician who lives in Brookline, you might be the town’s next Poet Laureate. The Brookline Commission for the Arts is seeking applications to serve a three year term in the literary position. The next Poet Laureate will be the town’s fifth, part of a program which began in 2012.… Continue reading News in brief: Are you Brookline’s next Poet Laureate?
Three new principals set to lead K-8 schools next year
Public Schools of Brookline Superintendent Linus Guillory recently selected two interim principals and one outside candidate to fill open principal positions at the Baker, Pierce and Ridley schools. The vacancies are filled at a tumultuous time in Brookline schools’ leadership. In the past six months, multiple administrators — including Guillory himself — have resigned from their posts.… Continue reading Three new principals set to lead K-8 schools next year
School Committee cautions educators against using MTA’s ‘offensive’ teaching materials on Israel-Palestine
Brookline’s School Committee “strongly cautioned” the district against using the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s recommended instructional materials regarding Israel and Palestine and expressed its intent to create an “instructional materials policy” in a resolution passed on May 1. The resolution was proposed by School Committee Member Jesse Hefter and came after the MTA — a union representing… Continue reading School Committee cautions educators against using MTA’s ‘offensive’ teaching materials on Israel-Palestine
School Committee closes budget gap by tapping ‘circuit breaker’ funds
The School Committee on Thursday made the final adjustments needed to close an $8.2 million budget gap projected for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. The committee unanimously approved a $142,148,452 budget for the Public Schools of Brookline, moving one step closer to the end of a months-long budget process. Next, Town Meeting must… Continue reading School Committee closes budget gap by tapping ‘circuit breaker’ funds
A popular adult education nonprofit faces an uncertain future amid schools budget crunch
The School Committee voted to pause funding at the end of the summer for Brookline Adult and Community Education, a public education nonprofit that offers a wide array of courses to adults, children and seniors in Brookline. The School Committee previously voted to help fund BACE — which serves thousands of people but has not… Continue reading A popular adult education nonprofit faces an uncertain future amid schools budget crunch
Schools superintendent Guillory will resign on June 30
Public Schools of Brookline Superintendent Linus Guillory will resign from his position, he announced Monday morning. Guillory, who became superintendent in 2021, will remain in the role until June 30. “Serving the students, families, staff, and community of Brookline has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding chapters of my professional life,” Guillory wrote… Continue reading Schools superintendent Guillory will resign on June 30
The Brookline schools equity office is in limbo. Here’s what its work looks like.
The removal of Brookline’s Office of Educational Equity is one of many cuts made to narrow the schools’ $8 million budget gap. Now, with fundraising underway to reinstate the office and a School Committee torn about how to respond, the office is in limbo. A divided School Committee voted 5-4 on March 13 to eliminate… Continue reading The Brookline schools equity office is in limbo. Here’s what its work looks like.
School Committee notes: FY26 budget gap reduced to $1.7 million
The School Committee continued to reduce Brookline schools’ fiscal year 2026 budget gap on Thursday, but some of the most controversial cuts were rejected or postponed. By the end of Thursday’s School Committee meeting, the district’s projected budget gap was reduced to about $1.7 million, down from roughly $8 million earlier this year. The gap,… Continue reading School Committee notes: FY26 budget gap reduced to $1.7 million
Meet the candidates in a crowded race for School Committee
This year’s race for Brookline’s School Committee is the most competitive since 2018, with six candidates, including two incumbents, running for three open seats in the May 6 election. Most new candidates cited the district’s cyclical fiscal problems as a top reason for running — particularly the $8-million budget gap for fiscal year 2026, which the… Continue reading Meet the candidates in a crowded race for School Committee
Brookline group aims to fund equity positions cut by School Committee
A coalition of Brookline groups is raising money to fund equity-focused positions across the district that were eliminated by a divided School Committee on March 13. Jodi Fortuna, the district’s deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, announced at a School Committee meeting Thursday that the coalition, coordinated by the Brookline Community Foundation, has raised about… Continue reading Brookline group aims to fund equity positions cut by School Committee
Town officials seek greater oversight of school finances amid budget crisis
As Brookline’s schools face major budget problems, the town is moving to assert itself more in the school system’s financial processes. The budget process for fiscal year 2026 started with an $8.2 million gap between the superintendent’s initial budget proposal and the town’s allocation of funding for the schools. The shortfall has since been whittled… Continue reading Town officials seek greater oversight of school finances amid budget crisis
School Committee eliminates Office of Educational Equity, rejects hybridization of food services
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
‘The story behind the story’: Why top authors and literary stars keep coming back to the Brookline Booksmith
When Kelly Andrew was growing up in Connecticut, she went to Brookline Booksmith many times to hear authors talk about their work when her family would visit Boston. Now that she’s a best-selling novelist herself, she returns there to talk about her own work. She was at the Coolidge Corner mainstay Thursday night for a… Continue reading ‘The story behind the story’: Why top authors and literary stars keep coming back to the Brookline Booksmith
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
Photos: The ‘fizz factor’ of bath bombs, turning food waste to paper, and a giant whale at the Hayes School Science Fair
More than 70 Hayes School students gathered at the school’s gymnasium on Saturday to show off their science skills, along with parents, teachers, scientists — and a giant whale. Joining the young experimenters was a team of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who research marine life in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine… Continue reading Photos: The ‘fizz factor’ of bath bombs, turning food waste to paper, and a giant whale at the Hayes School Science Fair
Former schools administrator tapped for interim deputy superintendent role amid budget, special ed controversies
The School Committee has hired Karen Shmukler, a former long-time administrator in the district, to temporarily fill the role left by Liza O’Connell, the deputy superintendent in charge of special education who is resigning after alleging financial mismanagement in Brookline schools. The committee voted unanimously on Wednesday night to name Shmukler interim deputy superintendent of… Continue reading Former schools administrator tapped for interim deputy superintendent role amid budget, special ed controversies
With schools in financial crisis, questions mount about superintendent’s performance
Public Schools of Brookline Superintendent Linus Guillory is under intense pressure as the school district faces a deep budget crisis and proposed sweeping cuts in services ranging from the performing arts to classroom instructional aides. As the district and School Committee wrestle with alleged financial mismanagement leading to gaps in special education services, and a… Continue reading With schools in financial crisis, questions mount about superintendent’s performance
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