Category: Education

Brookline students continued to perform well below pre-pandemic levels on the English portion of the statewide MCAS exam, and gaps between white students and students of color persisted, according to newly released results from the 2024 tests. The results were not all bad news, however: math scores across the district have remained largely steady or… Continue reading MCAS results show continued decrease in English scores, math stays steady

Only two private schools in Massachusetts received national recognition for academic excellence this year — and one of them was in Brookline. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona named St. Mary of the Assumption School a National Blue Ribbon School for academic excellence on Sept. 23. St. Mary’s is one of 363 schools across the… Continue reading St. Mary of the Assumption wins national award for academic excellence

School districts across the country are increasingly cracking down on students’ use of mobile devices during school, a response to growing fears about the distracting and damaging effects of phones, smart watches and laptops on children. Brookline’s school district has yet to follow that trend, but as individual schools in town put into place their… Continue reading School districts across the country are rolling out new policies for mobile devices. What’s Brookline’s plan?

In its first substantive response to allegations made in a July federal civil rights complaint, Brookline’s school district pushed back on claims that it failed to adequately respond to alleged racial harassment and bullying of a student at the Lawrence School.  The district released a statement Wednesday afternoon, five days after providing a formal, confidential… Continue reading Brookline schools dispute claim of inaction on racial bullying

Superintendent of schools used to be a long-time gig in Brookline. Before 2015, only 13 people had held that job in 142 years, according to data from the district. That’s no longer the case. In the past nine years, seven people have been superintendent on a permanent, acting, or interim basis. So when it was… Continue reading Three years in, Superintendent Linus Guillory is getting good grades despite controversies

Classes started for students across Brookline on Tuesday. For Pierce School attendees, they were taking place in new buildings, temporarily housing the K-8 school while it is demolished and rebuilt. K-5 students will be attending at the Old Lincoln School on Boylston Street, and middle school-aged students at a town-owned building on Fisher Hill. Photographer… Continue reading Photos: First day of school at the temporary Pierce School

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into the Lawrence School, where a student allegedly suffered racial bullying and harassment multiple times during the 2023-24 school year. The investigation comes in response to a complaint filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights on behalf of MC Henry, a Black eighth-grade student… Continue reading U.S. Department of Education to investigate alleged racial bullying at Lawrence School

After more than six months of negotiations between Brookline’s teachers union and the Public Schools of Brookline, the Brookline Early Education Program will shift from half- to full-day programming this fall. On July 8, the School Committee unanimously approved an agreement between the Brookline Educators Union and the district to expand the preschool and pre-kindergarten program,… Continue reading BEEP to move to full-day starting this fall

An eighth grade student at the Lawrence School was allegedly subjected to racial harassment and physical violence, including a “reenactment” of George Floyd’s murder, according to a federal civil rights complaint filed Monday by Lawyers for Civil Rights. During the 2023-24 school year, MC Henry, who is Black and uses they/them pronouns, was subjected to… Continue reading Civil rights complaint alleges racial harassment, violence at Lawrence School

Public Schools of Brookline administrators provided two updates regarding the Baker and Hayes Schools during a meeting of the School Committee’s finance subcommittee on July 17. Baker School The Baker School will hire an additional teacher for the middle school grades ahead of the 2024-25 school year, soothing concerns raised by parents and teachers. Some… Continue reading School Committee notes: Updates on Baker teachers, Hayes class sizes

For the second year in a row, middle school teachers at the Baker School are preparing to be asked to teach outside of their areas of licensure more often than state regulations allow. Those state regulations require that educators teach no more than 20% of their workloads — at the Baker School, one out of… Continue reading Baker School violates state teacher licensure rules, frustrating teachers and parents

Erica Sullivan, who teaches first and second grade at the Driscoll School, began to rethink the way she teaches reading when she came across the phrase “science of reading” about four years ago on social media. Sullivan, who is now part of the Public Schools of Brookline’s District Literacy Leadership Team, previously followed a curriculum… Continue reading Brookline schools plan major change to how students are taught to read

When John and Ardasha Rittenberg send their child to second grade at the Hayes School, they worry. Their child has a life-threatening condition that can cause anaphylaxis, and it’s teachers’ responsibility to look out for the warning signs — teachers who already look after at least 15 other students. “This is a 7-year-old kid who… Continue reading Hayes School parents push back against increased class sizes

Brookline High School will significantly expand its pilot of an unleveled ninth grade English course, which was the subject of a contentious School Committee debate this past spring. The pilot course was introduced as part of a broader unleveling initiative by BHS, titled “Reimagining Ninth Grade,” which was slated to begin in the 2024-25 school… Continue reading Unleveled English course will expand to a third of ninth graders at BHS next year