One week into the beginning of the brand new faculty 12 months, BPS officers are reporting features in bus on-time efficiency, attendance and extra key metrics headed into the brand new faculty 12 months.
“There’s a number of things that we’re proud of, including the district-wide use of the high-quality instructional materials, our gains in chronic absenteeism rates and the on-time performance of our school buses,” Superintendent Mary Skipper reported to the Faculty Committee on the first Wednesday night time assembly of the varsity 12 months.
On the primary day of college, BPS had a report 66% of the district’s morning buses arrive on time, an enchancment from the chaotic begin a 12 months prior. By Wednesday morning, the district hit 84% on-time bus efficiency, Skipper said, which is “two points higher than this same day in any prior year.”
The superintendent stated the transportation problem is about “continuous improvement,” noting that the Zum bus monitoring app is now being efficiently utilized by 99% of drivers day-after-day this 12 months and downloaded by over 16,000 households.
Mayor Michelle Wu, who made a uncommon look on the Faculty Committee assembly Wednesday, stated the district “will not be satisfied” till all college students don’t have issues about arriving earlier than the bell.
“But the strides forward we’ve seen, I believe, significantly due to the implementation of new technologies and really stretching and pushing ourselves to take the risks of learning curves in order to reach that next level of service delivery,” Wu stated, “that has begun to show that it has made a difference.”
Skipper additionally shared early attendance and enrollment knowledge for the district’s first week.
As of Wednesday, enrollment is 48,128 with roughly 2,400 new registrations between June and September, although it’s “too soon to have definitive enrollment numbers for the year,” Skipper cautioned.
The early approximate estimate is about on par with the reported 48,159 college students enrolled as of the October rely in 2024, which marked the district’s first progress in a couple of decade.
On the primary day of college, attendance averaged 78.8% throughout the district, Skipper stated.
“That was two points higher than the previous year,” Skipper stated. “That’s not a small jump. And then as of Friday, we were at 79.8%, so what you’re seeing is the attendance coming up every single day.”
Each Wu and Skipper joined an annual door-knocking marketing campaign the day earlier than faculty began to speak to college students liable to power absenteeism or dropping out, which visited 184 houses in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and Dorchester.
Heading into the 12 months, 96% of academics and faculty counselors have been employed, Skipper stated.
“This is really a big markup from the last couple of years,” she added. “Last year’s was 94%, that I had reported, and in 2023, it was 88%.”
Over the summer season, the superintendent stated, BPS performed a variety of services upkeep and construct initiatives. Heading into the varsity 12 months, the district reduce the ribbon on three faculty buildings, the newly constructed Sarah Roberts Elementary in Roslindale and Carter Faculty in Roxbury and renovated PJ Kennedy in East Boston.
The officers additionally lauded a number of extra modifications this 12 months, just like the expanded kitchen and cooking from scratch capability in 106 of the 122 faculty buildings and the brand new literacy curriculum at each faculty.
Headed into the 12 months, Skipper inspired households to obtain the Zum app for busses and the brand new Father or mother Sq. app.
“Those two together are really going to help you get more control over the information you receive from the district and from your schools,” stated Skipper. “Families will get all important alerts, updates and announcements, as well as our weekly family newsletter, BPS Beyond the Bell. So just please download Zum, download Parent Square, so we can get you connected.”
