Boston School Committee approves $3.2 million in grants, honors Vice Chair O'Neill

BOSTON -- November 1, 2023, Boston School Committee approves $3.2 million in grants as EL Task Force resignations roil meeting. The committee voted unanimously to approve grants totaling $3,205,595.38 at its November 1 meeting at the Bolling Building, while acknowledging the eve-of-meeting resignation of nine members of the English Learner Task Force in protest of the district's multilingual education direction. Superintendent Mary Skipper defended the district's inclusive education plan as aligned with DESE requirements and backed by outcome data showing multilingual learners are "five times less likely to be reading on grade level than their peers." Task force member and education advocate John Mudd told the committee from the public podium that "BPS is doubling down on an English immersion strategy that your own reports show is failing over 90 percent of ELL students." The committee also recognized Vice Chair Michael O'Neill, a 15-year board member and BPS graduate, with the Council of the Great City Schools' 2023 Green Garner Award, the nation's highest honor in urban education leadership, which carries a $10,000 Scholastic scholarship for a BPS student.