Poised for reelection to a second term, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered a rosy outlook on the state of the city’s schools Tuesday evening and called for more city partnerships to enhance educational opportunities for students.
Addressing a packed auditorium full of city and school leaders at the new Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown, Wu emphasized community building while pledging to raise the bar on student expectations.
“If we want Boston to be a home for everyone — the best place in the country to raise a family, run a business, and make a difference — our schools must take center stage in every major conversation about our city,” she said.
She touted broad progress, such as more on-time bus arrivals this fall, more air-conditioning in schools, more school gardens, major school building projects underway and a new online registration system offered in 10 languages for families to sign their kids up for school.
“This is Boston, and we reject the idea that urban public schools are doomed to do less.”
As teased in her March “State of the City,” she promoted the launch of new programs like “Wicked Math,” which offers advanced math leagues and math tutoring for students. She also lauded a rise in the number of students taking AP classes and the growing popularity of Early College.
“The research is clear: when we shelter students from challenge, we stunt growth. When we expect less, they deliver less,” she said. “Every student will be expected to do what educators call ‘heavy lifting.’ ”
The mayor, who is unopposed in next week’s elections, was lofty in her vision for quality education but she lacked specifics at times on execution.
For example, Wu pledged to offer before- and afterschool programming “at every BPS school,” starting with the school’s 20 community hub schools, but didn’t outline how that expansion would happen. She urged civic and business leaders to engage with students by volunteering, attending a youth jobs fair or hiring students as interns.
Other topics went unaddressed, such as the ever-ongoing debate about the admissions policy for exam schools and contentious school closures or mergers.
Wu’s first-ever “State of the Schools” speech comes at the coda of her first term, the early part of which saw a beleaguered school district nearly getting pulled into state receivership.
In June, a three-year improvement contract between the district and state to avoid that scenario ended. BPS promised to improve transportation, facilities, data reporting and safety protocols.
In her speech, Wu commended School Superintendent Mary Skipper, who took the helm of the district in Fall 2022. Wu said Skipper “turned the tide” after a period of leadership turnover and impacts from the pandemic on student morale and momentum.
Wu also acknowledged the district’s progress in moving up percentile ranks in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Leadership’s accountability rankings, based on things like test scores. She also lauded BPS “outperforming” 10 peer districts based on enrollment size and low-income student status based on 2024 MCAS scores.
“After years of instability, we’re seeing real, meaningful progress. But we’re not where we need to be,” Wu said. “This is Boston, and we reject the idea that urban public schools are doomed to do less.”
Wu, who’s been vocal in pushing back against federal threats, mentioned the Trump administration just once in her remarks to acknowledge the political firestorm causing cuts to grants and funding.
“Even as we do everything we can to protect our communities, we’ll have some hard decisions to make,” she said, without elaborating. “These next few years won’t be easy, but as we know: Boston doesn’t back down.”
Later, Wu, a BPS parent, told reporters why she held a state of the schools address.
“There was just as much that needed to be covered within schools and the work that’s been happening for our young people and families,” she said.
Skipper afterward told reporters more proposals could be coming in late November to address declining enrollment in the 46,000-student district.
In a statement afterward, the Boston Teachers Union president Erik Berg commended the district’s opening of three new school buildings — Patrick J. Kennedy Elementary School in East Boston, William E. Carter School for students with special needs in Roxbury and Sarah Roberts Elementary School in Roslindale — but cautioned against slowed progress for other facilities.
“Now more than ever we need to continue to prioritize new buildings along with significant renovations, because too many of our students continue to learn in dilapidated school buildings,” he said.
City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said the speech was a good opportunity to hear an overview of the schools. She said she wants “more of a plan to address literacy from a very young age and a more coherent plan for all of our high schools.”
“I’d like to see a more comprehensive plan for what it looks like to invest in our other high schools (that) are also meritorious, and we want to convince parents that those are good options for our kids as well,” she said.
