Allston Brighton Boston Public Schools Background Information

[Anthony D'Isidoro]

Hello Everyone,

With all the talk swirling around the building that houses the Jackson/Mann K-8, Horace Mann K-12 and BCYF Jackson/Mann, I thought I would provide you with some background information.

Any BPS System-wide Initiatives are reviewed on an annual basis for inclusion in the capital budget process each April.

All the information below is for Allston-Brighton taken from BuildBPS Phase II – Proposed Facility Plan 2018 – 2027 (Updated 11/28/2018)

Tony

Gardner K-8

Jackson/Mann K-8

Horace Mann K-12

Boston Green Academy

Brighton High school

Baldwin ELPA

Edison K-8

Winship

Lyon 9-12

Lyon K-8

Summary

Allston-Brighton is one of the least densely populated neighborhoods in the city in terms of its student population. It is home to roughly five percent of all BPS students. It has nine buildings housing 10 schools: two 9-12 schools, one 6-12, four K-8s, one Early Education Center, one K-12, and one K-5 elementary school. The Jackson-Mann K-8 and the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are currently co-located in the same building.

Allston-Brighton is one of the neighborhoods in Boston where there are more elementary seats than students living in the neighborhood. On average, there are 1.4 seats available within 1 mile for every student. Until the 2017-2018 school year, students from Roxbury and Dorchester had access to the Jackson-Mann K-8 as a regional school, which meant that Allston-Brighton schools were relatively full despite having more seats than local students. Elementary enrollment in area schools has declined since the Jackson-Mann is enrolling fewer students from Roxbury and Dorchester

By the Numbers

Building and School Information

Number of buildings: 9

Number of schools: 10

Number of grade configurations: 6

Total Students

Total school aged children living in Allston-Brighton: 3,539 children

Total students attending BPS Schools: (K0-12): 2,557 students (72%)

5% total BPS population living in Allston-Brighton

Elementary Seat Access (BPS Students)

0.73 Average students per seat within 1 mile

0.55 Average age students per seat on school choice list

Students travelling less than 1 mile to school: 63%

Students travelling between 1 and 2 miles: 25%

Students traveling more than 2 miles to school: 12%

Special Populations (BPS Students All Grades)

Students with ELD Levels 1-3: 23%

Students with disabilities: 14%

Racial Demographics of BPS Students (All Grades)

Hispanic: 47.0%

White: 19.0%

Asian: 18.9%

Black: 11.8%

Other: 3.2%

As previously stated, Allston-Brighton has more elementary school space than students. It also does not have a standalone middle school. As a result, the neighborhood does not meet our current priorities for recommendation of new builds or major expansions. Like other areas of the city, however, Allston-Brighton will receive significant investments through System-wide Initiatives and Capital Repairs.

Elementary School Proposals

With two 9-12 high schools and four K-8s, the predominant single-transition model in Allston-Brighton is K-8/9-12. There are no plans to engage with schools in the neighborhood to transition to a K-6/7-12 model. BPS is open to proposals from the Winship (K-5) elementary school regarding how to best serve its students.

Allston-Brighton is home to one of our Early Education Centers / Early Learning Centers (EEC/ELC), the Baldwin Early Learning Pilot Academy. EEC/ELCs are configured as either K-1 or K-3. BPS is not seeking to change the grade spans of these schools. However, if there is interest from the school community and it can be aligned effectively with other school feeder patterns to meet community-wide student needs, BPS will consider such proposals

Middle School Reconfiguration Proposals

There are no middle schools in Allston-Brighton.

High School Proposals

Allston-Brighton has two 9-12 schools: Brighton High School and the Mary Lyon High School. It also has one 6-12 high school, Boston Green Academy. Brighton currently has more high school seats than there are high school students who live in the area. As a result, there is the opportunity for Brighton High to consider becoming a 7-12 high school. The Lyon High School does not have extra space, but in partnership with the Mary Lyon K-8 it operates like a K-12 pathway for special education inclusion students.

As a certified day school for students with disabilities, the Horace Mann School will remain a citywide K-12 school for the foreseeable future.

Distance Elementary Students Travel by Neighborhood

Total K2-5 Students: 1,082

Travel More Than 2 Miles: 163 (15%)

Travel Less Than 1 Mile: 646 (60%)

[Laura Bethard]

It seems to me that gap between "children living in Allston" and "children attending BPS" is the most salient piece of this.  My son is one of the ~30% attending private school, although we have applied to the BPS lottery again this year. 

Among the things which we considered was the Advanced Work track at the JM, and also the possibility of what behavioral supports might be available.  (We currently pay privately for occupational therapy.)  But shuttering the building with what sounds like intent to ship the student body out of Allston/Brighton doesn't inspire confidence when you're a parent looking for support and stability for your child.  Obviously, the closing hits hardest for existing JM families, but it's definitely a disincentive for those of us outside the system too.  

I agree with Jean; every single meeting it seems that we're trying to attract families to Allston/Brighton.  We're having an unprecedented expansion in housing.  If those units aren't going to be vacated the second the family has children, we need appealing neighborhood schools built to last and funded to support the full range of learners.

Laura

-Yf thou were a latyn tretise ich wolde putte thee in the vernacular.

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[Jean Powers]

Tony, that information is taken from the Build BPS report, which I would question. The report doesn't source its enrollment capacity, but it is likely taking the number from the now-discredited McKinsey report, which included hallways, bathrooms, cafeterias, and gymnasiums as potential classroom space. BPS paid $660K for the report. You can read it here. The capacity reports begin on page 36. Even by these inflated standards, Allston-Brighton elementary schools are utilizing between 85.5 and 106.7% of the space:

GPA 92.3%

Winship 94%

Edison 95.8%

Jackson Mann 85.5%

Lyon 106.7%

For context, the Build BPS report also lists the Jackson Mann building as in good condition, and the Winship building as in poor condition. Anyone who has been in these two schools knows how insane that sounds. The Winship report claims that the classrooms are small (they are not), that the building lacks "learning commons" areas (it's one of the few BPS elementary schools with a library), and that the building "lacks learning environments that adequately support science [and] the arts (the school has a dedicated art room and a dedicated science room with a makerspace and a lab).

[Jean Powers]

I want to reiterate that not taking the long view on schools is going to cause huge problems for us. Taking the short view is what got us into this mess in the first place -- the Jackson Mann was constructed poorly and in haste in reaction to busing, and it was never supposed to last this long. Our neighborhood needs stability. We have plenty of instability already.

[Jean Powers]

So we're going to split the 300 or so Allston-Brighton JM kids among the three remaining schools with presumed capacity. But 89% of the JM population is high needs, and none of those three schools is equipped to handle that.