The Great Divide - Race, class, and opportunity in Boston schools

The Boston School Committee voted Wednesday to seek state funds for the BCLA-McCormack school.

Boston to seek state funding for long-awaited BCLA-McCormack campus buildout

The district had initially planned to have renovations for the school completed by 2022.

Cambridge elementary school parents criticize superintendent over principal hiring
Critics came mostly from the Graham and Parks alternative elementary school, whose principal is under investigation at the behest of parents.

Two teenagers held in lieu of $250,000 bail in connection with shooting death of high school student in Fall River
Xzavien Figueroa-Valcarel, 19, and Giovanni M. Nunes, 18, pleaded not guilty Monday on charges of accessory to murder after the fact in connection with the death of Colus Jamal Mills-Good, a student at the city’s Resiliency Preparatory Academy.

Isabela Katzki, a sophomore at Brockton High School, voiced her concerns during a Brockton High Community town hall meeting.

Brockton High School was once a model for the nation. So what went wrong?

The city’s flagship high school is in turmoil: Fights break out multiple times a week, attracting stampedes of students, eager to record the melees on their cellphones. Scores of teens roam the halls during class. But it wasn't always this way.

Six students at Southwick Regional School will face criminal charges for participating in “a hateful, racist online chat that included heinous language, threats, and a mock slave auction” using Snapchat.

Six eighth-grade Southwick Regional School students face criminal charges for ‘racist’ Snapchat posting, prosecutors say

The chat included “notions of violence toward people of color, racial slurs, derogatory pictures and videos,” Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said.

Ousted Wayland school superintendent files lawsuit against town, alleging hostile racial environment

Omar X. Easy is suing the town, a former School Committee chair, and a current committee member for allegedly fostering a racially hostile environment that made it impossible for him to perform his duties, legal filings show.

About The Great Divide

The Great Divide is a reporting effort dedicated to investigating race, class, and inequality in Boston-area schools. It is jointly funded by the Globe and the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based foundation that has prioritized student success in high school and beyond. The Globe maintains editorial control and independence over the project.

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March 20: Brockton High School was once a model for the nation. So what went wrong?March 13: Massachusetts school funding overhaul hits an inflation glitchMarch 6: What does the future hold now for the O’Bryant School?Click here to see past issues

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Education Headlines

Student allegedly tasered by another student at Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston, police say

The alleged assault happened at the Josiah Quincy Upper School on Monday. 12:59 p.m.

Neighbors expressed opposing opinions on question one in Belmont.

Massachusetts school funding overhaul hits an inflation glitch

Nearly five years after lawmakers overhauled the state’s school funding formula, districts are struggling, prompting potential cuts to staff and programs, and property tax increases. 5:57 p.m.

Two adults, two children injured after school bus crashes into Dorchester home, police say

Officers responded to a report of a school bus crashing into a home near the intersection of Claridge Terrace and Wentworth Street at about 4:39 p.m., police said. 9:17 p.m.

Gun fired inside Springfield high school after student let shooter inside, police say

The bullet went through a window, and no one was seriously injured, but the armed person also “struck a victim” before fleeing the school, officials said. 8:47 p.m.

Boston Public School students (right), exit the Reggie Lewis Center, while students from suburban schools enter for a meet
at the Reggie Lewis Center. The City Council and local advocates agreed Monday that Boston should explore other options to meet the state's athletic needs.

‘We need another track’: The Reggie Lewis Center can’t meet student needs alone, officials say

Several advocates at a hearing Monday said the city should lean on Boston's other tracks and colleges to meet Boston students' needs. 7:35 p.m.

Brockton Public Schools faces a shortfall of up to $25 million in the current fiscal year, according to an independent review.

Brockton Public Schools faces a deficit up to $25 million, new report says

Despite projections that the district will see an increase in funding from the governor’s budget, the district is projected to face a $7 million to $19 million shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year, according to a new report. 7:44 p.m.

Anacelia Cuevas is seeking answers to why her 3-year-old son was strapped to a chair at the James F. Condon K-8 School last month.

‘Unacceptable and horrific’: Questions remain after 3-year-old Boston preschooler was restrained in chair

The incident at the Condon K-8 School highlights ongoing concerns about whether Massachusetts public school teachers and other staffers restrain students too frequently and whether they do it improperly. 4:56 p.m.

This photo was taken at a press conference on Feb. 19, following a string of violent incidents at Brockton High School.

Stricter cellphone policy for Brockton High School approved amid reports of violence

The state’s largest high school has been thrust into the spotlight after repeated episodes of violence led four School Committee members to request that the National Guard be sent in to restore order. 3:36 p.m.