Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will not be accepted into advanced classes in Boston for the next year because a majority of students in those classes are white or Asian.
GBH News reported that the selective program, called Advanced Work Classes, will suspend enrollment in part because of the pandemic but also because of “concerns about equity.”
The school district analyzed the demographics of the program and found that “more than 70 percent of students enrolled in the program were white and Asian, even though nearly 80 percent of all Boston public school students are Hispanic and Black,” GBH reported.
“There’s been a lot of inequities that have been brought to the light in the pandemic that we have to address,” Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told the outlet. “There’s a lot of work we have to do in the district to be antiracist and have policies where all of our students have a fair shot at an equitable and excellent education.”
Cassellius also explained that only five schools currently offer the advance classes and that interest has declined over the past few years.- READ MORE
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