Boston Public Schools students return to school

Other Boston city officials spoke during the first day of the Georgia school shooting.

“It’s really about, we know, building relationships with kids and making sure we’re addressing mental health needs that can prevent these tragedies,” Skipper said. The superintendent said the district has invested in mental health support, such as placing more social workers on school sites and ensuring safety specialists are trained to spot red flags.

“We’ve been working hard all summer to make sure that students can be engaged,” she said. “We know that the students who are most at risk for these types of behaviors are the ones who don’t feel like they belong in the school system. They don’t feel included. They don’t feel connected.”

Bus delays and no new teacher contract

Students in Boston had their first day of school with the usual challenges: Buses had to get to school on time. But administrators said they were optimistic that a fully staffed bus driver team and a new bus tracking app for parents and drivers will improve matters.

Most of Lee Elementary K-8’s school buses arrived after the 7:30 a.m. school start time. One group of buses was only four minutes late. But another group of buses arrived 20 to 30 minutes after the morning bell.

About 22,000 children rely on school bus transportation in BPS. This year, more than 740 bus drivers and 750 counselors are on hand to transport students to school. The school bus system will begin the year fully staffed, Skipper said at a School Board meeting on Aug. 28.

BPS is debuting a new bus tracking app called “Zum,” which promises to give parents a better idea of ​​where their child’s school bus is at any given time. It will also give drivers directions for their routes.

The new technology is one of several steps officials have taken to improve on-time arrivals for district transportation services. The school system is under a state mandate to increase on-time arrival rates to 95 percent. BPS finished last year with 90 percent on-time arrivals for morning drop-off.

“Some of these things will smooth out over the next day or two as the bus drivers get more accustomed to the routes,” Skipper said Wednesday of the buses’ punctuality.

Another challenge this year is the fact that teachers are working without a new contract. The Boston Teachers Union’s 2021-2024 contract expired in August, and despite 19 bargaining sessions since negotiations began in late February, no deal has been reached.

The Boston Teachers Union has 10,000 members, including teachers, school psychologists, guidance counselors and other instructors. This year, 95 percent of teaching positions are filled, while 83 percent of paraprofessional positions are filled, Skipper said.

Erik Berg, president of BTU, told WBUR Thursday that the two biggest contract issues right now are pay raises for paraprofessionals — some make less than $30,000 a year, he said — and the BPS practice of having one teacher fill the roles of both general education and special education teacher.

He said the union is pushing for the district’s students who need the most special support to be taught by an additional specialized teacher, rather than relying on just one dual-certified classroom teacher. “It’s what students deserve and we think it’s best for our school system,” he said.

Madison Kronheim, a fourth-grader at Lee Elementary and a fourth- and fifth-grader in applied behavior analysis, says the impasse over a new contract is “very frustrating.”

“It’s hard to stay excited about the school year when you go into it without a contract and know that there are still a lot of things missing that should be a safe place for our kids to do well this year,” she said.

Still, “I think it’s going to be a great year. I have high expectations,” Kronheim said, adding that she’s most looking forward to “building good, positive relationships with the kids.”

“I think especially with our kids with autism, things can be a little rigid or they can be misunderstood,” Kronheim said. “I want to continue to connect with the kids, build those relationships to let them know they’re in a safe place.”

Reflections on the recently merged Shaw-Taylor Elementary

At the recently merged Shaw-Taylor Elementary School in Dorchester, parents and students were adjusting to a new normal. This is the first year the two schools have operated as one: Kindergarten and first grade are in the Pauline A. Shaw building on Norfolk Street, and grades two through six are in the Charles H. Taylor School on Morton Street.

The merger of the schools was approved in the spring of 2023. Families opposed to the merger feared it would tear apart Shaw’s close-knit community.

School officials, however, said merging the schools was necessary to adjust to declining enrollment and make room for new, state-of-the-art buildings. The other merger in the pipeline is between Philbrick and Sumner schools, scheduled to begin in the fall of 2025.

Nicole Anderson, a parent of sons in fourth and sixth grade, said she was excited about the merger of the Shaw-Taylor schools. Anderson said her sons have been bullied in the past and she hopes the addition of new students will be beneficial. “Hopefully (the merger) brings in different teachers and different kids, so they can make different friends,” she said.

Several families interviewed outside Taylor’s school building on Thursday spoke less about their concerns about the school merger than about the well-being of their children and school bus transportation.

Aleisha Conille, whose daughter is in third grade at Shaw-Taylor School, was concerned about the afternoon rush hour.

“The morning bus usually gets here without a hitch,” she said. But the afternoon bus is her biggest frustration. “Sometimes it’s delayed by an hour and a half, and that’s tough, you know, when you’ve just gotten off work and you’ve got a toddler and everything else going on.”

Conille is especially hoping for better communication and more accurate tracking this year. She says she hasn’t signed up for the new school bus tracking app, Zum, but she’s open to it.

“I think I’ll give it a try,” she said.