Forum Question

Based on your experience with BPS, and especially this past year, we are looking for your ideas for reimagining what school could be. If there were no bounds, what would the ideal learning experience be like for our students?

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Invest in BPS Outdoor Teaching & Learning Spaces, Curriculum, and Partnerships

Vision: Every Boston Public Schools student will engage in a BPS Pathway of Outdoor Teaching & Learning (OTL) - an intentional experience with OTL at every grade level during a student's time in BPS. This pathway could be designed utilizing the existing BPS OTL assets and partners by investing in these assets and partnerships at the district level.

Boston Public Schools has 35 outdoor classrooms, 70+ school gardens, 5 green stormwater infrastructure sites, and many play structures. Two of our schools even have Freight Farms! These beautiful, invaluable outdoor teaching and learning spaces include natural ecosystem…

Tags: Community, COVID 19, Curriculum, facilities, Teachers, Training

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Keep Student T-Passes active through the Summer, reuse in the Fall

Giving all 7th-grade+ students access to T-Passes regardless of school distance was the best policy changes in recent years. I've seen my own teenagers able to do so much more in the city with the ability to move around and connect with friends. Friends that often do not live in the same neighborhood due largely to our complex Home-Based choice system.
But the MBTA is very miserly and makes us disable the passes exactly on the last day and as soon as seniors have their last day.
We should be equitably enabling our students to be able to…

Tags: Community

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hello

I would like to have a classroom with better air quality all year round. I would like to not open windows when its cold out to vent the air in the room. I also think that we should be given a little bit of money to by some supplies for our classrooms. BPS spend thousands of dollars just to open schools for 6 weeks we should be getting something to support our classrooms. Also the wall socks attached to the wall again. Also lights in the classroom fixed. Also be allowed to tell families there children are not allowed back…

Tags: COVID 19, facilities

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Ideal School

Our students would work in a school without metal detectors and security officers. They would be doing predominately project-based learning. They would gather that work in a portfolio, which would be their graduating requirement. They would not take high stakes standardized tests (ie MCAS).
They would guide their learning. All learning was cross-disciplinary, grounded in student interests, and taught in small groups.
Grades were given as feedback for growth. Revision was expected. Making mistakes was valued.
We would work extensively on making our learning communities value each other. We would value all kinds of learning and the…

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Technology/ Arts/ SEL

Students and teachers need access to good technology, arts and SEL embedded into the curriculum.
Every teacher needs a smart board, good speaker system and a laptop minimum. Paras included.
Every teacher should have access to improve their arts integration techniques into the curriculum.
Teachers/students need to be given a map of the human brain and typical developmental.
Most of the choices students make are developmentally appropriate but our discipline system is set up to punish kids who take age appropriate emotional risks without a chance to reflect on the other options they…

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Welcome Message

Hello Team BPS,

Our recently released budget framework outlines our plan to Return, Recover, and Reimagine. The goal is to focus investments to return to our school buildings for learning and social emotional development, recover what we’ve lost since the start of the global pandemic, and reimagine what education should look like to ensure every single student accesses the instruction and support needed to graduate from Boston Public Schools ready for success.

While we continue to gather feedback on the budget via our public forums hosted by the School Committee, we are launching this WikiWisdom Forum in partnership with the Boston Teachers Union to elevate the voices of our teachers, educators, applied behavior specialists, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, related service providers, nurses, secretaries, custodians, nutrition staff, central office staff and all BPS staff.

This format has been used successfully in other school districts and other sectors of public service. In California the platform was used to better define and ramp up supports for Social Emotional Learning. At the Library of Congress, they created a forum on disinformation, social media, and “alternative facts,” to learn best practices on how to help the public identify and vet credible information sources. In December the American Journal of Nursing published a WikiWisdom report titled “Wisdom from Nurses So We Never Again Mishandle a National Healthcare Crisis” with ideas on addressing the pandemic by nurses on the frontlines.

Our conversation will be live through March 21, 2021. After this extensive on-line discussion, a diverse group of contributors whose ideas generated engagement will be chosen and work with the external moderator to prepare a report of actionable ideas to BPS and BTU leadership.

We are so excited to learn from you and see what new wisdom we discover, together.

Thanks for your valued collaboration and for sharing your important ideas,

Brenda & Jessica

Moderator Message

Kelly Eisner Moderator

Welcome to this WikiWisdom Forum. I’m Kelly Eisner and I will be your moderator.
How the WikiWisdom Forum Works:

Step One:
BPS teachers, specialists, school leaders and administrators are invited to share their ideas in response to the questions posed on this platform.

Step Two:
At the end of this online conversation, a small group of thought leaders will be chosen to work with the moderator to create a report showcasing your experience.

Step Three:
Later in March the thought leaders will present their report, with your ideas, to Superintendent Brenda Cassellius in a virtual meeting. Your report will be used to “re-imagine” Boston’s schools before Fall 2021.

[Engaging in this on-line discussion does not constitute bargaining, does not result in a waiver by BTU of any of its collective bargaining rights, does not take the place of successor negotiations, and is not binding on the BTU nor its members nor on the Boston Public Schools.]