Boston public schools cancel new advanced classes for high performing students because of racial inequalities

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Boston Public Schools officials said that a program with advanced learning classes would be cancelled over concerns that the classes served disproportionate racial groups.

The program known as Advanced Work Classes was intended to serve high-performing students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grade. Students are encouraged to study their subjects in a deeper and non-traditional manner.

School officials became concerned when a report showed that the program was disproportionately serving white students, and underserving black and Hispanic students.

The district analysis found that more than 70% of the students in the program were white or Asian, while nearly 80% of the students in the district are Hispanic or black.

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“This is just not acceptable,” said School Committee member Lorna Rivera in a school meeting in January. “I’ve never heard these statistics before, and I’m very very disturbed by them.”

Rivera cited one finding at one school that showed the program included 60% white fourth graders though a majority of third graders are black or Hispanic.

Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told WGBH News on Friday that they would put the program on hiatus over the racial findings.

“There’s been a lot of inequities that have been brought to the light in the pandemic that we have to address,” Cassellius said. “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.”

Students would be eligible in the program if they scored high on a test in third grade. Of those, participants were chosen by lottery. Officials said 453 students were invited to the program last fall, 143 students applied and 116 enrolled for the 2021 year.

Cassellius said students already enrolled in the program could continue, but it would be phased out for fourth and fifth grades.

Here’s more about disparities at Boston public schools:


Disparities in the Boston Public Schools

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19 Comments

  1. This is truly racist. Holding back one group of children because they put in the extra effort to advance themselves. You are basing this decision on skin color not ability. Is that not the very opposite of equality.

  2. Who was it who said, “Affirmative Action will not lower our education standards for our white students!”? Oh yeah, it was the Democrats! So now the Democrats are shutting down “Advanced Classes” that educate high performing students to even higher levels of education, learning, and knowledge, just because most minority students (Black Students) cannot meet the standards to qualify for such classes, so we won’t educate those who can to reach the upper levels of intelligence that they are capable of.

    Yeah, I guess racism is still alive and well in the USA, and these actions are proof of it, because we now refuse to educate our children to any level higher than what the minorities are capable of reaching, a type of racism that hurts the White and Sino (Asian) races. That should make a future winner of the USA in competition with the world, and the USA’s poorly run educational system (sarcasm)!

  3. Most don’t realize that the demoncrats want a society of marching morons.
    A society of Indoctrinated serfs that they can manipulate and control. Be very careful of your choices as your kids and grandkids are the real victims.

  4. tell the reporters to go find some lies to talk about. That’s what they are best at. If it was the other way around nothing would be said. Suggest that the parents of these students remove their students and move out of the state to somewhere the left wing reporters are afraid to go

  5. Ok. The article says “white”(Caucasian) AND Asian, right? But the complaint is about the so-called “white privilege” and how “minority” students, (African-American) and “Hispanic” (not from the island of Hispaniola, but Spanish-speaking, likely from Central America or Mexico, how they underperformed and why the two racial groups who “outperformed” must be punished.
    Ask yourself a couple of questions here. First. Who will benefit by cancelling or suspending this program? Not those who allegedly are racially discriminated against. They gain nothing by this. Certainly not the “White and Asian” kids who will be prohibited from learning at their rate. No, the group who will benefit most is the Communist Chinese as they look in the rear-view mirror at our kids.
    Second, would the same standard be used in other areas, such as athletics, and entertainment where African Americans excel.
    Both actions are RACIST by definition, but ONLY ONE gets called RACIST.
    What are we doing to our Country and our Future?

    1. This is all about racists gaining power! And punishing white kids who have ambition and are eager to learn. So the morons cancel these programs rather than informing minority parents and encouraging them to get their kids moving ahead! Time to ID and kick these racists where it hurts – – – boot them out of our country!

  6. You can lead a horse to water…..Look, it is immoral to cancel these advance classes simply because not enough Black Students are applying for it. Yeah mostly White kids are wanting to better themselves. That’s the Black kids problem and their parent(s) not the White kids. Why punish them? I’ll bet that if not enough of a percentage of White kids applied for this program it would not have been cut.

  7. Don’t ALL these students go to the same schools, in the same buildings, use the same state & district approved books, learn from the same state & district approved lesson plans, have the same state approved & licensed teachers, have the same amount of state required class time, take the same tests graded by the same teachers, attend school the same number of hours & days throughout the school year and take the same district approved test to enter the Advanced Work Class Program? If so, then it would be reasonable to conclude that ALL the students are getting the “fair shot at an equitable and excellent education” espoused by Superintendent Casellius. If not, then the Superintendent, Board, District & teachers need looking at and, possibly, replacement. If neither, the disparity in accomplishment rests somewhere other than the mere recital of racial/ethnic percentages in the District and where those in charge may be unwilling to go.

  8. So what the Boston schools are saying is that the blacks and Hispanics in their district are not capable of doing anything beyond the norm. I would think blacks and Hispanics would consider this an insult. Why not go ahead and have the classes and put any minority in those classes that want to give them a try along with the other kids and see how they do. What have you gained when you hold back other students who are more intelligent than some of the other students. You got to love these liberal cities and states that swear by being the most non-racist places in the world then turn right around and say that the blacks and Hispanics in their school districts are not capable of taking anything that would be considered advanced so they are cancelling all advanced classes!

  9. And another stupid discrimination theory is thrown out there. And these people are in charge of teaching our kids? Where have brains, and common sense, disappeared to?

  10. So your white privilege not only lets more of your earned money go to those who choose not to work hard but also lets your kids get dumbed down to match those who choose not to work hard also.

  11. The schools should hire a independent counsel that decides who should be in the advanced classes. They should be given the test scores of all students with a student ID number only on their application. This way the students can not be judged on anything except their ability to learn. No student benefits in a one size fits all classroom.

  12. Parents of students attending these Boston schools should be taking the school boards to court. Too bad if a certain group of students can’t keep up, too bad that school boards want to participate in reverse discrimination against hard working and intelligent students, just to prove their wokeness. You don’t play with peoples education and life opportunities. It’s shameful that teachers stand for this kind of racism in their classrooms. Tear these institutions down. Time for educators to be educating, not politicking.

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