BOSTON — BOSTON, Mass — 46,000 students are back to school in Boston as the new school year kicked off Tuesday morning.
City and school leaders gathered at Holland Elementary School to greet students heading into the building.
It was also a celebration for BPS as Holland exited state receivership and is back in the hands of the school district.
Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper said 750 buses are on the road and they are fully staffed.
“So far everything I hear is really positive. As you know this is about continuous improvement for us. Every single first day we strive to do better. We ended last year at 95% which I think you remember was the benchmark that state had asked us to achieve and even that we will continue to strive to increase that,” said Skipper.
The new school year also means new opportunities for students.
Mayor Michelle Wu said it takes a lot of community resources, and they’re investing in partnerships for before and after school programming and academic rigor.
“We know that all of the opportunities and dreams of our communities are reflected in the classroom and also all the challenges that families are going through are reflected in the classroom too. So more and more our schools are essentially hubs for services, opportunities, for programming, and supports,” said Mayor Wu.
Parents were especially excited for their children to head back to the classroom.
Dorchester mom Pamela Turner commented, “I just want him to be the best that he can be throughout the school year, show other kids it’s not nice to be bullies, it’s not nice to be mean and that’s really what I’m looking forward to, that’s what I’m trying to show them, and I try to tell them to come in here and learn and not play all day.”
Yoland Sweeting was excited to drop off his 2nd grader after sending other family members to Holland over the years.
“Just pumped to see the new teachers and meet all the new students. It was so beautiful last year so really looking forward to this year and just really, really glad that y’all come and see this school because that Holland is a really beautiful, beautiful, wonderful school,” said Sweeting.
Superintendent Skipper said the big focus from BPS this year is around achievement and opportunity gaps, to make sure all students are academically proficient.
She pointed out that over the summer 15,000 students took part is some form of summer learning.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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