Boston Public Schools is proposing to close two high schools and one elementary school starting in 2027 as part of the district’s long-term goal to decrease its physical footprint amid declining enrollment.
The schools expected to be shuttered under the proposal are Lee Academy Pilot School and Community Academy of Science and Health (CASH), both in Dorchester, as well as the Another Course to College pilot school in Hyde Park.
The proposed closures were presented at Wednesday’s Boston school committee meeting with Superintendent Mary Skipper calling it part of the district’s effort to build a better BPS for its students.
“One that is optimized to match our student body while offering high quality choices for all BPS students and families across our neighborhoods,” Skipper said at the meeting. “Our primary focus is expanding access to safe, healthy and inspiring learning spaces for every BPS student.”
It comes one year after BPS announced a long-term facilities plan to close nearly 20 schools by 2030 in response to declining enrollment and facilities conditions.
In 2019, BPS had more than 53,000 students but enrollment dramatically declined during the pandemic to less than 48,000 by 2023. District enrollment dipped even lower this school year to 46,800, according to district data.
Skipper said the decline is largely driven by a decrease in international immigration to the district.
“In addition, fewer children are being born in Boston,” Skipper said. “This means smaller cohorts of students are aging up through the district.”
In addition to the closures, the district also plans to reconfigure three other schools under the recommendations: the K-12 Henderson Inclusion School would convert into one Pre-K-8 school, Tobin Elementary School would drop grades seven and eight and the William E. Russell School would add sixth grade.
The proposed closures and reconfigurations would take effect in the 2027-2028 school year, decreasing the district’s schools to 100.
Megan Wolf, an advocate with Quality Education for Every Student, told GBH News that while building new schools and improving school building across the district is a “worthy goal,” the closures are outpacing the improvements.
“For many people, it’s hard to fully embrace Skipper’s agenda without really having faith that the improvements are coming,” Wolf said.
Wolf added that historically, school closures have disproportionately affected marginalized student populations.
“BPS has said that the closures are to ultimately improve the experience for students, particularly students of color,” Wolf said. “Yet, when you look at the schools that are closing and see that they disproportionately affect students of color, it’s hard to fully believe their intention.”
More than 90% of students at all three schools slated for closure are Black or Latino while one-third of students at each school have disabilities, according to district data.
Santiago Rivera, a parent organizer with the Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network, said parents are concerned about the lack of community engagement and communication surrounding these closures.
“We’re constantly shifting students around without a clear plan,” Rivera said. “We decide to close, we decide to merge, and I feel like parents should be one of the first ones to be informed of this.”
Rivera said there also is not a real system in place to ensure a smooth transition into a new school for BPS students and families, especially those with special needs.
“There should also be a system to deploy additional support staff to help ensure that children’s IEPs are not being violated once they shift over because there’s certain schools that don’t have the additional counselors or therapists,” Rivera said.
Rivera said if a student’s new school isn’t equipped with those supports, that student’s grades could drop or they could experience behavioral issues.
Skipper said the district’s IEP team, chief planning team and special education liaisons will work with each school and affected family to determine the best options for each student.
The school committee is scheduled to vote on the proposed closures on December 17.
