Unfortunately, that good education is not reaching everyone. You know the statistics. We are in the bottom 9 percent of all cities in MCAS scores. The study from the University of Massachusetts indicates that when compared to socio-economic predictors, we do far worse than predicted. Our high school, despite a very dedicated staff, was one of only three percent of the high schools in the State to be place on accreditation probation.
Statistics only tell half the story.
Linda, a high school graduate who called me recently, tells the rest. Our effort over the next few years has to be to reach the rest of the kids. This effort has to include a detailed effort at teacher recruitment, tutoring, after school and summer school programs for children at risk of failure, and a renewed commitment to rewarding excellence. I take full responsibility. We can do better and we will.