A Vision for Boston:
Questions for the 2009 Mayoral Candidates

Day 4: School Dropouts

Student truancy and dropout rates remain a significant problem in Boston. Considering the financial constraints the City will face over the next few years, what would you propose to ensure that all students attend school regularly, and graduate from high school? How would you fund these programs?

Response from Councilor Flaherty:

Superintendent Johnson has taken some important steps to address the dropout crisis. Nevertheless, more can - and should be - done. For example, monitoring of all students should begain as early as the second grade, when intervention would be more effective. In addition, this monitoring data must be regularly shared with teachers as a way to help them provide their students with the most appropriate support they require. We must also reinvest in year-round youth employment efforts, mentoring and tutoring programs, and financial literacy training and overhaul our English language learner and special education programs, both of which serve populations at highest risk for dropping out and who have been significantly failed by BPS to date. Intensified support for transfer students and stronger transitional programs for students entering ninth grade is also required to successfully turn around our dropout crisis.

Solving the dropout crisis is a priority we cannot shortchange and we can help fund these prevention initiatives by decentralizing the Boston Public Schools and redirecting money currently spent at the central office back into the classroom.