The Great Divide

360 High School on Thurbers Avenue in South Providence, inside the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex.

Families sue over impending closure of small, unique Providence high school

The class-action suit claims the district is violating the rights of Spanish-speaking students by ceasing operations at 360 High School at the end of this school year.

THE GREAT DIVIDE
Braintree student who hadn’t been to school all year enrolled in a new school this week. Her first day was grueling.
It was a day filled with frequent calls home for the eighth-grader, who, on the orders of a Norfolk County Superior Court judge, enrolled in the nearly 1,000-student middle school following a monthslong absence from any type of schooling.

Here are the top Massachusetts high schools, according to US News & World Report
The annual rankings evaluated more than 17,600 public high schools on factors such as college readiness, college curriculum, and results on state assessments.

A group of Asian American and white parents in Boston are taking their fight over changes to admission policies at the city's exam schools to the US Supreme Court.

Fight over admission to Boston’s exam schools heads to US Supreme Court

The complaint by the Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence centers around a one-year temporary admission policy that awarded exam school seats in 2021 based on grades and ZIP codes.

Samantha Frechon, who has autism, hasn't been to school a single day this year. Last year, she attended a private school for students with special needs, and she did well there. But her district, Braintree Public Schools, has refused to pay for her continued enrollment.

Judge’s order could send Braintree special education student back to public school

An attorney representing Samantha Frechon said the decision would leave the eighth-grader “in a worse position than she was in.”

Samantha Frechon, who is autistic, hasn't been to school a single day this year. Last year, she attended a private school for students with special needs, and she did well there. But her district, Braintree Public Schools, refused to pay for her continued enrollment, leaving her in academic limbo.

More than 10,000 Massachusetts students were educated ‘out-of-district’ last year. Here’s what to know.

A federal law requires school districts to provide every special education student with a “free and appropriate education.” If a district does not have the means to provide such an education itself, it must pay the cost to educate the student elsewhere.

About The Great Divide

The Great Divide is a reporting effort dedicated to investigating race, class, and inequality in Boston-area schools. It is jointly funded by the Globe and the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based foundation that has prioritized student success in high school and beyond. The Globe maintains editorial control and independence over the project.

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April 3:3,000 days of lost learningMarch 27: Brockton Schools paid off-duty police $1.1 million to direct trafficMarch 20: Brockton High School was once a model for the nation. So what went wrong?Click here to see past issues

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Education Headlines

Porsha Olayiwola has retweeted several posts criticizing Israel and expressing solidarity with Palestinians under siege in Gaza.

She was surprised Concord Academy removed her as commencement speaker. She thinks it had to do with her ‘politics.’

“I didn’t have any proof as to why they removed me, but I had an educated guess, which is my politics,” said Porsha Olayiwola, Boston’s poet laureate. 5:52 a.m.

Samantha Frechon, who spends much of her time in her bedroom, hasn't been to school a single day this year. She is in the eighth grade, and she is autistic. Last year, she attended a private school, and she did well there. But her district, Braintree Public Schools, refused to pay for her continued enrollment.

This Braintree teen hasn’t been to school a single day this year. Is a broken special education system to blame?

What’s happened to Samantha Frechon represents an acute failure of the state’s public education system — especially given the toll pandemic isolation put on teens’ academics and mental health. 5:58 a.m.

Runners line up at the starting line of the Half Half Half Half Half Marathon.

You know about the Boston Marathon. But have you heard of the Half Half Half Half Half Marathon?

On Thursday, 826 Boston held its eighth Half Half Half Half Half Marathon in Jamaica Plain, a fund-raiser to aid their mission to offer free writing, tutoring, and publishing programs to K-12 students. 3:43 p.m.

NH EDUCATION

Mark Donovan, assistant chief flight instructor at Laconia Flight Academy, joined flight student Izzy Johnson for a recent lesson. The academy secured approval for students in two courses to receive academic credit through the state’s Learn Everywhere program.

N.H. high schoolers to get credit for... flight training?

Two courses offered by the Laconia Flight Academy in Gilford, N.H., will count as electives toward graduation requirements, thanks to the state’s Learn Everywhere program. 12:39 p.m.

With Mayor Michelle Wu looking on, Rob Gronkowski had some fun with the crowd at the ribbon cutting for a new weight room at New Mission High School.

Former Patriots star Rob Gronkowski unveils new Boston Public Schools weight room

Mayor Michelle Wu, members of the Gronkowski family, and Boston Public Schools also attended the ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday at the school on Metropolitan Avenue. 10:57 a.m.

Julian Kozak, 9, sits at the table where he used to do his homework at the family home in Warsaw, Poland. Julian is not very happy that Poland's government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April.

Poland’s kids rejoice as government bans homework. Teachers and parents aren’t so sure.

The ban comes amid a broad discussion about the need to modernize Poland’s education system, which critics say puts too much emphasis on rote learning and homework, and not enough on critical thinking and creativity. 8:59 a.m.

Civil rights and education activist Ruth Batson in 1989

BPS renames school for civil rights education activist Ruth Batson

In the 1960s, Ruth Batson, a graduate of Girls’ Latin School, challenged the Boston School Committee on its practices of segregating Black students, especially in assigning them to inadequate school facilities. 3:00 p.m.

Students from the Northeast Metro Tech Culinary Arts Program prepare a creamy chicken pesto orzo dish during the filming of their new program, “Northeast Cooks” at the RevereTV station. From left are Yanisa Mieses, 18, Natalie Velasco Henriquez, 18, Alaxandra Mencia, 18, and Andreas Jaramillo, 16.

RevereTV cooks up teen culinary show with Northeast Metro Tech high school in Wakefield

RevereTV partnered with a Wakefield high school to create a new student-led TV program, called “Northeast Cooks,” spotlighting a new dish each episode. 9:53 p.m.