Boston Public Schools is struggling to operate on a basic level and is not addressing "systemic barriers" to equitable education, the Massachusetts Department.
The magic minute for high school students around the city and in Dorchester on Friday, Jan. 14, was at 10:30 a.m. That’s when Boston’s high schoolers staged a massive “walk-out” to draw attention to the lack of COVID-19 safety measures in their schools – pointing particularly at Gov. Charlie Baker and his Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). At the
Xyra Mercer, a junior at the Dr. William W. Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester, was elected in late April by her peers on the Boston Student Advisory Council to serve on the committee for the rest of the school year and for the 2021-2022 academic term.
In a statement at her swearing in ceremony before her first committee meeting, the 17-year-old said she is grateful for the opportunity her peers have entrusted her with, adding that students should be looped-into and part of the change occurring within the district.
“Education is the key to the future,” she said in her statement. “Schools provide many students a safe space, and when sudden changes are made without students’ knowledge, that safe feeling can be violated. That is what I am here for, to include the students’ voices that need to be heard.”