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The claim: Boston schools have suspended advanced program because they are ‘too white and Asian’
An article on an opinion comment website claims that Boston Public Schools has suspended its advanced class program because ‘too many students in it are white or Asian’, which is called a ‘shocking reason’.
The story ‘Boston schools place’ color of our skin ‘above’ content of our intellect ‘in the cessation of advanced program’ was posted on March 1 on Human Events, a blog founded in 1944, according to a Twitter profile for the website. The Conservative publication was endorsed by late Republican President Ronald Reagan, per membership page. A link to the story posted on the magazine’s Facebook page has recently gone viral.
The story refers to a February 26 report by local NPR subsidiary GBH News. Brenda Cassellius, BPS superintendent, recommended a year-long suspension of the advanced working classes of the school system for the fourth to sixth pupils, according to the report.
Cassellius acknowledged that the suspension was influenced by the racial demographics of students selected for AWC, most of whom are white or Asian, according to Human Events.
The magazine accused BPS of forcing students to learn at the same level.
“Every student – regardless of age, race, gender, religion – learns in a different way and at a different speed,” the article reads.
USA TODAY directed Human Events for comment.
The U.S. has learned today that the claim does not contain multiple updates to the GBH News piece requested by BPS officials.
Advanced program suspended during pandemic
Boston Public Schools suspended enrollment for advanced work classes on Feb. 3 for one year due to the pandemic and a divergent impact on Boston Public Schools students, according to a statement released by the school system.
Enrollment for the program is determined by a placement test offered in the third grade. Eligible students are selected by lottery according to the statement.
Xavier Andrews, BPS director of communications, told USA TODAY that the AWC program will continue next school year.
“BPS was unable to administer the exams included as part of the program policy this past fall because most of our students learned at a distance,” he explained in an email. “As a result, the Boston School Committee has approved a one-year hiatus from the test component of the policy. A working group was recently set up to discuss concerns about decline in the program, equitable access for all learners and to make a recommendation about the future of the program. “
According to Andrews, enrollments for the program have dropped by more than half over the past seven years.
Andrews also said GBH News had elucidated the original story on demand. A correction tweet was sent on 28 February from the outlet’s Twitter account and edited on the heading, but on 26 February tweet link to the story has not been updated.
According to the delivery, advanced classes consist of students who are 70% white and Asian, but the student world in the city is almost 80% black and Spanish.
“There were many inequalities that were brought to light in the pandemic that we need to address,” Cassellius told GBH News. “There is a lot of work we need to do in the district to be anti – racist and to have a policy where all our students have a good chance of having a fair and excellent education.”
The AWC suspension will affect only five of 123 schools in the BPS system, according to Andrews. More than 90% of students participating in the advanced program from fourth grade this year are enrolled in three of the five schools, according to a January 27 report by Cassellius.
Our verdict: Partly false
We review this claim PARTIALLY FALSE, based on our research. A conservative online magazine claims that Boston Public Schools suspended an advanced placement program because students were ‘too white and Asian’. BPS has recognized racial differences in its Advanced Work Class program. According to the superintendent, the enrollment tests were suspended due to the pandemic, and not the racial composition of advanced placements.
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