Not a plurality, but definitely a number of parents. BPS is suppose to have parent councils at all their schools, but they haven't been able to get that fully organized. If those folks gave feedback in an organized manner then they would be the go-to 'voice of parents' but since they aren't on the field, other groups can claim that mantle.
I am a BPS parent who has watched a small pool of activists who represent few of us get their voices elevated in the media because of their nascent underfunded non-profits that are little more than a website but sound real in a Boston Globe article.
On at least a rhetorical level it seems like everyone who offers public opinions about BPS agree that parents' voices need to be more central to the district's decision-making. The issue seems to be that under that rhetorical agreement is wide-spread disagreement about how to determine what "parents' voices" means.
How well do you think the surveys that BPS and MassINC carry out do answering the question: "how do BPS parents feel about the system?"
1 - BPS' own 'STUDENT, TEACHER, STAFF AND FAMILY SURVEY' has results going back several years. One was done in Spring 2024 but the results don't appear to have been released. You can see the 2023 results here:
2 - MassINC has been polling BPS parents for years now. A poll from this past May showed that "Just half of Boston Public Schools parents say they know a great deal (17%) or a fair amount (33%) about plans to close and merge some BPS schools." Here is that poll:
Do you have reason to believe that Ruby Reyes represents any sort of plurality of BPS parents?
Not a plurality, but definitely a number of parents. BPS is suppose to have parent councils at all their schools, but they haven't been able to get that fully organized. If those folks gave feedback in an organized manner then they would be the go-to 'voice of parents' but since they aren't on the field, other groups can claim that mantle.
I am a BPS parent who has watched a small pool of activists who represent few of us get their voices elevated in the media because of their nascent underfunded non-profits that are little more than a website but sound real in a Boston Globe article.
On at least a rhetorical level it seems like everyone who offers public opinions about BPS agree that parents' voices need to be more central to the district's decision-making. The issue seems to be that under that rhetorical agreement is wide-spread disagreement about how to determine what "parents' voices" means.
How well do you think the surveys that BPS and MassINC carry out do answering the question: "how do BPS parents feel about the system?"
1 - BPS' own 'STUDENT, TEACHER, STAFF AND FAMILY SURVEY' has results going back several years. One was done in Spring 2024 but the results don't appear to have been released. You can see the 2023 results here:
https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/Page/9365
2 - MassINC has been polling BPS parents for years now. A poll from this past May showed that "Just half of Boston Public Schools parents say they know a great deal (17%) or a fair amount (33%) about plans to close and merge some BPS schools." Here is that poll:
https://www.massincpolling.com/our-work/poll-many-bps-parents-still-in-the-dark-on-new-boston-public-schools-facilities-plans