Our longtime partner Boston Public Schools is at an exciting crossroads, with “Superintendent-in-Waiting” Dr. Tommy Chang formally assuming his new post on July 1. As befits a leader with the passion, vision, and drive that he brings, Dr. Chang has engaged a diverse Transition Team that will begin its work later this month, helping establish a vision for turning Boston Public Schools into a system that “provides every student a world-class education and become[s] a role model for the nation.” We are proud and humbled to be invited to be a part of this group.

At ERS, we consider BPS to be our “hometown” district, and we’ve had the opportunity to support BPS in many ways over the past several years. Our 2010 resource assessment laid the groundwork for a fundamental shift toward resource equity in the district. Most recently, we had the privilege of examining the role of school autonomy and its relationship to school and student performance; among other findings, the report, titled The Path Forward, identified significant inequity in the availability and cost of extended learning time, which contributed to the district-union agreement to add time to the BPS student and teacher day in 2015-16. We are also proud of the progress BPS has made in its Early Hiring Initiative, which had helped make the district a leader in teacher recruitment in the region.

We’re excited to continue our partnership with BPS as they move forward on their journey toward system-level transoformation like the School System 20/20 vision. We enter the transition process with great hope and optimism for all that lies ahead for the district, its school leaders and teachers, and most importantly, its students.