►
Description
Boston Public Schools (BPS) will begin canvassing Boston to encourage students to return to school. The Office of Secondary Schools in conjunction with the Re-Engagement Center, will canvas the Roxbury, Dorchester and JP neighborhoods as part of an effort to recover students who may have dropped out of school or who are chronically absent. We will be going directly to these students’ homes to welcome them back to school and offer any necessary assistance.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Acting BPS Superintendent Drew Echelson offer remarks to volunteers to kickoff the canvassing event.
A
All
right
good
morning,
everyone
good
morning
and
welcome
my
name
is
mandy
allen,
I'm
director
of
the
re-engagement
center
boston,
public
schools
and,
first
of
all,
I
just
wanted
to
thank
everyone
for
being
here
for
taking
the
time
to
to
make
it
out
here
and
do
this
important
work
of
helping
to
get
our
kids
back
in
school
and
back
on
track
at
the
re-engagement
center.
We
help
struggling
students
get
back
into
school
and
back
on
track.
These
are
students
who
are
who
either
dropped
out
are
struggling
with
outside
issues
inside
issues.
A
What
we
do
is
we
counsel
them
and
we
we
sort
of
go.
We
go
over
graduation
plans
with
them
and
help
them
find
pathways
to
finish
so,
this
work
is
very
important
and
this
is
an
extension
of
it.
When
we
can't
reach
these
students
or
they
fall
off,
what
we
do
is
we
go
and
we
visit
them
at
their
homes.
Welcome
them
back,
offer
them
opportunities,
so
they
can
get
on
track.
A
This
work
is
especially
important
to
me,
and
many
of
you
know
me
and
know
my
story.
I'm
a
former
high
school
dropout.
I
dropped
out
of
school
at
17.
was
out
for
a
few
years
got
back
in
at
19.
Graduated
high
school
at
21
still
was
able
to
go
on
to
to
get
my
master's
degree,
my
mba
at
the
end
of
the
day,
and
that's
what
this
is.
This
is
all
about.
It's
it's
the
reason
why
this
is
important,
because
it's
just
a
conversation,
the
power
of
a
conversation,
is
so
important.
A
I've
had
so
many
key
conversations
where
I
think,
half
the
adults
that
talk
to
me,
don't
even
remember
what
they
said
to
me,
but
these
things
that
they
said
to
me
were
so
poignant
and
so
momentary.
Sometimes
I
only
talked
to
some
of
these
adults
once,
but
it
was
really
impactful.
So
what
I
want
to
tell
you
today
is
today:
you
have
the
opportunity
to
do
the
same.
A
Don't
underestimate
you,
your
presence,
your
experience,
your
personal
beauty,
don't
don't
underestimate
it
get
out
there
talk
to
students,
show
them
who
you
are
show
them,
love
and
believe
me.
They
will
remember
these
conversations,
save
a
life
today.
So
with
that
I
just
want
to
introduce
one
of
the
champions
in
the
community.
Neil
sullivan
executive
director
of
the
pick.
B
Thank
you
all
for
being
here
and
thank
you,
mayor
wu
for
honoring
us
with
your
presence
at
this
send-off
and
thank
you
acting
superintendent
eccleston,
who
you'll
hear
from
right
after
me,
incoming
superintendent,
mary
skipper
really
wanted
to
be
here.
I
know
people
say
that,
but
trust
me
she
really
wanted
to
be
here
and
and
has
asked
manny
for
a
thorough
report
on
exactly
what
we
accomplish
over
the
next
four
hours.
So
manny
told
me
to
do
the
history.
B
This
is
the
fifth
annual
dropout
outreach
day
in
the
second
year
we
incorporated
with
brian
the
chronically
absent,
and
we
plan
to
be
doing
this
as
long
as
we
can
knock
on
doors
the
day
before
school
opens
it's
not
only
symbolically
important,
it
gets
results,
it
gets
results.
We
will
be
bringing
students
back
into
their
education
while
they
still
have
a
free
public
education,
we're
going
to
be
doing
that
over
the
next
three
to
four
hours.
B
B
His
story
is
really
important.
Your
story
is
really
important.
Stories
are
really
important
when
you
communicate
in
the
community
carol
johnson
came
in
and
we
like
to
say
she
crossed
the
rubicon.
She
crossed
the
river.
She
said.
Those
who
have
left
school
are
as
important
to
me
as
those
who
are
still
attending.
B
B
Acting
superintendent
eccleston
has
been
the
voice
for
that,
and
that
is
moving
high
expectations
are
essential
to
a
thorough
strategy,
but
so
is
checking
with
those
who
have
left
us
to
find
out.
Why
and
building
an
alternative
education
system
that
gets
them
a
diploma
or
a
transition
to
college
through
another
means
like
a
hse,
so
that
all
our
young
adults
stay
on
track
because
you
know
their
free
public
education
expires
in
their
early
twenties.
B
So
if
this
is
an
urgent
kind
of
thing,
okay,
if
you're
working
both
the
high
expectation
and
the
re-engagement
spaces
and
the
alternative
education
spaces.
That
brings
you
to
the
middle
and
it
says
how
do
we
prevent
young
people
from
leaving
school?
And
the
answer
to
that
is
a
combination.
That's
my
pick
answer.
You
know
this
a
combination
of
highly
engaging
curriculum.
B
I
mean
what
are
teenagers
think
about,
they
think
about
money
and
their
bodies.
Let's
do
a
course
on
disease.
You
know
the
young
woman
out
at
brighton,
high,
answered
the
reporter
and
said
physiology.
You
know
yeah,
that's
what
teenage
teenagers
think
about.
Let's
start
there
and
let's
connect
them
to
career
pathways
by
whatever
means
we
can
generate
that
is
appropriate
and
desirable
for
them.
B
C
We
all
understand
that
education
is
vital
to
the
success
of
all
of
our
community
and
bps
has
the
resources
to
welcome
all
of
our
students
back
with
open
arms,
and
we
must
do
that
ensuring
that
every
young
person
in
boston
has
the
ability
to
access
a
high
quality.
Education
is
the
highest
priority
of
bps,
which
is
why
I'm
so
pleased
to
be
working
with
the
re-engagement
center
to
encourage
these
members
of
our
community
to
come
back
to
school.
C
We
must
create
opportunities
for
them
to
rejoin
our
system,
secure
their
diploma
and
provide
for
them.
What
we
strive
for
every
student
in
bps,
great
opportunities
with
access
to
college
in
our
career
mary,
also
understands
that
the
last
few
years
have
been
a
challenge,
and
so
she
is
eager
to
lead
the
hard
work
that
will
be
required
to
successfully
reengage
with
hundreds
of
cities
youth
at
this
specific
moment
in
time.
C
Speaking
of
leaders
who
are
ready
and
able
to
do
the
hard
work,
I
would
like
to
introduce
mayor
wu.
She
has
been
a
tireless
advocate
for
public
education
in
boston
and
I'm
excited
for
our
continued
collaboration
to
improve
bps
and
the
outcomes
for
our
students
and
their
families.
Please
give
a
warm
welcome
to
our
mayor,
mayor,
woof,.
D
I
was
doing
some.
This
is
not
last
minute
for
me,
but
relatively
last
minute,
school
supply
shopping
with
the
kids
yesterday,
so
don't
worry.
There
are
still
folders
and
notebooks
there.
We
were,
although
my
son's
a
little
stressed
out,
because
the
list
said
he
needed
a
certain
color.
They
didn't
have
black,
so
we
got
purple.
So
hopefully
that's
okay,
miss
welch,
but
it's
their
rituals
that
we
go
through
as
a
city
as
families
and
when
you
have
kids,
everything
is
oriented
around
the
start
of
the
school
year
right.
D
Routines
change
schedules
change
all
the
different
pieces
that
you
fit
together
in
your
lives
shift
to
a
new
mode
for
the
next
couple
months,
and
so
this
is
an
important
part
of
the
routine
of
boston
public
schools.
Now,
for
many
years
to
make
sure
that
we
are
personally
going
out,
knocking
on
doors,
welcoming
and
thanking
our
students
for
being
part
of
this
community
and
telling
them
how
excited
we
are
for
our
young
people
and
their
families
to
be
back
in
school
with
us,
especially
after
the
last
few
years.
D
D
I
know
that
this
has
been
an
important
part
of
seeing
and
feeling
comfortable
with
the
systems
when
you
are
about
to
send
your
little
one
off
to
a
scary
experience
right,
the
most
in
the
most
important
thing
in
your
life,
you
are
entrusting
to
our
schools
and
so
to
get
that
face-to-face
connection.
To
say
here
we
are,
we
are
ready
and
we're
excited
for
you.
D
I
hope
will
once
again
yield
great
results.
We
are
going
to
fan
out
and
reach
hundreds
of
families.
Today
we
are
drawing
on
the
hard
work
of
our
dozens
of
volunteers
here
today
who
come
from
our
bps
central
staff,
our
re-engagement
center
staff,
opportunity,
youth
staff,
pick
volunteers,
community
members
and
leaders
from
every
part
of
our
district,
and
so
as
we
work
to
emerge
from
the
pandemic.
D
I
want
to
emphasize
that
everyone
here
is
here,
because
we
believe
in
our
students
we
believe
in
our
young
people,
we
believe
in
the
boston,
public
schools
and
we
are
so
ready
for
the
great
things
that
are
going
to
happen
in
our
classrooms.
This
year,
education
goes
beyond
having
a
teacher
in
front
of
students
in
a
classroom.
D
We
want
our
young
people
to
be
excited
to
come
back,
to
make
new
friends
to
learn
new
things
about
the
world
around
them
and
to
see
the
many
ways
in
which
they
can
shape
that
world,
starting
right
here
in
boston,
young
people
thrive
when
working
with
our
teachers,
people
who
mentor
them,
who
show
them
their
own
power
and
promise
and
all
of
the
fruits
that
come
from
education.
So
most
of
all,
I
want
to
thank
our
educators
today
for.
D
Just
heroic
work,
especially
over
the
last
couple
years
as
hard
as
it
has
been
in
the
world
that
has
been
concentrated
on
your
shoulders
and
we
are
so
grateful
for
you.
We
are
trying,
on
our
part
in
city
hall,
in
partnership
with
bps,
to
invest
as
much
as
we
can
enlightening
that
load
and
wrapping
around
supports.
So
one
person.
I
also
wanted
to
lift
up
and
make
sure
to
shout
out
and
introduce
we
introduced.
You
today
is
rebecca
granger,
who
is
our
mayor's
office
senior
advisor
on
children
in
education
and
schools,.
D
And
so
rebecca
will
be
marshaling
our
children's
cabinet
and
really
bringing
all
the
resources
outside
bps
into
our
classrooms
and
and
schools
so
that
we
can
wrap
around
and
provide
anything
that
the
city
has
to
offer
for
our
young
people
and
their
families.
So
let's
do
it.
We
can't
wait
and
we're
going
to
have
a
great
great
school
year.
Thank
you.
Everyone.