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Description
Mayor Walsh is committed to having an administration that is accountable to all residents, no matter who you are or where you live. Commissioners Corner introduces you to your city leaders, who will showcase their agencies and discuss information that is important to everyone in this great city. Host, Lois Leonard, is joined by Dr. Tommy Chang, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, to discuss the upcoming school year in Boston.
A
Hi
and
welcome
to
commissioner's
corner
I'm,
your
host
Lois,
Leonard
and
I'm
here
today
to
welcome
back
to
schoolers
and
talk
to
dr.
Tommy
Chang
superintendent
of
Boston
Public
Schools,
as
the
birthplace
of
public
education
in
our
country,
Boston
has
always
strived
to
set
the
standard
for
high
quality
education
and
dr.
Chang
has
had
a
full
agenda
since
coming
to
our
city
just
a
little
over
two
years
ago,
dr.
Cheng
thanks
so
much
for
joining
us.
We
really
appreciate
it
like.
B
Going
into
my
third
year
very
exciting
time
in
bps
a
lot
of
great
things
going
on,
we
have
more
level-1
level-2
schools
than
ever
before.
Graduation
rates
are
at
all-time
highs
and
there's
a
lot
of
employer
initiatives
we
are
embarking
on.
We
want
to
close
opportunity,
meet
gaps
for
young
people
and
then
we
bring
in
healthier
lunches
for
our
students,
we're
making
sure
there's
breakfast
in
the
classroom
for
our
students
and
we're
making
strides
in
making
this
a
more
efficient
transportation
system
for
students.
A
B
That's
right,
so
we
are
trying
to
use
innovative
approaches
to
solving
problems
and
we
all
know
about
crowdsourcing,
so
we
actually
use
a
crowdsourcing
technique
to
get
more
efficient
routes
for
our
school
buses.
There
are
690
buses
that
are
on
the
streets
of
Boston
every
morning
and
every
afternoon,
and
through
a
partnership
with
MIT
that
one,
the
transportation
challenge,
we
will
find
more
efficient
routing
where
we're
going
to
be
taking
a
law,
buses
off
the
streets
and
cutting
down
the
routes
for
our
young
people.
Well,.
A
B
So
it's
our
mission
to
make
sure
that
our
students
have
access
to
healthy
lunch,
each
and
every
day,
because
that
has
a
great
impact
on
their
learning
and
we
actually
entered
into
a
three-year
contract.
With
a
new
breakfast
and
lunch
vendor
called
revolution
food
they
will
be
bringing
food
to
our
students,
that
is
natural,
nearly
organic,
no
artificial
sweeteners
of
colors
and
basically
a
food,
pretty
much
will
not
be
frozen.
Previously,
we
had
frozen
food,
we're
moving
away
from
frozen
food,
I.
A
B
Data
is
showing
us
only
about
40%
of
our
students
are
having
breakfast
and
that's
that's
about
30,000
students
that
actually
are
not
having
breakfast
not
having
a
health
healthy
meal
at
the
beginning
of
day,
and
so
what
we
want
to
do
is
work
very
closely
with
our
schools,
most
importantly,
but
also
in
partnership
with
the
EOS
foundation
to
literally
increase
the
number
of
students
are
actually
having
lunch
week.
Right
now.
B
A
B
Am
so
proud
of
the
young
people
in
the
city
of
Boston,
and
we
had
about
4,500
graduates
from
bps
about
40%
of
those
about
40%
of
our
value
torian's,
actually
we're
born
in
a
different
country.
So
these
are
students
who
are
multicultural
multilingual.
They
have
over
commenced
challenges
in
the
United
States
and
they
became
a
top
student
in
their
schools
and
I
had
opportunity
to
meet
all
of
them
during
our
luncheon,
and
it's
always
the
most
exciting
time
of
the
year.
When
you
celebrate
accomplishments
of
these
young
people.
How.
B
B
There's
a
one
student:
if
I
may
speak
about
her
Maybelline
Perez,
she
graduated
from
East
Boston
high
school.
It
was
a
Boston
Globe
article
about
her
and
all
the
challenges
she
over
came.
She
is
going
to
Northeastern
and
she
told
the
story
of
her
coming
to
America
from
El
Salvador
and
her
parents
struggled
so
much
that
she
actually
had
to
study
in
candlelight
and
candlelight
in
you
know
the
21st
century,
but
she
she
made
it.
She
was
incredible
athlete
incredible
student
and
she's
on
her
way
to
Northeastern.
C
Was
born
in
El,
Salvador
I
came
to
United
States
when
I
was
12
years
old
and
2010
back
in
El,
Salvador
I
grew
up
with
gang
violence.
Seeing
murdering
and
stealin
became
normal,
because
that's
what
I
will
see
every
day
my
dad
decided
we
needed
to
leave
the
country
for
our
own
safety,
and
so
we
did
building
a
new
life
hasn't
been
easy,
but
it
wasn't
impossible
either.
I
must
admit
it
came
with
a
lot
of
hardships,
but
with
family
I've
overcome
them.
C
When
we
first
arrived,
I
had
to
do
my
homework
under
a
candlelight
because
we
do
not
have
electricity.
I
was
only
a
6th
grader.
I
did
not
have
any
power
to
change.
What
was
going
on.
The
only
thing
I
could
do
was
studying
to
learn.
English,
so
I
could
be
moved
into
general
education
classes.
I've
learned
to
appreciate
the
smallest
things
in
El
Salvador,
walking
to
school
safely
and
playing
outside
in
the
park
where
options,
because
he
was
too
dangerous
that.
A
B
B
Welcome
and
their
identities
are
sustained
in
classrooms
and
that
every
learning
experience
is
about
providing
access
and
agency
for
young
people
and
that
we
are
assessing
for
learning
not
not
of
learning
and,
lastly,
I
think
this
is
extremely
important.
Our
students
me
need
to
be
engaged
in
cognitively,
demanding
tasks
like
what
they're
doing
must
be
rigorous,
and
it's
not
rigorous.
Our
students
aren't
going
to
be
prepared
for
college
career
in
life.
They.
B
B
A
B
A
B
The
school
year,
it
is
a
focus
on
raising
the
rigor
and
opportunity
for
enrichment
in
fourth
through
sixth
grade
across
the
city
of
Boston.
Also,
we
have
increased.
The
number
of
students
are
accessing
the
exam
school
initiative,
which
is
preparation
for
our
students
for
the
ISEE,
which
is
an
exam
to
qualify
them
for
our
exam
schools
and
over
800
of
them
are
participating
in
summer
programming
to
prepare
them
for
the
this
test.
That
will
allow
them
to
qualify
for
the
exam
schools,
you're.
B
A
B
B
B
B
Every
single
School
in
Boston,
Public
Schools,
will
be
getting
some
share,
that
1
million
dollars,
depending
on
the
number
of
students
that
have
been
identified
and
some
schools
are
creating
closets
for
their
students
with
toiletries
and
uniforms
and
so
on
and
so
forth,
and
some
other
schools
are
having
case
managers
and
hiring
people
who
are
case
managing
and
bringing
supports
additional
supports
for
those
young
people
and
their
families.
We
are
also
working
very
closely
with
our
immigrant
families
and
making
sure
that
they
had
the
resources
they
need.
We
have
a
website
called
bps.
B
We
dream
together,
it
is
on.
You
can
link
it
from
our
Boston
Public
Schools
website
and
provides
resources
for
immigrant
families
in
nine
different
languages.
I'm
also
very
proud
that
we
are
going
to
be
creating
a
Haitian
Creole
Dual
Language
Program
at
the
matter.
Honey,
Elementary
School
starting
this
year,
and
this
will
be
a
first
of
a
kind
program
where
the
Haitian
community
will
be
able
to
go
to
a
school,
fully
embraces
and
the
Haitian
culture.
There's.
A
B
You
nailed
it
on
the
head.
We
care
about
education,
the
city,
because
people
care
so
deeply
about
the
young
people.
They
understand
that
education
is
the
pathway
to
life
success
and
we
have
families.
I've
never
met
one
mom
or
now
one
father
who
doesn't
deeply
care
about
our
child's
education.
So
when
I
hear
statements
like
parents,
don't
care
it's
just
not
true.
Every
parent
cares,
and
especially
my
city
of
Boston.
Everybody
cares
very
deeply.
A
Well,
I
know:
I
have
to
apologize
to
all
my
son's
teachers
over
the
years,
if
I
think
it
gave
them
too
hard
of
a
time,
but
it's
very
difficult.
It's
something!
That's
on
your
mind
all
day.
Long
and
all
I
can
say
is
thank
you
to
all
the
teachers
that
my
son
had.
So.
Thank
you
very
much.
It's
also
been
a
very
interesting
year
from
the
presidential
election
to
the
rallies
in
Charlottesville
to
our
rallies
here
in
Boston.
A
B
Parents,
community
members
for
standing
up
against
hate
and
bigotry
and
doing
it
in
their
own
way.
Everybody
stands
against
hate
and
bigotry
in
their
own
way
and
we
all
have
taken
personal
stances
and
it's
very
clear
in
the
city
of
Boston,
we
stand
for
very
strong
values,
around
inclusion,
around
equity,
so
I'm,
very
proud
of
that,
and
this
in
recent
months
and
in
recent
days,
we've
all
had
to
stand
up
and
so
very
proud
in
in
Boston
Public
Schools.
We
want
to
make
sure
every
single
school
and
every
single
classroom
is
safe.
B
Its
welcoming
and
it's
sustaining
for
young
people
I
mean
by
sustaining,
is
that
young
person's
identity
must
be
sustained.
Our
young
people
come
from
rich
cultures
of
resilience.
They
have
incredible
strengths,
we
want
to
sustain
and
we
want
to
firm
their
identities.
We
have
an
incredible
website,
call
BPS
we
dream
together.
It
is
a
website
of
resources
for
immigrant
families.
We
all
have
also
come
out
very
strongly
against
some
stances
around
our
transgender
students
and
we
stand
with
our
transgender
students
and
we
stand
with
our
religious
communities.
B
A
B
I
am
always
affirmed
when
I
speak
with
teachers
in
the
city
of
Boston,
who
are
all
aligned
in
our
values
that
we
must
have
safe
and
welcoming
and
sustained
environments.
I
actually
just
left
a
group
of
700
teachers
that
are
gathering
Boston
University
to
talk
about
the
essentials
and
to
talk
about
how
we
continue
to
affirm
a
sustained
idea
and
use
of
our
young
people.
Well,.
A
A
Thank
you
for
joining
us
today
and
thank
you
our
viewers
for
joining
us
today.
Many
resources
are
available
to
students
and
families.
Please
take
the
time
to
visit
the
BPS
website
at
Boston,
Public,
Schools,
org
and
plan
on
attending
a
school
committee
meeting
they're
open
to
the
public.
If
you
can't
make
it
to
a
meeting
in
person,
you
can
always
watch
the
Boston
School.
Committee
meetings
live
right
here
on
Boston
City
TV.
We
hope
you
enjoy
your
back-to-school
experience,
I'm
Louis
Leonard
and
thanks
for
joining
us
here
at
commissioner's
corner.