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From YouTube: The State of Latino Education Town Hall
Description
Supporting all our communities is how we build a better Boston. That is why Mayor Walsh and the Boston Public Schools paired up with the Greater Boston Latino Network, Latinos for Education and Amplify Latinx at the Bolling Building in Roxbury to host the first Town Hall on Education held in Boston Public Schools focused on the Latino community.
A
B
My
name
is
Johanna
Maria
and
the
director
of
programs
for
Latinas
for
education
and
I.
Personally,
thank
you
for
being
here
and
joining
us
tonight.
I'm
very
excited
about
the
rest
of
the
night
downstairs
and
hearing
the
questions
and
get
a
discussion
going,
and
so
with
that
I'm
going
to
introduce
you
to
Alex
Avila.
She
is
a
member
of
the
Greater
Boston
Latino
Network
and
will
give
you
the
welcome.
C
When
I'm,
not
just
a
bienvenidos
good
evening,
welcome
everybody
I
know
it's
a
little
schizophrenic
or
whether
yesterday's
sunny
and
today
thank
you
for
venturing
out
with
us.
I
know
I'm
supposed
to
be
brief,
but
I
always
talk
too
much
so
I'm.
Just
gonna
tell
you
that
right
now,
I
also
wanted
to
say:
I
am
a
very
proud
member
of
the
Boston
School
Committee
and
I
want
to
welcome
everybody
tonight.
C
All
of
our
City
Hall
people,
our
mayor,
our
superintendent,
all
of
our
VPS
staff,
the
commissioner
and
many
of
the
community-based
organizations
that
made
this
possible
tonight.
Chief
Martinez
I
could
go
on
and
on
long
list.
So
thank
you,
everybody
for
being
with
us
tonight.
I
just
would
say
that
I
don't
want
to
spend
a
lot
of
time.
Talking
about
all
of
the
statistics
and
negative
statistics
about
the
Latino
community
and
our
students.
C
We
all
know:
we've
heard
it
over
and
over
again
about
dropouts,
our
health
etc,
how
our
state
it
has
the
worst
income
inequality
for
Latinos
would
be
I
mean
we
could
go
on
and
on.
What
I
want
to
say
is.
Despite
all
of
that,
we
need
to
focus
on
the
things
that
are
positive
about
our
community.
We
have
a
very
young
community,
a
very
talented
commune.
C
We
have
many
many
assets
that
include
being
bilingual
and
bicultural,
having
a
spirit
of
entrepreneurship,
caring
for
our
families
being
proud
residents
of
not
only
this
Commonwealth
but
across
the
country,
and
really
wanting
to
be
engaged
and
involved
in
what's
happening
in
our
communities
so,
rather
than
focusing
on
those
things.
I
also
don't
want
to
say
that
it's
a
rosy
picture
for
our
Latino
students
and
families.
C
We
know
that
we
have
a
lot
of
work
to
do
to
close
the
achievement
gap,
but
we
do
have
a
lot
of
great
things
going
for
us
here
at
Boston,
Public
Schools
in
terms
of
having
teachers
I
really
care
about
our
students
having
administration
that
really
care
about
our
students.
So
we
need
to
look
at
those
positive
things,
but
at
the
same
time
we
know
that
we
really
need
to
make
sure
that
we
have
staff.
We
have
administration
that
is
reflective
of
the
student
population
of
today.
C
We
know
that
we
really
need
to
focus
on
making
sure
that
we
accept
and
treasure
and
value
the
culture
and
the
language
of
the
students
that
are
coming
into
our
doors
every
day.
So
there's
a
lot
of
work.
That
needs
to
be
done
and
we
want
to
make
sure
that
no
young
person
ever
feels
that
they
are
not
college
ready,
that
they
can't
do
that
or
that
they
can't
be
an
entrepreneur.
So
tonight
really
we
want.
We
want
to
hear
from
our
new
commissioner.
Congratulations.
C
We
want
to
hear
from
our
mayor
as
well
and
from
our
superintendent
terms
of
some
of
the
pieces
that
are
happening
right
now
for
our
Latino
students
I'm
a
very
fortunate
to
be
part
of
the
Latino
Network.
We
were
formed
in
2013
and
it
is
all
the
Latino
led
organizations
in
Boston
that
have
come
together
to
really
focus
under
under-representation
in
every
sector.
Whether
we
talk
about
health
care,
we
talk
about
higher
education,
we
talk
about
elected
and
City,
Hall,
etc.
C
I'm
really
looking
at
those,
because
we
know
that
in
order
to
affect
change,
we
need
to
have
people
at
the
table.
A
very
fortunate
in
our
work.
We
also
work
with
latina
circle
and
they
are
an
amazing
group
of
what
who
are
working
to
connect
other
women
to
really
take
on
leadership
roles,
and
they
also
have
many
other
things
most
currently
working
with
entrepreneurs
and
they
have
an
annual
conference.
C
That's
called
amplify
to
really
bring
all
of
our
community
together
to
really
amplify
our
voice
and
really
move
the
needle
for
our
young
people
and
then
lastly,
Latinos
for
education,
which
is
the
three
organizations
have
come
together
to
really
make
tonight
happen
and
really
want
to
think
I'm.
Hannah
Fernandez,
because
you
know
she
put
a
lot
of
work
into
this
and
Latinos
for
education
is
really
working
on
something
very
critical,
which
is
really
making
sure
that
we
have
teachers.
C
We
have
headmasters,
we
have
administration
that
is
reflective
of
our
students
and
also
that
we
have
Latinos,
who
are
part
of
words
on
the
board
in
my
daughter
school,
and
we
just
got
one
of
your
fellows
and
she's
amazing.
So
really
excited.
So
I
would
just
say
that
there's
a
lot
of
work
to
be
done
so
we're
starting
this
conversation
and
we're
very
excited
to
work
with
you,
commissioner,
and
obviously
excited
to
work
with
there
and
the
superintendent.
C
We
have
things
that
are
happening
again
in
our
schools
that
are
positive,
but
there
are
a
lot
more
things
that
need
to
happen
so
without
further
ado.
I
just
really
want
to
welcome
our
wonderful
mayor,
who
has
been
a
champion
for
education
and
really
has
put
many
resources
over
and
over
again,
we've
seen
some
of
the
highest
budgets
in
our
history
and
VPS,
and
really
he
really
really
cares.
If
you
ever
see
him
with
the
other
person.
D
And
I
want
to
thank
Alex
for
all
her
great
work
and
also
last
week,
I
hadn't
confirmed
for
this
event
and
Alex
texted
me
twice
and
I
should
have
just
responded
for
the
first
time.
It's
absolutely
I'll,
be
there
so
I
want
to
thank
you
for
everything
you
do.
I
want
to
also
want
to
thank
Michael
canto
from
our
school
committee,
Alex
on
school
committee,
Michael,
canto,
Hyde
and
Coleman's
here
from
our
school
committee.
Thank
you
very
much
for
being
here.
We
have
school
leaders.
Here
we
have
mighty
Martinez
who's
chief
of
Health
Human
Services.
D
We
have
Ron
Dorsey
chief
of
Education.
We
have
a
whole
bunch
of
other
folks
that
are
here
today.
I
too
want
to
thank
Commissioner,
Jeff
Riley,
who
is
certainly
very
familiar
with
this
district
here
in
Boston,
and
thank
him
for
all
his
work
that
he's
doing
in
the
state
as
he's
learning
the
process
as
he
moves
through
there.
So
thank
you
for
everything
you
know.
Let
me
just
be
very
clear.
What
it's
not
just
every
single
child
deserves
a
great
education.
There's
no
question
about
that.
D
Alex
talked
a
little
bit
about
not
going
through
the
negative
numbers
and
I
think
that's
important
that
sometimes
we
acknowledge
those
numbers,
but
also
how
do
we
fix
those
numbers
and
I?
Don't
think
we
always
have
to
go
on
the
negative
numbers?
We
need
to
make
sure
that
our
kids
meet
their
particular
needs.
We
need
to
make
sure
that
we
help
them
support
their
cultural
identity.
D
We
need
to
make
sure
that
we
inspire
them
as
well
as
instruct
them,
and
we
need
to
make
sure
that
we
create
pathways
to
college
and
life
for
those
people
so
that
they're
prepared
as
they
move
forward
our
population
in
Boston
is
growing.
In
1980,
our
population
was
563
thousand
people
living
in
the
city
of
Boston.
It's
now
six
hundred
ninety
five
thousand
people
to
City
of
Boston.
Almost
all
of
that
growth
can
be
accounted
by
the
number
of
the
by
the
growth
and
Latino
community
in
our
city.
D
That's
where
we
see
our
growth
happening
in
Boston.
We
also
looking
in
a
21st
century
city,
and
how
do
we
make
sure
we
meet
the
needs
through
economic
impacts
and
cultural
diversity?
And
how
do
we
contain
them
before
with
Boston
is
Boston
say
because
of
the
Latino
community?
Boston
would
be
Boston
tomorrow,
the
Latino
community,
but
Latino
community
21%
of
our
population
in
the
city
of
Boston
42%
of
our
students
in
our
schools.
So,
as
Alex
talked
about
the
changing
needs
in
our
schools,
for
educators
and
for
leadership,
it
certainly
does
reflect
that.
D
We
have
to
be
made
sure
that
our
schools
are
culturally
competent
there
to
make
sure
that
we
communicate
and
teach
in
more
than
one
language
in
our
city
in
our
schools.
Our
schools
must
be
safe
from
racism
and
discrimination.
Whether
racism
comes
on
the
playground
or
the
classroom
or
the
White
House.
The
bottom
line
is
that
we
need
to
make
sure
that
team
of
students
get
all
the
all
the
tools
they
need
to
be
successful.
So
Boston.
E
D
Be
successful
because
Boston
won't
succeed
without
that
many
of
our
students
and
our
schools
are
succeeding.
I
just
want
to
give
you
a
couple
of
stats:
a
positive
stats,
the
wind
chips,
Elementary
School
in
Brighton,
33%,
Latino,
East,
Boston,
high
school
79%,
Latino,
O'donnell
elementary
school
and
he's
in
these
Boston
90%
Latino,
the
Perkins
elementary
school
in
South
Boston,
40
percent
Latino,
and
many
many
more
in
these
schools
are
being
recognized
as
the
great
work
they're
doing
in.
D
D
It's
the
house
of
representatives
in
the
house
represented
in
1997.
We
have
a
budget
in
the
budget.
We
started
talking
about
how
we
can
improve
the
schools,
as
the
state
rep
from
Dorchester
I
never
had
a
conversation
with
the
school
department
and
I
just
continue
to
follow
the
leadership
of
the
House
and
the
Senate
on
how
we
change
the
schools
in
19.
D
2013
was
the
13-14
we
did
at
13
education
reform.
We
did
the
kitchen
not
at
home.
We
did
the
level
three
schools
10
11
2010.
We
did
education
reform.
If
you
will
level
3
schools
well,
you
could
go
in
and
change
the
teachers
in
it.
We
talked
about
wraparound
services.
We
talked
about
giving
the
schools
supports,
they
needed
to
be
successful
with
all
these
changes
and
I
voted
for
that
law.
I
voted
for
the
legislation.
I
fought
that
legislation.
D
All
the
time
with
somebody
you're
gonna
do
this,
you
gotta
do
that.
You
could
do
this,
you
go
to
that
and
at
the
end
of
the
day
they
were
young
people
they're
affected
by
it.
I
read
the
paper
all
the
time
and
when
I
read
the
paper,
all
I
hear
is
the
bad
stories
the
start
times
big
stories
on
that
school
buses,
not
picking
kids
up
across
the
board.
We
front-page
stories
on
that
not
funding
enough,
even
though
we
have
historic
funding
measurements
in
the
school
department.
D
An
incident
at
Brighton
High,
where
kids
of
the
gusano
level
for
five
school
and
there's
a
story
about
that
too.
We
score
is
that
a
bishop
orders
had
a
conversation
with
young
men
of
color
young
black
men
of
color
and
I
was
asked
to
go
to
that
that
table
and
those
six
tables
set
up
and
those
about
10
people
at
each
table.
Some
adults
and
kids
and
I
said
one
of
the
tables.
D
I
was
listening
and
there's
young
black
men
there
who
graduated
eSports
in
high
school
two
years
ago,
and
he
said
at
the
table
that
the
topic
was
stereotyping
and
they
were
talking
about
the
medium
and
they
were
talking
about
the
media
reports
in
Brighton
high
school
about
stereotyping
that
no
education
was
going
on
in
that
school
and
no
one's
learning
in
that
school
and
he
took
offense
to
that
because
he's
in
college
and
I
think
it's
important
as
we
continue
move
on.
As
you
have
the
car
downstairs
and
I
know.
D
The
Commissioner
Riley
understands
us
because
he's
been
in
difficult
situations,
it's
important
for
us
to
understand
that
young
people
are
paying
attention
to
what
we
say.
So,
when
we're
concerned
about
what
the
White
House
is
saying,
whether
it's
on
immigrants
or
Muslims,
or
women,
or
poor
people
or
people
of
color,
everyone
pays
attention
to.
That
was
supposed
to
a
will,
the
president
we
got
to
stop
because
of
pressure.
D
We
got
to
go
out
and
talk
about
it,
but
when
it
comes
to
our
own
schools,
we
just
continue
to
add
on,
and
what
I'm
asking
for
tonight
is
that,
as
we
continue
to
move
together,
we
work
together
as
a
team
that
means
working
with
the
state
that
means
working
with
the
legislature.
That
means
working
with
the
parents.
It
means
working
with
all
of
our
organizations
on
a
goal
to
make
sure
that
we
can
continue
to
improve
our
schools.
That's
what
we
need.
That's
what
our
school
needs.
D
So,
if
we're
trying
to
improve
the
quality
in
our
schools
here
in
Boston,
across
the
Commonwealth
and
across
this
country,
we're
going
to
remember
as
adults
when
we
see
things
they
have
consequences
and
young
people
are
paying
attention
to
that
and
we
should
building
up
our
schools,
not
tearing
them
down
it.
We
have
challenged,
there's
no
question
about
it
and
money's
not
going
to
be
the
only
things
going
to
solve
those
challenges.
D
When
Alex
mentioned
and
I
don't
have
the
numbers
in
front
of
me
when
Alex
mentioned
about
the
numbers
of
students
in
the
Latino
community
under
performing
well
every
single
area
where
the
numbers
are
high,
I
under
Florenz,
every
single
area,
I
wasn't
reading
in
a
good
level.
I
couldn't
do
math
I
had
a
very
short
attention
span.
D
Only
for
my
parents,
I
probably
would
have
dropped
out
because
afraid
of
them,
when
I
graduated
high
school
I
didn't
get
into
any
college.
I
wanted
to
go
to
I,
think
it
into
Suffolk,
but
in
the
end
of
BC,
I
didn't
get
in
any
colleges
but
whose
my
grades
weren't
there.
So
I
went
to
Quincy
junior
college
for
you,
but
I
had
a
strong
foundation
in
a
home
and
these
kids
that
were
talking
about
in
a
lot
of
cases
Latino
community.
They
have
a
strong
foundation
at
home
and
they
grew
up
in
an
immigrant
household.
D
That
parents,
like
my
mother
and
father
could
only
help
me
till
about
third
grade
because
they
didn't
know
how
to
diagram
sentences.
They
didn't
know
how
to
do
long
division.
They
have
a
third
and
fourth
grade
education
themselves.
They
didn't
have
that
opportunity,
and
occasionally
my
mother
or
father
would
bring
over
my
older
cousins
who
went
to
the
system
to
try
and
help
us
out
and
tutor
us
if.
A
D
Will
my
brother
was
a
better
student
than
I
was
when
I
came
to
tutoring
I
only
say
that
tonight,
because
there
are
some
great
things
happening
in
our
district
and
there
are
great
success
stories
in
that
district
I
went
to
family
high
school,
the
other
day
and
I
was
walking
around
and
I
was
thinking
to
myself.
If
I
had
a
high
school-aged
first
kid
I
would
send
my
child
to
Fenway,
because
what
was
happening
in
the
school
I
want
the
chance
on
high
school.
D
The
other
day
and
I
said
the
same
thing
to
myself
as
I
walked
around
the
school.
I
went
to
the
Perkins
school
and
I
said.
If
I
had
a
child
that
was
of
early
learning,
I'd
love
to
send
my
child
to
the
Perkins
school
because
of
the
life
in
the
school,
the
teachers
and
the
principals
and
everyone
loving
each
other
and
then
loving
the
kids
and
knowing
the
kids
in
great
education,
I.
A
D
It
here,
but
I'd
still
say
the
perk
is
mr.
magnet
and
all
the
school
they
just
mentioned
in
Brighton
and
nice
Boston
and
then
South
Boston,
all
those
great
schools.
So
we
have
an
opportunity
in
in
Boston.
We
have
an
opportunity
to
do
something,
really
special
we're
in
the
process
right
now,
beginning
to
look
at
the
next
superintendent
search
in
Boston,
alex
has
agreed
to
chair
the
committee,
along
with
Keith
motley.
D
D
I
said
well,
I
said:
Alex
I,
love,
Alex,
she's,
great
she's,
a
national
expert
in
Latino
youth,
and
he
mentioned
Keith
motley
and
I
watched
Keith
motley
as
a
leader
at
UMass
Boston
when
he
went
in
there
when
people
weren't
encouraged
about
the
expansion
of
the
school
and
I
watched
him
go
to
the
community
and
sell
the
expansion
of
the
school
to
the
community,
but
I
also
realized.
While
he
was
there
that
school,
his
majority
people
of
color
that
go
to
school
at
UMass
Boston,
he
was
able
to
raise
the
numbers.
D
He
was
able
to
raise
the
bar
at
that
school
and
he's
able
to
have
that
school
on
a
on
a
lot
of
young
people's
wish
list
to
get
into
and
I
think
about.
How
do
we
lead
our
district
to
the
next
level?
They're
gonna
need
your
help,
they're
going
to
need
your
expertise.
They're
gonna
need
your
support.
They're
gonna
need
your
love
and
they're
gonna
need
all
of
that,
because
it
is
important
for
us
as
we
continue
to
move
here
in
our
district.
D
I,
want
to
thank
everyone
in
this
room
whose
been
in
this
space
for
a
long
time
doing
the
work
I
want
to
thank
you
for
the
work
that
you've
done.
I
want
to
thank
the
young
people
that
are
in
this
room
that
haven't
been
in
the
spaces.
Long
I,
don't
want
to
thank
you
for
the
work
you're
doing
and
I
want
to
thank
Alex
because
about
a
year
and
a
half
ago,
two
years
ago,
Alex
to
me
with
Latino
rapport
with
some
other
folks
in
this
room.
D
It
was
a
very
honest
conversation
and
at
that
point
the
representation.
The
city
wasn't
there
and
we
made
a
commitment
at
that
point
as
a
city
on
the
city
side
to
do
what
we
needed
to
do
to
improve
those
numbers.
We
are
still
not
there,
but
we're
getting
there
to
bring
back
to
the
schools.
We
are
not
there,
but
with
everyone
in
this
room
and
everyone,
the
city
loves
our
school
and
loves
our
kids.
We
will
get
there,
thank
you
and
have
a
great
night
thank.
F
F
Several
months
back
when
the
Commissioner
was
first
appointed
I
found
out
that
he
was
doing
a
listening
tour
around
the
state
and
so
I
asked
him
if
he
would
put
particular
priority
on
spending
some
time
listening
to
the
voices
of
Latino
community
families,
parents
others
to
be
a
part
of
the
conversation
to
inform
where
we
should
be
headed
as
a
state.
So
he
agreed
to
do
that.
And
so
here
we
are
fast
forward
to
October
first,
and
this
is
the
first
in
a
series
of
town
halls
that
the
Commissioner
is
doing.
F
Boston
is
first
we're
doing
another
one
in
Holyoke
on
Wednesday.
We
have
the
nice
car
right
out
there
and
a
couple
days
and
then
we'll
do
one
in
Somerville
as
well.
So
I'd
like
to
welcome
the
Commissioner
I'm
not
going
to
give
a
long
introduction
in
terms
of
your
bio
I.
Think
everyone
knows
a
lot
about
you
and
so
we'd
like
to
invite
you
to
come
up
to
share
a
little
bit
about
your
thoughts.
G
For
the
next
three
hours,
I'd
like
to
review
the
rules
and
regulations
good
evening,
everyone,
it's
good
to
be
home,
although
I've
never
been
to
this
building
before
I
spent
the
majority
of
my
career
as
a
Boston
Public
School
employee
as
a
principal
and
a
deputy
superintendent
in
charge
of
the
middle
schools
and
Ketu
eights.
Some
of
you
know
my
kids
go
to
the
Boston
Public
Schools
to
this
day
and
I.
G
Think
when
I
think
about
the
Boston,
Public,
Schools
I,
don't
think
about
the
negativity,
I
think
about
all
the
amazing
people
that
work
inside
of
this
district
I
have
two
children.
When
I
was
15,
he
is
a
typically
performing
child
and
a
daughter,
who's
13.
She
has
some
special
needs
and
when
she
was
starting
in
kindergarten,
her
mom
and
I
were
worried
for
her.
She
was
going
to
have
to
wear
a
weight
vest
to
help
her
with
her
regulation
issues.
She'd
have
to
have
those
elastics
on
the
bottom
of
her
chair.
G
When
we
talk
about
education,
we
talk
a
lot
about
fairness.
I
was
raised
in
a
Marine
Corps
family,
where
my
father
believed
deeply
in
this
idea
of
a
meritocracy
that
if
you
just
worked
hard
enough,
anyone
could
be
or
do
anything
they
wanted,
but
that
actually
only
works
if
all
kids
start
in
the
same
place
when
they
graduate
from
high
school-
and
we
know
that's
not
the
case-
things
aren't
fair
all
over.
We
see
a
changing
demographic
in
this
country.
G
This
is
an
interesting
slide
which
came
out
a
couple
years
ago,
showing
the
percentage
of
low-income
students
in
the
u.s.
51%
of
American
public
school
children
are
now
at
or
near
the
poverty
line,
which
means
they
qualify
for
free
or
reduced
lunch,
and
so
what
we're?
Starting
to
see
is
this
idea
in
this
country
of
haves
and
have-nots,
and
maybe
it's
about
poverty.
Maybe
it's
about
a
child
like
my
own,
with
a
disability.
Maybe
it's
about
learning
a
second
language,
but
we've.
G
We
owe
it
to
everyone
to
make
sure
that
all
of
our
kids
are
treated
fairly
and
given
the
resources
that
they
need.
We
are
leading
the
nation
I'm
told
on
various
metrics
and
testing
and
what
I've
said
everywhere.
I've
gone
across
the
state
is:
let's
not
break
our
arms
patting
ourselves
on
the
back,
because
we're
also
leading
the
nation
on
achievement,
gaps
and
opportunity
gaps
for
our
children,
and
maybe
just
maybe
we
should
settle
for
being
number
two
or
three
in
the
country
if
we
could
close
our
achievement
gap.
G
Folks
came
out
recently
with
a
report
that
underlined
this
very
fact
they
called
it
number
one
for
some,
and
it
highlighted
how
not
all
kids
are
getting
an
amazing
education,
and
the
work
we
have
to
do
going
forward
is
to
make
sure
that
all
of
our
children,
not
some
of
our
children,
get
what
they
need.
Now.
How
do
we
do
that?
Some
of
it
is
definitely
going
to
be
about
finances.
It's
no
doubt
about
it,
but
not
all
of
it.
G
There
is
a
foundation
budget
which
some
of
you
have
heard
of,
which
is
broken
the
formula
there
was
a
commission
that
came
out
three
four
years
ago.
Now
that
said
it's
broken,
and
when
I
was
a
superintendent
in
Lawrence,
they
told
me
they
were
shorting
me
ten
million
dollars
a
year,
ten
million
dollars
that
my
kids
could
have
used
in
Lawrence
to
be
even
better
than
they
were
because
there's
nothing
wrong
with
the
kids.
G
The
adults
have
to
get
back
together
in
a
room
and
sort
this
out
in
my
position,
I'm
supposed
to
be
neutral
on
this,
but
I
can't
be
neutral
on
it.
We
have
to
fix
the
foundation
budget
to
make
sure
that
all
of
our
kids
and
all
of
our
communities
get
the
money
that
they
need
and
we
get
our
kids
the
chances
they
have.
They
deserve
for
the
American
dream.
Now,
here's
the
thing
I
would
say
it's
not
all
about
the
money
and
the
money
that
comes.
We
have
to
be
strategic
with
it.
G
We
don't
just
throw
money
at
the
problem
and
think
it's
going
to
go
away.
We
need
to
be
strategic
about
what
works.
That's
going
to
help
our
kids
do
better.
What
are
those
initiatives,
our
programs
that
our
kids
deserve
and
we
can
get
them
with
the
money
that
we're
going
to
be
allocated?
And
that's
we
need
to
be
strategic,
not
just
throw
money
at
it
anymore.
We
definitely
need
funding
for
our
children
and
folks
need
to
come
together
to
make
that
a
reality.
When
I
was
in
Lawrence,
a
few
things
happened.
G
First
and
foremost,
I
was
told
at
the
height
of
education,
reform
to
fire
all
the
teachers
and
turn
it
into
charter.
Schools
and
I
did
not
do
that.
Instead,
I
took
six
months
to
assess
the
situation
and
what
I
found
was
that
that
the
Lorenz
Public
Schools
was
actually
the
teaching
force,
and
so
we
kept
90
percent
of
our
teachers
feeling
that
they
were
great
good
or
working
to
improve.
We
did
cut
the
size
of
the
central
office
by
40%
and
put
those
monies
back
at
the
schools.
G
We
had
we
had
principals
there.
That
said,
give
us
your
kid
at
8:00.
In
the
morning
you
stay
there
we'll
bring
him
back
to
you
at
3
o'clock,
and
that
is
not
acceptable
and
that's
why
I
couldn't
tolerate
that
and
we
had
to
make
changes,
because
without
parents
as
part
of
the
process,
we
are
missing
a
huge
factor
in
this
equation,
and
so
parents
need
to
be
part
of
this
process.
G
I
have
a
video,
I,
can't
believe
I'm
going
to
show
the
video
people
asked
me
what
it
is
to
be
a
great
teacher
and
I'm
gonna.
Try
to
figure
out
if
we
can
make
this
video
work,
which
is
what
I've
been
showing
to
teachers.
I
could
spend
probably
a
week
talking
about
what
makes
great
teaching
I
have
deep,
pedagogical
knowledge.
I
can
talk
about
all
that
stuff.
I
know
you
don't
want
to
hear
it,
but
the
most
crystalline
form
of
great
teaching
that
I've
ever
seen
is
in
this
short
video.
H
H
A
G
The
best
example
of
teaching
I
think
I've
ever
seen
a
father
who
taught
his
son
how
to
run
track
who
took
him
to
all
those
meats
as
a
kid
helped
him
get
all
the
way
to
the
Olympics
and
then
when
the
Olympics
came
and
he
was
supposed
to
win
the
gold
medal
and
he
blew
his
hamstring
out.
His
father
came
to
his
side.
Picked
him
up.
G
One
of
the
most
interesting
things
I
see
is
he
keeps
taking
his
son's
hands
away
from
his
face
as
if
to
tell
him,
keep
your
head
up
and
he
doesn't
finish
the
race
with
him.
He
gets
him
back
on
track
and
lets
him
finish
it
himself,
and
if
that's
not,
what
good
teaching
is
right?
We
teach
our
kids
when
they
fall
down
and
make
mistakes.
We
get
him
back
up
and
send
them
on
their
way.
I,
don't
know
what
is
when
we
talk
about
education.
G
We
need
to
do
better
by
our
children
when
I
was
in
Lawrence.
We
had
some
good
results,
not
great.
A
lot
of
work
to
do.
Graduation
rate
went
from
52
to
72
dropout
rate
was
cut
in
half.
We
went
from
one
level
one
school
to
ten,
although
that
doesn't
exist.
The
level
system
doesn't
exist
anymore,
the
new
accountability
system,
but
there
were
real
gains
and
it
really
had
nothing
to
do
to
with
me
and
people
ask
all
the
time
people
thought
it
was
the
acceleration
academies
that
was
part
of
it
or
the
teacher.
G
E
G
At
the
end
of
the
day,
the
community
in
Lawrence,
which
have
been
badgered
and
been
talked
about
in
the
most
despicable
terms
for
years
finally
said
enough:
you're
not
going
to
talk
about
us
like
this
anymore
and
they
said
we're
gonna
jump
in
and
help,
and
so
what
you
see
is
this
huge
infusion
of
people
from
the
community
who
said
we're
going
to
do
better
by
our
kids
and
that
I
think
is
the
key
to
actually
getting
something
done.
When
an
entire
community
comes
together
and
says
we
can
do
better.
G
We
know
the
research
that
says
that
a
child
of
color
that
sees
one
teacher
in
their
lifetime
that
looks
like
them
has
significantly
better
life
outcomes
just
to
see
one
teacher
like
them,
and
yet
40%
of
our
children
in
Massachusetts
are
students
of
color
and
only
8%
of
our
teaching
forces.
We've
got
to
do
better,
and
so
that's
where
we
need
to
go
we're
going
to
get
some
money
for
targeted
support
for
our
kids.
G
F
Thank
You
Commissioner
Riley
and
that
video
was
very
inspiring
I
started
thinking
about
all
the
sacrifices
that
our
immigrant
parents
made
to
be
in
this
country
and
that's
what
I
thought
about
when
I
watch
that
video
and
in
particular
for
Latino
families,
how
important
it
is
that
we
support
their
education,
our
students
and
Families.
So
that's
what
I
thought
about.
So
thank
you
for
that
Commissioner
I'm,
going
to
do
a
quick
introduction
of
Superintendent
Laura
Ferrell,
no
intros,
okay,
so
our
last
speaker
for
tonight
will
be
superintendent,
Ferrell
and
I.
E
Thank
You
Amanda
I
want
to
make
sure
we
all
get
downstairs
for
I.
Think
the
real
action
and
real
conversation,
which
involves
a
much
broader
audience
and
I,
think
it's
critical
for
all
of
us
to
hear,
and
for
me
in
particular,
in
this
role,
working
with
the
leadership
team
of
the
Boston
Public
Schools,
many
of
whom
are
gathered
here
in
addition
to
school
committee
members.
So
I'm
gonna
keep
this
short,
because
anything
important,
I
need
to
say,
I
will
wait
and
see
downstairs
in
the
larger
forum.
E
I
do
want
to
thank
Commissioner
Riley
both
for
bringing
me
to
tears
just
a
minute
ago.
Thank
you,
Jeff,
but
also
for
joining
us
here
at
bowling
at
the
central
office
of
the
Boston
Public
Schools
and
a
big
thank
you
to
Latinos
for
Education
Amanda
Fernandez
and
her
team
have
worked
with
us
in
recent
weeks
to
make
this
happen.
E
So,
thank
you
so
much
Amanda,
but
also
to
latina
circle
and
amplify
latina
act
and
the
Greater
Boston
Latino
Network
for
co-sponsoring
this
evenings
gathering
and
really
focusing
us
all
on
a
critically
important
question
of
the
state
of
Latino
education,
both
statewide,
but
also
right
here
in
Boston.
This
is
a
district
and
a
city
of
vast
diversity,
and
that
is
one
of
our
strengths.
E
But
there
are
so
many
ways
that
we
need
to
fundamentally
change
some
of
our
actions
to
make
sure
we
are
maximizing
that
at
every
stretch
and
as
a
longtime,
City
resident
and
a
longtime
bps
parent
I
feel
that
special
urgency.
As
someone
who
has
been
inside
and
part
of
an
experience
that
education
for
my
own
children
from
kindergarten
through
high
school
graduation,
starting
by
the
way
in
one
of
our
two-way
bilingual
schools,
the
Raphael
Hernandez
in
Egleston
square,
which
created
a
terrific
foundation
for
my
now
fully
fluent
in
both
languages
daughter
at
21.
E
E
Just
briefly
is
that
with
a
student
population
that
is
40%
latina,
as
the
Commissioner
pointed
out
and
others
have
in
the
mayor
as
well,
it
is
of
particular
importance
that
we
listen
to
and
address
the
needs
of
our
latina
community,
and
that
is
not
just
about
students,
but
also
continuing
to
ensure
that
our
teaching
force
and
our
leadership
better
reflects
the
diversity
of
our
student
population
and,
while
Boston
has
made
great
strides
and
BPS
has
made
great
strides
in
overall
diversity.
I
will
say
just
very
clearly.