Boston Re-Centering Cohort

As Boston students transition to full in-person learning for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, Boston Schools Fund has formed a cohort of five Boston Public Schools principals to support and equip these school leaders with the tools, extra resources, and capacity they need to implement elements of the Re-Centering Schools Initiative in their school communities.

Supporting communities Most Proximal to Pandemic Effects through return & recovery

The neighborhoods represented within the Boston Re-Centering Cohort are some of those hardest hit by COVID-19. According to Boston Public Health Commission statistics, between 11.4 percent and 18.9 percent of the residents tested in these neighborhoods tested positive for COVID-19 as opposed to 6.3 percent of residents of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Downtown and the North End who were tested. Four out of five of cohort schools are made up of more than 90 percent students of color. 

A recent Gallup survey found though they are more likely to be learning remotely full-time, low-income and students of color in Massachusetts are less likely to live in households with reliable high-speed internet connections. More than 22 percent of the students at each partner school are English Language Learners and between 15 and 23 percent are students with disabilities. Boston Public Schools statistics show current English Language Learners and students with disabilities are more likely to be chronically absent from school.