For the Public Good

According to a study by Northeastern University, Boston schools are among the most racially segregated in the United States. Although the city’s long history of homogenous public schools include past attempts to remedy the situation, Boston schools still remain divided along racial lines. We believe that the best way to overcome this unacceptable status quo lies in improving the facilities that currently exist. Bolstering the quality of public education in the area is Boston’s best hope for overcoming the disappointing realities highlighted in the survey.

One major, underlying cause of this de-facto segregation is undoubtedly the poor quality of certain schools in the Boston area. As citizens of Massachusetts and members of families that pay taxes, all school children have the right to a quality education, and thus the state ought to invest more money in improving existing, failing public schools. The funding schools receive is currently linked to the taxes levied on property surrounding them, perpetuating inequality. Instead, property taxes should be pooled at the state level and distributed so as not to disadvantage low-income neighborhoods.

Since segregation is both a symptom of societal inequality and a cause of it, resolving the problem will be complex. As the state and country work to address these long-term issues, we must ensure—in the short term—that students are getting as good an education as possible now.  If Boston schools improve, wealthier parents will feel more comfortable sending their children to public institutions instead of choosing private ones, potentially ameliorating the situation. However, this process will not happen overnight, since it will take time for families to respond to improved schooling in their area—all the more reason to start this process immediately.

We posit that improving schools over time will serve students better than inorganically attempting to rectify segregation through busing and other measures. Boston’s busing program in the 1970’s, meant to accomplish these same goals, largley served to alienate minority students in a new environment. Rather than transporting a limited number of disadvantaged students in and out of difficult neighborhoods, the state should aim to improve existing schools so that desegregation happens naturally.

On their path to improvement, Boston public schools should adopt successful charter school methods, since these institutions have historically employed effective education strategies that could improve student performance if implemented more widely. Additionally, funding should be allocated to improve current charter schools and establish new ones, given their proven efficacy.

The gap in quality between schools located within different Boston neighborhoods must be addressed if we expect de-facto segregation to diminish. Boston’s rich diversity can change a child’s perspective on the world if she is truly surrounded by it. We must invest in students’ education today so that future students will no longer learn in a racially homogenous classroom.