The reality of Boston schools
ACROSS the country, the Boston schools are held up as a model of urban school reform, of what can be achieved with a committed mayor, a visionary superintendent with staying power, an appointed school committee not driven by patronage, enhanced state funding, and a system for measuring accountability. Our local media tell a different story, of urban violence, lower test scores, higher dropout rates. The reality is a mix.
More than half a century ago, I started in Boston's Alexander Hamilton School as a 4-year-old kindergartner. I returned recently as part of the "Principal for a Day" program, the flagship program of the PENCIL foundation (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning). Cosponsored by the Boston Plan for Excellence and the Boston Public Schools, with support from Bank of America, the program seeks to engage business and civic leaders in city schools.
The experience blew me away. What struck me most was how much better the schools are than their present public image would suggest.
True, there are stark differences between today's Hamilton School and the one I attended. Mine had no cafeteria, no library, and no gymnasium. Most of the students were white; a majority were Jewish and came from homes where education was highly prized. We sat docilely at our desks, often with our hands folded, waiting to be called upon. We memorized: multiplication tables; spelling lists; poetry (I can still recite Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees"). Miss Quinn would rap our knuckles if we were caught whispering behind her back . Agnes Ahern would hug the boys and girls for doing well. Those who didn't go to Latin School went to Brighton High, but eventually a majority moved further out, to Newton and other suburban systems. There was never any question that we would go to college.
Today, the Hamilton School has a cafeteria, a very modest library, and an auditorium, but there are more dramatic changes. The Hamilton is one of two multilingual elementary schools in the city. Just 17 percent of the students are white. Many are first-generation Americans. For more than a quarter of them, English is a second language. One teacher told me he teaches students from Bangladesh, Russia, Liberia, Greece, Turkey, Japan and Cambodia. Seventeen percent of Hamilton students require some sort of special education classes. Over 80 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. Twelve different buses bring children to the Hamilton in the morning. As children, we, of course, walked to school. Every day, rain or shine.
Like many other Boston elementary schools, the Hamilton is limping into the computer age. The school does have computers, but many are outdated. (The city's "Refresh" program is slowly making its way across the system to upgrade.) There's a printer, but not enough money for replacement ink cartridges. Parental involvement is still hard to come by, with a preponderance of single and divorced parents.
Principal Ruby Ababio-Fernandez is strategic, visionary, and realistic. In the great MCAS debate, she takes a nuanced approach. She says her greatest challenge is measuring how well the children are learning and using the information from MCAS to figure out how to improve understanding and performance. Making sure that everything her team does on the ground reflects her vision from 50,000 feet is a daily objective.
Unfortunately, the reputation of the school system locally does not reflect what schools like Hamilton are achieving.
The rap on the Boston schools is that they're not succeeding. At the Hamilton School, I saw real education happening. Most of the children seemed enthusiastic about the learning process. The energy level was high. They were engaged in reading and math lessons. There were music lessons, both voice and instruments. Teachers worked collaboratively across subject areas to figure out what approaches work and don't work.
It's clear that the time to reach children is when they're young. We must make the Boston schools more competitive with suburban systems. The upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Law with proper funding can help. Sustained follow-through on Governor-elect Deval Patrick's education promises can also make a difference. More business and civic leaders must get involved. It will be a long slog, but Boston schools are moving in the right direction. People need to know -- and see first-hand -- that the system, despite all its challenges, is making progress.
Marjorie Arons-Barron, former editorial director of WCVB-TV, is a communications consultant. 
