Category: Boston,

If Rosa Parks rode a bus in Boston today, she’d see nearly the same segregation she fought

On By peanutgallerynhIn Boston,, Infrastructure and Transportation,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,Leave a comment

If Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Boston today, she wouldn’t see black and white sections; she’d see a dysfunctional system that is disproportionately failing the low-income people — largely people of color and immigrants — whose livelihoods depend on it.

…Even though white and minority riders use the bus system in roughly equal numbers, differences in reliability and frequency of service on routes that serve mostly black and mostly white riders effectively steal more than a week and a half of work [from riders who are not white]— 3 percent of a person’s annual productivity, skimmed right off the top.

…“These studies are replicated around the nation. It’s one of the greatest transportation injustices,” said Julian Agyeman, a professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University.

…Only 19 of the T’s 176 bus routes offer frequent, all-day service. And 63 percent of area residents are not served by any of those 19 routes, which mostly run along major corridors and feed big job centers like Longwood or Kendall Square.

If Rosa Parks rode a bus in Boston today, she’d see nearly the same segregation she fought – The Boston Globe

sigh…

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Boston Public Schools to boot older students from high school

On By peanutgallerynhIn Boston,, Schools,Leave a comment

School district officials this year are taking a hard-line approach in enforcing a two-decade-old policy that calls for ejecting students from school on their 22nd birthday — an edict they had routinely ignored in the past if overage students were on track to graduate.

The reversal is causing an uproar among students and teachers, who argue strict adherence is creating an unnecessary barrier for students — many of whom have already overcome steep odds — to earn a diploma, go to college, and build a better life for themselves in America.

In a school system that has been trying for years to boost graduation rates, even knocking on dropouts’ doors to lure them back to class, teachers say rigid enforcement of the age limit just a few months before commencement is nonsensical.

…A big issue at the time was that students were not told of the policy before they enrolled. This year, instead of amending the policy as teachers and administrators had hoped, the School Department informed students about the policy during registration. Students nearing the age of 22 were given the choice of enrolling — under the condition they wouldn’t be able to finish — or entering a part-time adult program.

BPS to boot older students from high school – The Boston Globe

sigh…