Why Are There Fewer Kids In Boston Schools?: The HUB

Boston MA

19 November, 2021

2:21 AM

Description

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me [email protected]. Today is Friday, November 19. Let's get started. There are 2,000 fewer students in the Boston public school system than there were last year. This is despite the numbers holding steady statewide. But why? Was it the coronavirus pandemic? Before the pandemic, there were 50,480 students attending public schools in the city, and now, there's a little more than 46,000. Will Austin, founder of Boston Schools Fund, told the Boston Herald the pandemic may have played a role in the short-term. Because the Boston Archdiocese kept its doors open, city Catholic schools saw their enrollment grow by about 1,500 students. But Austin said that's just one part of a problem that's been going on for eight years now. Austin said other factors are also driving enrollment decline, including lower birth rates, smaller home sizes and increasing housing costs. And this creates issues because federal and state funding is tied to enrollment on a per-pupil basis. "Enrollment declines create budget issues. They just do," Austin told the Boston Herald. Read more from the Boston Herald. Top stories A COVID-19 outbreak forced Berklee College of Music to cancel classes Thursday. Because of the outbreak, all classes will be fully remote until Thanksgiving break. Berklee president Erica Muhl attributed the cases to a rise in off-campus student gatherings. (Boston Patch) Renting in Boston — and Massachusetts in general — has gotten really expensive since the coronavirus pandemic. Personally, it's part of why I live in Rhode Island now. And apparently, I'm not alone. The number of apartment hunters looking to leave Boston nearly doubled over the last year. And like me, most of them are going to Providence, according to a new Boston.com report. (Boston.com) Valerie Wright was optimistic about her son Dashaun Wright's future, after he spent 20 years in prison for shooting a man nine times. Dashaun Wright. But then he died in a Dorchester shootout that left three Boston police officers wounded. Her son had stopped taking his medication for mental health issues before the shootout happened. Valerie Wright tried to get her son help beforehand. But she thinks his death might have been preventable, she told the Boston Globe, sharing her family's story. (Boston Globe) A lighter touch Coronavirus cases are back on the rise in Massachusetts, so one local company is doing what it can to make sure families can still get together for Thanksgiving. A Canton hospital supply distributor, Westnet, Inc., is delivering 2 million masks in two days to help protect people in the area's most vulnerable neighborhoods. (Boston Herald) Elsewhere in Massachusetts Thanksgiving was always a working holiday for Gina Goodwin. As a community nurse for 25 years, the Peabody resident said in the days and weeks leading up to the holiday, her patients would begin asking her if she was working that day — often so they could be assured to see at least one friendly face on a traditional day of gathering for family and friends. She started bringing them meals, then she founded Gina's Giving Back to deliver holiday meals to people on the North Shore. And this year, she's preparing more than 4,300 Thanksgiving meals. (Peabody Patch) Gina Goodwin Weather: The National Weather Service says mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 49. West wind, 9 to 17 mph. – Jimmy Bentley About me: Jimmy Bentley is a Massachusetts and Rhode Island field editor for Patch covering Cape Cod, Braintree, Barrington, East Greenwich, East Providence and North Kingstown. He was a reporter at the Plympton-Halifax Express and interned for Patch while earning his master's at Emerson College. In his free time, Jimmy hits concerts (sometimes reviewing them for Patch), watches movies and plays ice hockey.