“This shift represents a clear move away from expanding access to instruction in the students’ native languages and highlights a fundamental divide between EL Task Force leaders and BPS leaders that we no longer feel can be bridged,” the members wrote in a letter to the School Committee sent Tuesday. “For this reason, we write to you today to resign from the EL Task Force of the Boston School Committee.”

Under the Inclusive Education Plan — presented at the Oct. 18 School Committee meeting — English Learners (ELs) and ELs with disabilities would be integrated in General Education classrooms with English as a Second Language (ESL) support rather than being taught in separate classes in their native languages.

The EL Task Force was appointed in 2009 to support EL education in the district after the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the district’s ELL offerings and is made up of educators, parents, researchers and others.

The eight resigning members — more than half the task force — include co-chair Suzanne Lee; ELL policy researchers Maria Serpa, Rosann Tung and Miren Uriarte; local advocates John Mudd and Paulo De Barros; former SpEdPAC Chair Roxanne Harvey; and Gaston Institute leader Fabián Torres-Ardila.

“Although the district will maintain its dual language programs (serving 7% of ELs), the vast majority of ELs will be enrolled in General Education starting in the fall of 2024,” the task force members noted Tuesday.

In a statement, BPS spokesperson Max Baker said the district “thank(s) the members for their years of service” but evidence and DESE guidance makes clear the “status quo is not working for our multilingual learners.”

“Our District is committed to adopting inclusive practices so multilingual students have access to native language services, and receive their required services, while also engaging in learning alongside their peers,” Baker said, calling the Inclusive Education Plan a “roadmap for making these long-overdue systemic changes.”

In the recent Multicultural and Multilingual Education Strategic Plan, BPS set goals also altering educational services for multilingual learners including increasing bilingual programs by 25 the end of the 2024-25 school year and increasing bilingual paraprofessionals by 15% by the end of 2023-24.

The members’ letter argued the transition to teaching ELLs in classes primarily taught in English is not supported by research.

Evidence shows, they said, citing studies supporting bilingual education, the change may result in “poorer student outcomes, more disciplinary challenges in schools, and increased drop-out rates for the one-third of BPS students who are classified as English learners.”

While BPS previously expressed concern separate classes “segregate” ELL students and cut them off from social interaction with other students, the letter said, they argue there are better ways to address the issue.

The members suggested a reconsideration more moderately blending classes and other steps to expand multilingual education, but stated if the planned changes occur they “urge” members to track and publicly report data on outcomes of the shift.

“We all agree that profound changes are needed to EL education in the Boston Public Schools. MCAS results show that current programs are failing to prepare over 90% of ELs and ELs with disabilities to achieve at passing levels and to graduate ready for college and career,” the letter said. “But the change that BPS is proposing is ill-advised and will be harmful to ELs.”

“I find it very uplifting to be able to sit with my fellow veterans,” said Navy veteran and Vietnam war hero Tom Kelley, who came up with the idea for the program. “We all raised our hand at one time to volunteer to support and defend the Constitution. And for me to hear their stories, what they’ve done in their life, what they did in the service, how they’re doing now, and then we volunteers tell them about our services.

“So it’s a real bond,” he continued, surrounded by tables of folks chatting and eating. “I get a lot out of it myself, and I hope they do too.”

The program kicked off in 2016 when Kelley realized the Shrine — a ministry run by Franciscan friars with far-reaching service programs — was lacking specialized services for veterans in the area.

Staff from the Shrine and program director Mary Ann Ponti coordinate the lunches with the New England Center and Home for Veterans. The lunches regularly bring in around 50 veterans, Kelley said.

“We see a lot of the same faces over and over again, but the gratifying thing is that some of the people, when they first come here, say five years ago, they were maybe one step removed from the street, but then they move on and get the services they need, the wraparound services,” said Kelley. “So we don’t see them anymore, but that’s a good sign. And they’re always replaced by somebody else coming in.”

Jesus Castillo, a veteran who served during the Gulf War, said Monday was his second time attending the lunch.

“This time when we all get together like this is very special,” Castillo said, sitting at a table with two other veterans who served earlier. “I’m pretty recent, but I like to hear stories from like the Vietnam guys.”

Al King, a Vietnam veteran who said he’s been coming to the lunches since they started, said the Shrine provides pretty much every type of food at the gatherings. Next month, Kelley said, they’ll have turkey around Thanksgiving.

Monday’s lunch included several volunteers from the State Police, but BPD officers, City Councilor Ed Flynn and Mayor Wu’s staff often help out, Kelley said.

Warren Griswold, who served in the 1980s, said the program provides a good place for lots of people to come.

“It’s just a great, great experience for both the volunteers and the men and women we serve.”

“The shootings occurred less than 50 miles from where I live,” wrote King, an outspoken advocate against gun violence. “I went to high school in Lisbon. It’s the rapid-fire killing machines, people.

“This is madness in the name of freedom,” he continued. “Stop electing apologists for murder.”

Here are some:

‘Why do people do this?’ 10-year-old victim asks

When Zoey Levesque felt a bullet graze her leg she wasn’t worried about the injury, the 10-year-old told ABC News on Thursday, she was too busy running for her life.

Her mom Meghan Hutchinson was watching the kid practice with her youth bowling league when she heard a “loud pop,” turned around and saw the shooter right behind her.

Zoey was shot — a shallow graze to her leg — as the pair ran to barricade themselves in a back room with other families. Another young boy came into the room had a “massive hole” in his arm bleeding badly, Hutchinson told ABC, and a second mom called 911.

The police arrived 20 minutes later, the mother said, but the group was too scared to let them in. The cops eventually pushed their way in.

The mother and daughter said they’re still in shock.

“Why do people do this?” Zoey asked. “I don’t really know what to say.”

Father of Schemengees manager calls son a ‘hero’ for confronting gunman

Joey Walker, a manager at Schemengees Bar & Grille, died a hero Wednesday, as he picked up a knife trying to confront gunman Robert Card, his father Leroy Walker told Lester Holt of NBC News.

“Joey Walker was shot to death at Schemengees,” the father said. “He died as a hero because he picked up a butcher knife … and he tried to go at the gunman to stop him from shooting anybody else.”

Leroy Walker, a member of the City Council in next door Auburn, received the tragic news Thursday that his son was shot and killed at the restaurant Wednesday night. The elder Walker stopped by a hospital and reunification center at Auburn Middle School but did not find his son earlier in the day.

“I want you to know that Joe was a great, great son, a loving husband,” Walker told MSNBC. “He had two grandchildren and a stepson living at home with him. … He loved thousands of people. Thousands of people loved him.”

Just-In-Time Recreation manager ‘risked his life’ for getting kids to safety

The manager of Just-In-Time Recreation, Thomas Gilberti, “risked his life leading countless kids to safety, while under fire from the gunman,” according to a post in the “NE Bowling Community” Facebook group.

Sarah Marie, owner of the bowling alley, wrote in a separate Facebook post that Gilberti was shot while letting children into a pin-setter area.

“He took many bullets to his legs while children ran towards him to hide,” she wrote.

“This is a man who exemplifies what it means to be a hero,” the post in the NE Bowling Community group states. “No words can properly encapsulate the bravery and courage he exhibited as this ordeal played out. Stay strong Thomas.”

Running down the bowling lanes

A man — who identified himself to the Associated Press only as Brandon — was at the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley when he said he heard what sounded like a balloon popping. Then about 10 pops.

“I had my back turned to the door,” he told the AP. “And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I just booked it.”

Brandon darted down the bowling lane, through the end and up into the machinery. After the shooting, he was put on a bus with other survivors to the family reunification point at Auburn Middle School.

#LEWISTONSTRONG

Many across New England expressed support for the Lewiston community through a Lewiston Strong message, including the Boston Bruins.

“Maine is a special part of the Bruins family and our hearts are with those affected by this terrible tragedy,” the Bruins wrote on a Lewiston Strong fundraising page. “In that spirit, the Boston Bruins Foundation is pledging a minimum of $100,000 to those affected by these horrific events in Lewiston.”

More information on how to contribute is available on the community fund page.

“I am confident that our city, our community, and people across our great state of Maine will come together to support one another,” wrote Lewiston High School basketball captain Natalie Beaudoin in a statement. “We are one. #LEWISTONSTRONG.”

Passionate bowler calls 911 after being shot at alley

Tricia Asselin stopped by Just-In-Time Recreation Wednesday evening to bowl, an activity she had a passion for, her brother told ABC News.

Some nights, Asselin worked at the bowling alley, but this time she was there to play.

But then tragedy struck. She was shot by the alleged gunman Robert Card. She ran to the counter frantically and called 911, her brother said. She died from the gunshot.

His other sister, also at the alley at the time of the shooting, escaped, he said.

“(Tricia) was the rock of the family,” her brother told ABC.

Stephen King: ‘It’s the rapid-fire killing machines, people.’

Maine-native Stephen King called out the “madness” that led to Wednesday’s mass shooting in a Tweet on Thursday.

“The shootings occurred less than 50 miles from where I live,” wrote King, an outspoken advocate against gun violence. “I went to high school in Lisbon. It’s the rapid-fire killing machines, people.

“This is madness in the name of freedom,” he continued. “Stop electing apologists for murder.”

Wire sources were used in this story.

Here’s what we know about the Card so far.

Card is still at large and named in an arrest warrant on eight counts of murder, Maine State Police Colonel William Ross said at a press conference Thursday morning. The counts are expected to rise to 18 as remaining victims are identified, Ross said.

In the press conference, Maine Gov. Janet Mills stated Card is still considered armed and dangerous and residents “should not approach him under any circumstances.”

Officials said Thursday they would not yet speak to Card’s possible motives, including his mental health history.

However, a police bulletin circulated by law enforcement Wednesday night and reported by the AP noted Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023.

The bulletin said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base, according to the AP, but did not provide details regarding his treatment or diagnosis.

A U.S. official who spoke to the AP on the condition on anonymity said commanders in the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment became concerned about Card’s erratic behavior and safety in mid-July while the unit was training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The commanders contacted the police, who then took Card for evaluation, the source said.

“Sgt. 1st Class Robert R. Card II is a Petroleum Supply Specialist in the Army Reserve, enlisting in December 2002,” said Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee. “He has no combat deployments.”

The bulletin also reportedly stated Card is assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.

Card was awarded with the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal x2, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon, Dubee stated.

Card attended the University of Maine from 2001-2004, according to university spokesperson Eric Gordon, but did not complete his degree studies or graduate. He was a Engineering Technology major.

Card was last seen in a brown shirt and blue pants, according to police. Police issued a shelter-in-place advisory for Androscoggin County and Bowdoin in Sagadahoc County.

Police have not said if they have seen Card since the shootings at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles away. The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect walking into the bowling alley with a rifle raised to his shoulder.

Investigators also haven’t said what weapon or weapons Card used in the shootings or how he obtained them.

Herald wire services contributed. 

“I mean this with all sincerity, if you’re expecting money to come out of Washington now you might as well go buy a bridge in New York City because chances of both are the same,” said state House Speaker Ronald Mariano at a press availability Monday afternoon, referring to the U.S. House’s inability to elect a Speaker over the last nearly three weeks and return to work.

Gov. Maura Healey announced the state’s shelters will reach capacity by the end of the month last week and called on federal action including emergency funding and expedited work authorizations.

Massachusetts is the only right-to-shelter state, meaning the government is required to provide emergency shelter to families with children, and the recent influx of migrant families into the state led Healey to declare a state of emergency this fall.

The state is spending $45 million a month on the law, according to Healey, and as of mid-October, the state is providing shelter for over 7,000 families.

Healey stressed Monday that the state is doing all that it can — including looking at more funding in a supplemental budget — but has “reached capacity” in terms of infrastructure and personnel.

Leaders said they are “discussing” what to do when it comes time to start turning families away.

“I think the important point here is that Massachusetts has done its job,” Healey said. “And so many have come together to make that possible. We need help from the federal government and help is monetary certainly.”

Healey expressed gratitude for the Biden administration’s proposed funding to aid the crisis but continued to call for White House action on “things that are within their control,” like faster work authorizations for migrants.

“The Biden administration did put what have what $1.4 billion in bail to help states like Massachusetts,” said state Senate President Karen Spilka. … “But getting something through Congress right now, you all know the situation in the House and until that is resolved, that money is not going anywhere.”

“I stress that this is a crisis but is only going to expand,” O’Malley wrote in a letter to pastors and the parishes of the Archdiocese. “I offer this invitation in the spirit of Pope Francis, who has asked us as Catholics to watch the peripheries of society where suffering is located.

“In our time migrants and refugees are among the most vulnerable individuals and families in the United States,” he continued. “It is my hope and desire that as a church we respond generously and effectively.”

The cardinal’s letter comes a week after Gov. Maura Healey announced that the state would run out of room to shelter migrant families by the end of the month.

As of mid-October, the Healey administration said the state was sheltering over 7,000 migrant families. By the end of the month, they’ve stated the number is expected to hit 7,500.

Massachusetts is the only right-to-shelter state, meaning the government is required to provide emergency shelter to families with children, and a recent influx of migrant families into the state led Healey to declare a state of emergency this fall.

“I made an effort last week to be really clear with the public about the state of play,” Healey said of the migrant crisis Monday. “The fact of the matter is, we have reached our limit with capacity and the physical infrastructure to house people.”

Over the last few months, O’Malley said, Catholic Charities, St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children and the Archdiocesan Planning Office for Urban Affairs have worked closely with the administration to increase capacity to for housing and support services.

Healey also thanked the many people who “stepped forward and worked in partnership to house and care for families” Monday. With state leadership, she restated calls for federal aid — though, speakers noted, the U.S. House dysfunction has effectively blocked that possibility — and action, including faster work authorizations for the migrants.

Asked what will happen when the first family is turned away, state leaders said they are still developing a plan.

O’Malley asked church leaders to “review this letter with your parish staff and prepare your parishioners to be ready and willing to assist” as the crisis reaches the upcoming breaking point.

The letter laid out steps for parishes including getting a St. Vincent de Paul bin for donations and inviting donations of winter gear like coats and boots and basic necessities like diapers and toothbrushes.

As shelters fill to capacity and New England winter sets in, O’Malley said, the appropriate response for the Archdiocese may be the biblical sense of “welcoming the stranger” for short-term critical care and shelter. Those able and willing to host families were directed to contact Fr. Bryan Hehir’s office.

Statewide, attendance rates averaged out to 92.5% for the 2022-23. The state saw a moderate improvement in chronic absenteeism — missing at least 10% of school days — from the pandemic peak, moving from 28% to 22% in 2022-23, but is still leagues off of pre-pandemic rates. Compared to 2019, chronic absenteeism is up 72%.

Students missed an average of 13 days of school in the 2022-23 year.

Here’s how a sample of major school districts fared in the 2022-23 school year:

More 2022-23 attendance data is available on: profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/attendance.aspx

“While (underperforming) designations have served us well in the past, in reviewing the data this year, it’s clear that we need a different approach, one based on collaboration and working together as opposed to merely labeling schools,” Riley said at a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting Tuesday morning. “One that is focused laser focus on school attendance.”

Though the attendance has begun to recover from the pandemic peak — from 28% absenteeism statewide to 22% this year — the schools across the state are still at “unprecedented” levels of absenteeism. From 2019 to 2023, according to DESE data, chronic absenteeism has grown 72%.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10% of days in a school year for any reason. It is connected to risks of lower literacy, academic achievement and graduation — several pediatricians also testified Tuesday to the pressing health risks of the issue.

Roughly over 1,300 schools, or three-quarters of Massachusetts schools, will fall into the new “attendance priority schools” designation, Riley said.

The former “underperforming” or “chronically underperforming schools” designations directed millions in state funds to schools in need of additional resources. The lack of that support and implementation of a new funding mechanism was a point of concern for board members.

Riley noted the $4 million in funding will go to help the districts better track chronic absenteeism, working with parents to address the issue, “acceleration” or “recovery academies” that have typically helped students catch up over vacation times, and other resources.

“When you go to say, I’m going to use this money for these different things — what voices from the community will you incorporate?” asked Board Chair Katherine Craven, questioning the specifics of the plan. … “How does this information become actionable? And actionable on the department’s part, because implementation is the key for everything in life, right?”

The commissioner called the prioritization “the most important thing we can do as an educational community if we want to improve outcomes for children” and noted the need to innovate solutions. Members said the issue will be discussed further at upcoming meetings.

Riley said despite the persistent issue, Massachusetts has had the fastest rate of attendance recovery among 11 states with 2022-23 chronic absenteeism data.

Absenteeism rates varied among districts in the 2022-23 year, from a few charter school districts with outlier attendance rates as low as 42.5% to rates as high 98.4%. In the latest school year, Boston had an 88.7% attendance rate, the 18th lowest in the state and fourth lowest among non-charter, in-person public school districts.

“Remember, this level of absenteeism is something we’ve never seen before,” Riley said. “We’ve always had chronic absenteeism, but the numbers are staggering across the country.”

“What’s important is that it was not disclosed, and it was not addressed,” Healey said, when asked for updates how the issues were not disclosed. … “Under the prior administration senior management at the T, for whatever poor judgment, made the decision not to disclose identified failures and then made the poor decision not to address those failures prior to the opening of the Green Line extension.”

MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng announced last week that large sections of the GLX tracks were built too narrow — and officials within the MBTA knew about the problems throughout the process.

Narrow tracks throughout half of the Union Square branch and 80% of the Medford-Tufts branch of the Green Line will require repairs but are currently safe for riders, Eng said previously. The GM noted repairs will be paid for by the contractors and not taxpayer-funded.

The project was completed and opened under the Baker administration before Healey took office and Eng was appointed.

In remarks Monday, Healey again praised Eng for quickly bringing the issues to her administration’s attention as he uncovered them.

“We’ve been transparent with the public about not only the disclosures and the failure to disclose, but also the fixes,” Healey said. “And I’m confident that General Manager Eng, as he has at every turn so far in his tenure, will make sure those issues are addressed and remedied.”

Repair work is already “underway,” she added.

Asked if her administration anticipates finding any other issues previously covered up, Healey said it is “hard to speak to what you know you don’t know about.”

The governor noted though, that the administration has already taken steps like creating a new Chief Safety Officer position and increased staffing by around 1,000 employees — tackling neglected repairs, general maintenance and basic operations.

“I will say this, that every effort has been made to make sure that with this administration we have a team in place that understands its responsibility and takes that responsibility seriously,” Healey said.

“We know there’s been concern and confusion about what is legal and allowable,” Healey said at an announcement at UMass Boston on Monday morning. “Now, these guidelines make clear every campuses’ continued rights and continued opportunities to expand access and advance equity and inclusion on every campus. Because we want you to know, don’t stop doing what you’re doing.”

The guidelines outline what K-12 schools and colleges and universities can legally do to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, building off similar direction released by the Biden administration in September.

The Supreme Court released a decision against Harvard and UNC in June banning the use of specific consideration of race in college admissions.

The legal steps outlined in the new state guidance for colleges and universities include considering life experiences and adversity in college admissions, auditing current admissions processes — like legacy admissions preferences — for barriers, and supporting students from specific middle and high schools, especially those that may have historically low college-going rates.

For K-12 institutions, the guidance states, schools may continue to take steps to support students with college preparedness, including “targeted actions” to increase awareness and access among underserved communities.

“The governor and I both want to be crystal clear and send a signal to our education community and all of you that certain efforts to break down barriers to access and create a safe and supportive school environment are vital, are legal, and can and should continue,” Campbell said.

— Developing

“I am haunted by the same questions and thoughts every day: Are you still alive?” said a young female Palestinian speaker at the rally, talking about her fears for her family in Gaza. “Do you have food? Do you have water? Where are you sleeping today? Will you be alive tomorrow?”

As the death toll sky-rockets two weeks into the brutal Israel-Hamas war, the demonstration in Boston on Sunday mirrored many similar large-scale pro-Palestine rallies around the world, including a crowd estimated at 100,000 in London on Saturday.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, over 4,300 Palestinians have been killed in the region since the war began. Over 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli government.

People at the rally broadly called for an immediate ceasefire from Israel, an end to the blockades keeping aid from entering Gaza — as of Sunday 20 humanitarian aid trucks were let through the border — an end to U.S. support and aid for Israel, and a free Palestine.

Many progressive and cultural groups gathered at the Boston rally, including representatives of labor, queer, Muslim, Native American, Democratic Socialists of America, and other organizations.

Many Jewish groups and individuals also prominently showed their support at the rally, waving signs with messages like “Not in our name.”

“As Jews, we have experienced genocide,” said Eli Gerzon, member of the anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace. “We have been forced to flee our homes. Therefore, we are against genocide. We cannot use our grief to impose more grief on others.”

Many at the rally expressed anger with American and world leaders and Western media coverage of the war, chanting “Biden, you can’t hide, We charge you with genocide” and “Every time the media lie, a neighborhood in Gaza dies.”

“Thinking of President Biden’s visit after the strike on al-Ahli Hospital in which he embraced Netanyahu,” said Jean-Luc Pierite, President of the North American Indian Center of Boston Board. “Where are the open arms for the mothers that grieve? Where are the open arms for the dying children, the dead babies? Where are the open arms of the United States in this moment? Wrapped around a war criminal.”

Organizers urgently called for people in the crowd to continue to share Palestinian voices and stories and take part in protests, asking “what is the most we are willing to do to stop a totalizing genocide?”

Both topics have been controversial touchpoints for parents, teachers and students over the last several months.

Exam school admissions headlined the last school committee meeting, with Committee Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez and many parents pushing frustrations with the policy and lack of action.

The complicated system aims to more equitably distribute seats by dividing students into geographic socioeconomic tiers and awarding extra points to students in certain circumstances

Many have argued the changes do not actually equitably distribute seats, unfairly advantage certain students and make it nigh impossible for certain sets of students to get into the schools.

“I have so many friends and teammates from my street in my neighborhood who got into exam schools with scores much lower than mine because they attended a bonus-point school,” said Eliot School seventh grader Grace Nothnagel, referring to the 10-point advantage awarded to students at a school with over 40% economically disadvantaged students.

It’s a sentiment echoed by other students, many from the same school, who said they felt like “an unattended consequence” of the policy.

“Why are they allowed to attend an exam schools but I’m not? What could I have done differently? This policy gave me zero chance,” she said.

Superintendent Mary Skipper noted in her report Wednesday that her team is “gathering the information” on the timeline and rationale behind the exam school admissions changes and expects it to be ready before the next committee meeting in two weeks.

Students also rallied around many critiques of the O’Bryant School move, emphasizing the concern that moving the district’s most diverse exam school from Roxbury to the less central, less diverse West Roxbury location has high community and transportation costs.

District leadership announced the proposal to move the O’Bryant to the vacant West Roxbury Education Complex in June.

“We wish our parents could be here tonight to get their testimony,” said O’Bryant senior Jamie Martin, noting that many of their parents work long hours or are not fluent in English. “And we are here instead because this is our school, and we wanted to stay in Roxbury. The opportunity that the school offers is so special because the area we live in.”

Martin noted that she hopes her younger siblings can have the same opportunities she’s had at the school in Roxbury because it’s a school “where we can all belong.”

Later on, BPS officials presented the district’s new Inclusive Education Plan, based on recommendations from the district’s extended studies into disparities for students with disabilities, multilingual learners and those in historically underserved groups.

Skipper called the plan “complex” and “urgent” and said it “serves as a roadmap for the district to deliver on the promise of providing an excellent, inclusive and equitable education in the least-restrictive environment for students with disabilities, especially our black and brown students, and our multilingual learners with disability.”

The plan makes four broad shifts, BPS staff outlined: increasing access to grade-level learning; ensuring the inclusive delivery of interventions, supports and services; engaging in team-based planning and collaboration; and resetting district infrastructure with systems of support and accountability.

The issues are “more than 100 years rooted in systemic racial disparities,” she continued, and the district must recognize things like culture and experience as assets and create a system to educate students based on “their individual needs and diversity.”

Staff pointed to data points marking stark disparities in BPS’s inclusive education. Black male students are 3.13 times more likely to be identified as having an emotional impairment, speakers said, and multilingual learners are 2.5 times more likely to be identified as having a communications disability.

The plan will be implemented across the district over the next five school years.

“Low inventory, record high prices, and rising interest rates have made it progressively more difficult for buyers to purchase homes – regardless of where they’re looking,” said Cassidy Norton, Warren Group Associate Publisher and Media Relations Director.

The number of single-family homes sold in the state in September was only 3,608, the Warren Group report detailed, an over 25% drop compared to last September. The total number of single-family homes sold so far reached 30,665, trailing the same nine-month period in 2022 by over 10,000.

This comes as housing inventory in the state remains remarkably low, and mortgage rates have surged to a 23-year high, according to data from Freddie Mac released in September.

At the same time the report said the median single-family home price remained at a high $565,000, a 2.7% rise from 2022.

This comes after Massachusetts housing prices hit record highs for the months of July and August, clearing $600,000 median single-family home prices both months, according to Warren Group data.

The single-family home sales decline in the Greater Boston region alone outpaced the state, falling over 30% compared to September 2022 to 1,616.

The price surge for the region also overshot the state, rising 3.3% to an over $705,000 median single-family home sale price.

Data from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, also released Monday, showed similar trends. The group recorded an even higher rise in single-family home prices, a spike of 5.3% over the September 2022 to hit $600,000.

New listings declined again, MAR stated, falling 13.1% for single-family homes in the state.

Despite the trends, 2023 president of MAR and realtor David McCarthy argued, it’s still a “good time for buyers and sellers alike to be active.”

“In several areas across the state, we’re seeing an increase in home inspections and subsequent renegotiations, indicating buyers are bringing more negotiating power to the table,” McCarthy said.

“We feel very blessed that we that we were able to get out and get out,” said Fr. Robert Murray, the church pastor who led the group. “We’re very mindful the fact that we left behind people who are in the middle of a war or destruction and death suffering.”

On Oct. 7 — the day Hamas terrorists launched attacks on hundreds of Israeli civilians — 32 members of the church began a “spiritual pilgrimage” in Jerusalem.

That day, parishioners said, they heard bombs and sirens but were told not to worry, “‘This is what goes on.'”

“But we could hear and see it right away,” said Murray. “And so the next day was Sunday, and that’s when it really became quite evident that it wasn’t stopping. And then it was getting worse.”

By Monday, the group was told they needed to leave Bethlehem.

“Bethlehem being in Palestine, we were going to find out was not the safest place to be,” said parishioner Bill Card, describing having only half an hour to pack and leave for Nazareth. … “That was unnerving, to say the least. But we made it through it together.”

There was an extreme sense of urgency, Card said, and fear the border would close.

“We were probably in line for over an hour and a half trying to cross the Israeli checkpoint, but we’re able to get out safely,” Card said. “And we felt much safer in Nazareth. I guess until we weren’t.”

The group spent days in Nazareth, tense and waiting three hours away north of the immediate violence, before leaving from Jordan, Turkey and finally finding a flight home.

Though they were afraid, members said, they continued to “walk in faith” and “trust in God.”

While they were away, the congregation gathered in support and figures like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Seth Moulton came out to support the families. Social media and communicating with families throughout the process was incredibly important, the group members said.

“I think the most important thing for us is that we’re mindful the fact that we went on a spiritual pilgrimage, a place to find more about our Savior and encountered some of the violence that exists in the Middle East,” said Murray. “It was awful to see, and we want for both Palestinians and the Israelites will find a way to come together in some way, to have some peace.”

His remarks follow a weekend that saw two more fatal shootings in the city.

The repeat firearm offenders, Boston-residents Daniel Larkins, 40, and Jamison Gatson, 27, were arrested after separate traffic stops last weeks allegedly revealed illegal weapons in the vehicles.

The arrests were made just days before two more men lost their lives to gun violence in Dorchester and Mattapan on Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning.

“These cases also highlight the need for us as a society to recognize the concentration of guns among a core group of individuals—in this case, two repeat offenders—and to find ways to break the cycle, which so often leads to violence and tragedy, as we just witnessed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning,” Hayden said, referring to the gun arrests.

Both shooting victims — one 30-year-old man and one man believed to be in his 20s — were pronounced dead on scene, BPD said in a release. No arrests have been made in either case, and both are under active investigation.

The shootings occurred in a residential area of Dorchester at 46 Corona St. on Friday around 2 p.m. and at 1194 Blue Hill Ave. in Mattapan after midnight Saturday, according to police.

Hayden said the earlier gun-related arrests were “cases where prior convictions and prior incarcerations have apparently done little to dissuade these individuals from repeating the offenses.”

Around 1 a.m. last Sunday, the DA release said, police allegedly spotted Larkins in a white BMW running through a stop line at a high rate of speed.

During the traffic stop, police stated they found Larkins’ license had been suspended since May. They also found a Jimenez Arms pistol with five rounds under the driver’s seat and a large quantity of fireworks in the trunk, the release said.

Larkins, who’s served two sentences for firearms convictions, was arraigned at Dorchester BMC on charges of unlicensed operation of a vehicle and four gun-related charges. He was ordered held without bail.

Gatson was likewise arrested Thursday just after midnight after police stated they observed the driver, with one passenger, run a stop sign at a high rate of speed on Harvard Street.

During the traffic stop, Gatson allegedly was unable to provide a driver’s license, and officers stated they saw a small bag of white substance in the passengers hand and a bulge in Gatson’s sweatshirt.

Gatson allegedly refused to get out of the vehicle and unsuccessfully attempted to drive away, the release said. After a struggle in which police jumped into the vehicle to gain control, the cops stated they found a .45 Caliber Glock 30 and 14 rounds in Gatson’s sweatshirt pocket.

The suspect was charged in Dorchester Court with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, possession of a stun gun, and possession to distribute a class A substance and eight firearm-related charges. He will be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Oct. 20.

“The combination of illegal guns and people more than willing to pull the trigger endanger our
neighborhoods, threaten our first responders, impact or end lives too early and leave grief and
suffering among the victims and survivors,” Hyden said Sunday adding the solution “has to involve more than police, prosecutors and prisons.”

Anyone with information on either shooting homicide is “strongly urged” to contact the unit at 617-343-4470, BPD said.

People may also offer information anonymously through the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word “”TIP” to CRIME (27463).

The city’s Neighborhood Trauma Team is available to anyone in need of emotional support or looking for someone to talk to in the wake of events like these. The team provides free, private support 24/7 at 617-431-0125.

“We have to make sure no one will forget what’s happening now,” said Israeli MIT senior Dana Rubin. “We should scream it, ‘I stand with Israel.'”

At the rally, held by pro-Israel student groups and organizers at the MIT student center, many students and staff with ties to the country told stories of the deaths and experiences of those they knew and loved in Israel.

Rubin remembered a friend, Liam, she served with who started an organization connecting community, arts and sports and was killed with hundreds at the Nova music festival massacre. Physics Professor Or Hen spoke of a family friend who was murdered in her home with her husband and three young kids, ending lives “full of love, full of promise.”

Postdoc associate Shai Zilberzwige, who returned from Israel two weeks ago, remembered waiting up and watching Whatsapp groups, too afraid to ask what was happening as her Israeli friends and relatives hid and said goodbyes.

“Almost every Israeli has a connection to someone who was killed or injured or kidnapped,” said Zilberzwige. “The very fabric of our society has been torn apart.”

Students, especially those from Israel, spoke to the power of feeling support and community. In the midst of the terror, one student said, being an Israeli in the U.S. has felt “very lonely.”

“I didn’t even know I needed support,” Israeli MIT junior Yuval Mamana said quietly, visibly restraining tears. “I think this was the reason for this, to give us support, and for us to give support for the people there who are still in pain, who are still suffering, who are still in danger. I’m afraid for my loved ones, and I’m worried about them. This is why we’re here today.”

But many also spoke to the need to push back against messages from Palestinian supporters, citing pro-Palestine demonstrations at Cambridge City Hall and statements from student groups like the MIT Coalition Against Apartheid. Many expressed anger at seeing messages like “Free Palestine” around campus.

Some noted the MIT administration has been too protective of free speech or has not been supportive enough of their community.

“I think the letter we saw from MIT was very disappointing,” Rubin said. “An institution like MIT should be brave and say out loud they stand with the right side of humanity after seeing all these horrible videos and actions of terror. … As Biden said, MIT should have said too, ‘We stand with Israel,’ and not whitewash it.”

In an address Tuesday, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said that “brutality perpetrated on innocent civilians in Israel by terrorists from Hamas is horrifying” and “can never be justified.”

The president added she’s heard from Jewish and Palestinian students who feel unsafe and fear being targeted and called any antisemitism and anti-Arab or -Muslim hatred “poisonous to our community.”

“MIT has a moral obligation to resist evil, to call it out when it is blatant,” said student Eitan Moore. “When our sisters are being raped, our babies mutilated, burnt, entire families being wiped out. We must call out this evil.”

“One was still on his kayak, but it was taking on water, was maybe half full with water,” Officer Stefani McGrath said, standing on a gusty BPD dock in Southie late Tuesday afternoon. “And the other kayaker, who had fallen in the water, he was clinging to the stanchion of the bridge and his kayak had capsized.”

A Boston Police Harbor Patrol Unit, including McGrath and Officer Jose Aruajo, was escorting a ship out of Boston Harbor came in.

The kayakers, a 34-year-old man from Pennsylvania and 22-year-old man from New York, headed out around 4 p.m., police said.

Far into the harbor after sunset, the wake of a larger boat crashed into the pair, sending one into the cold depths.

By the time the rescuers headed out, officers recounted, the swimmer was cramping in the cold water.

“It was kind of scary because at 6:40 you really can’t see,” said Aruajo. “They had no lights. Usually kayakers they don’t go out after sunset. And usually when you are you’re supposed to have lights so people to see where you are.”

The boat took the search slow using a spotlight, careful to avoid running over anyone in the water. Eventually, they heard the shouts.

Both men were brought on to the boat and evaluated by EMT Paul Ciampi onboard. Critically, Ciampi said, both were wearing life jackets, keeping some of their core heat.

“But they were both cold,” Ciampi said. “When I took their temperature, one of them was 94 degrees. And that’s the early onset of hypothermia.”

The harbor’s around 65 degrees now, he said, and people in that situation can be at life-threatening risk within 35 to 45 minutes.

“They just kept saying thank you,” McGrath remembered. “They were apologizing for being out there. And they were just so happy to finally get back to shore.”

There are no rules telling against kayaking in the area, the officers said, but it’s not a preferred area, especially at night.

“At night, you shouldn’t be in a kayak, period, after sunset,” said Ciampi. “There’s no visibility. People can’t see you.”

“We have family who are hiding in shelters,” said Rabbi Marcia Plumb, standing in a Israeli flag among the sea of blue and white across the sunny Boston Common. “We have friends and family who are now fighting terrorists. We know people who’ve been kidnapped. So it’s personal. It is personal.”

The rally, “Gathering in Solidarity With Israel Under Fire,” led by various Jewish organizations in the region gathered at the Parkman Bandstand in the Boston Common at noon Monday.

The gathering, featuring speeches from Jewish community and elected leaders, aimed to demonstrate “solidarity with Israel and against terrorism, after the Hamas terrorist massacre in Israel Saturday, in which at least 600 Israelis were murdered and more than 2,000 wounded.”

“On Saturday morning, I woke up to a terrifying new reality,” recounted Israel-native Sapir Reznik, the Jewish Agency Israel fellow at Harvard Hillel. “Family members, friends, all of Israel under attack.”

Reznik emphasized the number of people already killed, wounded and kidnapped — according to AP Monday, over 1,100 killed in Israel and Gaza, thousands wounded and 150 civilians kidnapped to Gaza.

Her friend’s father was taken, she said, and a second friend’s little brother is missing.

“I pray for the safe return of all my friends and everyone called to the reserves, members of my family helping to defend my country and our people,” said Reznik, holding back tears. “Like every Jewish community, we are grieving today for those lost.”

Several people remembered how Israeli’s help aid victims after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, emphasizing the strong bond between the communities.

“It was powerful to remember that Israel was here during the bombing,” said Plumb. “That Israel gave training, that they showed up, and it’s powerful to realize Massachusetts is showing up as well for Israel.”

Speakers asked anyone in the crowd to raise their hands if they had loved ones embroiled in the war, lifting a sea of hands across the crowd.

“We don’t measure our connection to Israel by the geographic distance, 5,500 miles; Boston has always measured our connection with Israel deep in our hearts,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. … “The scale of what has happened over the last several days echoes with the horror and heartbreak of history. But in Boston, it is personal these are our family members. We mark each and every one of these innocent civilians with our own heartbreak.”

“(Hamas) are violent extremists. They gain support in a crisis. That is why the United States and the international community must keep pushing for diplomacy and the ending of civilian casualties on all sides. There must be a de-escalation of the current violence,” Markey said in a speech, cut off by a wave of loud boos from the tense crowd at the word “de-escalation.”

Many public officials, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, spoke at the “Gathering in Solidarity with Israel Under Fire” rally in Boston Common early Monday afternoon.

U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss pushed back on the de-escalation comments in his own remarks at the rally in a speech after Markey.

“Now is not the time for equivocation,” Auchincloss said. “Hamas is an internationally recognized terrorist organization that is executing and raping civilians. … De-escalation is not possible when they are taking hostages. Israel did not tell the United States to de-escalate on September 12, 2001.”

The rally featured a number of heated moments, including a mixed reaction to Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg’s message of support for a two-state solution and criticism of Harvard student organizations’ statement calling the Israeli regime “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

“We do not want to see crimson in this city become blood on –” New England ADL Director and Rabbi Jonah Steinberg said of the Harvard students’ letter, tensely pausing to restate the sentence. “We do not want to see crimson become blood on the hands of those student groups who have signed on to such a despicable letter.”

The letter was signed by 35 student groups over the weekend, noting the Hamas attack “did not occur in a vacuum,” and quickly became a talking point for political figures.

Goldberg criticized the letter and those she said have publicly stated, “‘What do you expect after 75 years of occupation and apartheid?'” But the treasurer went out on a limb in the reactive crowd acknowledging two sides of the story.

“My family and I have always stood for a two-state solution,” Goldberg said to mixed shouts. “The Middle East — I’m sorry, but the only way, and don’t boo me. My husband was born in Ramat Gan. His family was killed in the Holocaust. I was conceived in Jerusalem. I am a Zionist.”

Goldberg went on describing the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and calling for an end.

“These Israelis for years have tried and prayed for a solution,” Goldberg continued. “And when you boo me about a two state solution, you are booing my Israeli friends. The people who work there, who have families, who bring up children. They all want to live in peace.”

“Before launching any official campaign, there are conversations that would need to happen with my family and in other spaces,” Wu said after a North End event Sunday afternoon, “but certainly we’re working on a lot of needed changes for the city that will take some time, and if given the chance, I hope to be able to continue having an impact.”

Asked to characterize her odds of running for a second term on CBS’s Keller at Large segment Sunday morning, Wu answered “very, very high.”

The former city councilor was elected to the corner office in 2021 — passing the two year anniversary of her election next month — and would run again on the 2025 ballot.

The mayor responded to rumors she was looking into resigning to take another job at Harvard last month, stating there was “no chance” she would leave the position for any other job. She echoed the statement on CBS, adding there is “no other place in the world I would rather be than in this very position.”

“I love my job,” Wu said at the Paul Revere Mall on Sunday. “It is the best job in the whole world, and I’m grateful every day to be able to work alongside dedicated public servants.”

Wu ran on a large number of progressive issues in 2021, taking early action on plans like a “Green New Deal” for the city and Boston Public Schools and affordable housing developments.

The mayor recently contended with some in the more progressive faction of the City Council with her support of the for funding the BRIC police intelligence program and a proposed tent ban ordinance to address issued in the Mass and Cass area.

Wu also dove into the latest cycle of city council campaigns, endorsing candidates including her former Director of the Office of Civic Organizing Henry Santana for an at-large council seat, another former employee Enrique Pepén for the District 5 seat over incumbent Ricardo Arroyo, and labor attorney Benjamin Weber for the District 6 seat.

“You know how hard it is, not to be angry at you for willing to continue with this policy as it is?” said BPS parent Mano Katsompenakis. “This is my daughter you’re talking about. First you call her an unintended consequence — she’s a human. And now this proves that all her hard work was for nothing.”

BPS adopted a new exam school admissions policy in the last year, intending to increase diversity and opportunity in the schools.

On top of a student’s testing score and GPA points, the new system awards 10 additional points to students who attend a school enrolling 40% or more economically disadvantaged students and 15 points to students who are in state care, in affordable housing or homeless. Students are broken into eight socioeconomic tiers based on the demographics of where they live, and each tier is allocated the same number of seats.

BPS data on exam school admissions for the 2023-24 school year showed progress in expanding the schools’ geographic, racial and economic diversity — though, Skipper noted, little to no change in students with disabilities and multilingual learners — but some stark barriers for certain groups.

For instance, committee member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez noted, the cut-off for Boston Latin School was a score of 100.2% for Tier Seven students, meaning regardless of their individual background, no students without bonus points from the tier were admitted.

“I feel for the families, poor families and families of color, who are at these seven schools which didn’t make the threshold,” said Cardet Hernandez. “And I also feel really, for lack of a better word, icky about a policy that privileges wealthy families for going to school with poor kids.”

The committee member, who called for a discussion on the topic, noted the committee has delayed discussing these issues for five months.

Several parents also noted the hopelessness of the “bureaucratic inertia.”

Parents expressed a number of frustrations with the system, from how few upper-tier students had a shot at getting into the schools, to how the system ignored the backgrounds of individual students, to the “crudely drawn” tier maps.

“We live in Tier Seven, but literally across the street from us is Tier Four,” said BPS parent David Barstow. “So if we lived in 246 instead of 245, my daughter would have sailed into BLS no problem.”

Like others, the father called for seats to be allocated to each tier proportionally to the number of applicants in each tier.

Others called for changes like lowering the number of point from 10 to two or three or finding a way to allocate points based on the students socio-economic status rather than the families.

District speakers indicated there is no clear way to measure a student’s economic background, and committee members O’Neill and Tran noted they would oppose a system that relied on self-reporting family income.

Superintendent Mary Skipper discussed the challenges with changing the system at length, noting that the policy was based on months of work and dozens of public meetings and calls for a review only after five years.

“We don’t know the full impact yet, because we don’t have multiple years of data to tell the whole story,” Skipper said. “The one year of complete data we do have is revealing impacts that this committee, the public and my own team have raised is concerns about, that we need to understand further.”

Many argued that the issues call for immediate action.

“If we know that there are concerns in the data, then we should be talking about policy recommendations here,” said Cardet-Hernandez. “And my fear, my suspicion is that will not happen. We will not be having policy conversations here. We’ll just wait for a recommendation from someone to tell us what to do. We’ll vote yes. And we’ll wait another year, or we’ll wait five.”

BPS will hold two virtual information sessions on the 2024-25 exam school admissions processes at 6 p.m. on Oct. 12 and Nov. 2 with links available on www.bostonpublicschools.org/exam.

“I think the story we’re going to share tonight, while there are some wins — and I appreciate the superintendent for naming some — it also tells a very uncomfortable story about the work we have ahead,” said BPS Chief of Schools and Accountability Drew Echelson, pointing to the need to “accelerate progress.”

The state released 2023 MCAS and accountability data in September, with leaders announcing statewide “recovery is fully underway.” In terms of MCAS scores, BPS broadly lagged behind the statewide gains, but the district jumped on accountability targets, metrics like chronic absenteeism and English proficiency.

Echelson pointed to four “key takeaways” from the data Wednesday: BPS is making substantial — 51% compared to a statewide 36% — progress towards recovery targets, but the number of schools requiring assistance or intervention spiked to 44; math scores are rebounding, and literacy scores are stabilizing from the pandemic; there’s a strong relationship between chronic absenteeism and student performance; and younger grades made strong progress in English language learning, but older students and students at low levels did not.

The presentation noted a consistent underperformance for two groups in particular, seventh graders and English language learners with disabilities.

Among other achievements, Superintendent Mary Skipper highlighted the reduction in chronic absenteeism across all grade levels, noting the district team’s hard work to buck the rising national trend.

Leadership spoke about the importance of responding to trends in the data, using steps like creating a MCAS dashboard with broken down results available to schools and teachers.

“This data provides the district with information that will guide us as we continue to support students in making up the lost time during the pandemic,” said Skipper. “We continue to stabilize, and as we stabilize and recover, I expect to see more rapid improvement.”

“The findings of our Maternal and Child Health of Boston Report are a call to action for our city,” said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health and Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “These stark racial inequities in infant mortality and other birth outcomes cannot continue to exist.”

The study was conducted by the commission based on data from 2017 to 2021, reporting on rates of infant mortality, preterm births, low birthweight and birth counts by demographics like race and neighborhood.

The report found stark health disparities for Black infants.

Based on 2021, Black infants’ mortality rate reached 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births — over doubling the citywide average, 4.6 deaths, and over tripling the rate for white infants, 3.2 deaths.

The percent of low birthweight births — defined as less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces — among Black infants, 13.4%, was more than twice the percentage for white infants, 6.2%, in 2021.  Citywide the percent reached 8.4%.

The 2021 rate of preterm births for Black infants, 13.8%, also nearly doubled the rate for white infants, 7.1%.

“This growing body of evidence has really shed light on the role of racism on the findings that we’ve seen and that everybody has been talking about,” Ojikutu said during a embargoed briefing Wednesday.

“The way this is thought to work is that chronic stress caused by exposure to adverse circumstances and adverse environments promoted by racism throughout the span of a Black woman’s life contributes significantly to biologic changes that may affect a woman’s health and predict the health of her infants,” she continued.

The racial disparities remain significant evening for factors like income and geography, Ojikutu noted, calling for direct interventions to the true root factors.

The disparities reflect findings on maternal health in a Massachusetts Department of Public Health study released in July, which found Black women die during pregnancy or within one year postpartum at a rate 1.9 times higher than white women.

One surprising finding, Ojikutu said, was that Hyde Park had the highest rate of infant mortality of any Boston neighborhood, 7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. Nearby, Roslindale had the lowest, 2.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.

“If you look at the demographic data, about 50% of High Park is self-identified as Black,” Ojikutu said, noting its more middle income and educated status. … “So if you compare that to other areas of the city, it certainly doesn’t have the lowest level of these indicators that might be predicting some of what we’re seeing. So we have to dig into this further.”

Mattapan and Dorchester, respectively, had the highest percent of low birthweight births and preterm births.

The commissioner noted that the city is expanding initiatives to address this crisis, highlighting the Boston Healthy Start initiative, Healthy Baby Healthy Child program and Boston Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Project, a developing project funded by a recent $4.7 million HHS grant aimed at increasing access to doula care.

Mayor Michelle Wu called the report findings “alarming.”

“As the nation’s healthcare hub, Boston has a responsibility to lead by tackling the social determinants of health that unjustly harm our residents and disproportionately impact BIPOC communities,” Wu said.

“We all saw, and we were all a little bit in horror, like, ‘No, stop!'” Lisa Scherber, director of Patient and Family Services at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, remembered Monday. “But while we’re staring, Tim jumped up and literally ran up the stairs, put Robbie on his back and carried him down. That’s who he was.

“He carried all of our kids on his back,” Scherber continued. “He carried all of us on his back.”

The legendary Red Sox knuckleballer died at the age of 57 Sunday after a private struggle with brain cancer. As a broadcaster, father and much more, his legacy extends well beyond the baseball field.

One piece of that legacy was shaped through decades working with the Boston-based Jimmy Fund, an organization that raises money for cancer research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Institute.

Even in his last day, Scherber said, Wakefield was planning on walking the last mile and a half of the annual Jimmy Fund Walk to Fenway Park.

“That was when he was going to take this fight, and he was going to make it public on his own terms,” Scherber said, referring to a teammate’s unauthorized outing of his battle days ago. “He felt very, very safe here. He felt at home here, because of his over 20 years being a part of the Jimmy Fund. I think being a patient was just another chapter for him, that he was ready to tackle.”

Wakefield began working with the fund during his first year with the Red Sox in 1995, Scherber said. At their first teen event with the team that year, she noted, he was the first player out.

“He opened up his heart to these teens,” the director said. “And when they saw Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballer, coming out to see them, it was just — it was beautiful. Because we can do everything for these kids, but we can’t do that.”

Wakefield served as the Red Sox’s first Jimmy Fund captain. But even without the title, Scherber said, he continued to be a captain for the fund every year.

He shaped the role, she said, showing Red Sox players and other athletes how to really get involved in the mission.

“It’s not easy, meeting 50 teenagers with cancer,” said Scherber. “And he always made it easy. He made it — they just saw Tim, you know, they didn’t see the Red Sox player.”

He brought “so much joy and so much magic” to the institute, Scherber said, and left an “immeasurable” impact.

“We’re gonna be better because of him,” Scherber said. “And we’re grateful. We’re so grateful that he was part of our team and he was our friend.”

“These are families,” Spilka said on NBC’s @Issue. “These are mothers with children. I mean, over half of the migrants are children. And we need to help, but Massachusetts needs help.”

Over the last few months, Massachusetts has seen a rise in the number of migrants arriving to the state and living in emergency shelters. Over 6,500 families — including homeless families and migrants — are living in emergency shelters in the state, as of late September.

The Healey administration has taken steps including proposing $250 million more for emergency shelters and expanding legal services for migrants living in shelters.

But, Spilka said when asked in there’s a limit on what the state can do, federal aid would “certainly help.”

The senate president echoed a call for more federal resources and money to mitigate the crisis, “way overdue” immigration reform, and reform to the Federal Work Permit System to allow migrants to work.

Asked if she would consider repealing the state’s “right to shelter” law — which some lawmakers argue draw migrants to the state — she said the law is “not the factor.”

“I am not certain if that’s what is pulling migrants coming, because other states that don’t have that are experiencing the exact same influx of migrants,” said Spilka.  “The factor, I think, more is what’s happening globally. And people coming to the United States and ending up in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and many other states across across our country.”

The Legislature will continue pushing the congressional delegation and working with the Healey administration on the issue, she added.

BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper also spoke to the implication of the migrant crisis on local school on the NBC segment Sunday.

The district, Skipper said, has enrolled 1,300 newly arrived immigrants since July 1. Many are older students arriving unaccompanied, she added.

“For me as a superintendent, this is a critical issue because it’s not only about making sure that our recently arrived immigrants are getting access to language instruction and development, but it’s also the wraparound that our families are needing that are coming,” Skipper said, citing homelessness and food security assistance.

Making sure these and other students are “really cared for in our district and provided a top notch education” will be a big consideration over the next several years, Skipper said.

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“I’ve lived here for over 20 years, and it is really a beautiful community,” said community member Jackie Diaz, as a troupe of dancing girls in gold came down Belgrade Avenue.

The annual Thomas M. Donahue Roslindale Day Parade — named for the former president of the parade committee and community champion who died in 2021 — kicked off at 1 p.m. Sunday on South Street and looped up through the Roslindale Village area to end at Robert Street.

The nearly 50-year-old parade featured a number of local business, organizations, groups and figures, including Roslindale-resident Mayor Michelle Wu leading the line, Miss Roslindale Britt High, marching bands, dancers, city council candidates, and more.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better day for this,” said local Dave Lowey, remarking on the warm, sunny fall day. “Seems like people really came out this year.”

People pulled out chairs and sat along the curbs and walls throughout the route, dancing along to wide-ranging music and clapping for the performers.

“I love it,” said 9-year-old Sadie, holding a TCB pumpkin bag of candy. “We should do this more.”

The lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of two students against BPS, former Mission Hill Principal Ayla Gavins and two other former educators at the school in May 2022.

It alleges the defendants were liable under Title IX, Americans with Disabilities Act and constitutional requirements for many outlined incidents of bullying, sexual abuse and other misconduct targeting the children.

The progressive pilot school in Jamaica Plain was shuttered in 2022 after reports of rampant mismanaged bullying, sexual misconduct, neglected disability requirements and other failures, evidenced by a commissioned investigation by the Hinkley Allen law firm.

This most recent lawsuit follows a similar lawsuit filed by five families in 2021 before the school was closed, which the district settled for $650,000.

The district’s motion to dismiss, filed in February, largely shifted blame on the school administration and pushed back on the claims of district liability.

Judge Allison Burroughs granted one piece of the city’s motion, allowing the city’s argument that the Constitution does not provide individuals with a right to public education. The order indicates some room for argument on the right to public education but notes the plaintiffs did not address the point in their response and so “waived any objection.”

Burroughs denied all other points in the motion to dismiss.

The judge notes the plaintiff’s case of whether the city “violated the Constitution by depriving (the student plaintiffs) of their liberty interest in bodily integrity” is a “close question.” To do so, the judge noted, plaintiffs will have to prove standards showing district staff did not just fail to protect students, but actively enhanced the danger.

A constitutional violation must also “shock the conscience,” Burroughs states, a standard which the alleged “physical assault and harassment” — incidents including a kid being stabbed in the face with a pencil and another having her pants pulled down and being called gendered slurs — meet.

The judge also allowed Title IX claims that staff did not meet legal requirements to respond to sex-based harassment and ADA and Rehab claims, which the city challenged on the basis that the parents did not “exhaust their administrative remedies.”

The case will move forward in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“When it comes to something like MCAS, I think what’s important here is that we have a test that actually works,” Healey said on WGBH’s “Ask the Governor” segment Tuesday. “It’s there as an assessment tool. So I think it’s time, and I’ve charged my department with evaluating what it is we’re testing; are there changes that need to be made.”

The governor’s comments come amid a legislative and high-profile ballot question push to overturn the MCAS graduation requirement spearheaded by the Massachusetts teachers’ union and advocates. If the MCAS ballot question gains enough signatures by mid-November, the opportunity to overturn the testing requirement will go to voters in November 2024.

Healey did note that the ballot question “goes actually to the role of municipalities and their power and authority” on the MCAS graduation requirement.

Pushed on the issue of the graduation requirement, Healey did not indicate a stance and pivoted back to potential changes to the test and providing additional educational supports for students.

“I think when it comes to the graduation requirements, again, that’s something that we’re looking at because, for me, the focus really is on, ‘What are we doing and why is it that children aren’t able to satisfy a graduation requirement?'” Healey said.

The administration recently made changes accounting for the needs of English language learners and other students, Healey said, and intends to look at more updates.

The governor also cited the recent release of 2023 MCAS scores, showing significant improvement from pandemic-era scores.

“It shows us making progress,” said Healey. “But we need to do more.”

“When we think about our schools today, we know that they’re still segregated,” said former Mayor Kim Janey, who moderated Tuesday’s event and was bused as a BPS student. “And we know that the quality that parents were fighting for 50 years ago, they’re still chasing that today.”

The first forum in a series of five marking the anniversary, titled “Organizing for Education Equity, 1960-1974, Led by the Black Community; Before Busing,” was held Tuesday evening at Roxbury Community College.

The anniversary series was announced on Sept. 7 by the 40-member Desegregation and Busing Initiative Committee, along with a plan to develop BPS curriculum about the period.

The event featured a panel of people involved in education desegregation in Boston including activists and organizers: local social justice and civil rights icon Hubie Jones; Jean McGuire, the first Black woman on the Boston School Committee and former director of METCO; state advocate Charles Glenn, who coordinated a Freedom School on Stay Out/Boycott Day in 1963; and Lyda Peters, long-time educational equity organizer and aide to Ruth Batson.

The panel also featured the younger voices of Gloria Lee, a student who attended Freedom School on Stay Out/Boycott Day February 1964; academic Zebulon Miletsky, author of “Before Busing: A History of Boston’s Long Black Freedom Struggle;” and author Vernita Carter-Waller, who’s father Rev. Vernon Carter picketed the School Committee headquarters for 114 consecutive days until the 1965 Racial Imbalance Law passed.

Though the June 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the historic court order forcing BPS to begin widely desegregating schools, speakers emphasized, the work and community organizing shaping the educational desegregation movement began long before.

Over 100 years before the busing order from Judge Wendell Garrity on behalf of a group of Black parents partnered with the NAACP, Miletsky said, a Black father named Benjamin Roberts filed his own desegregation lawsuit on behalf of his daughter Sarah.

The five-year-old girl walked by five primary school to get to her school and was denied admittance into four closer schools based on her race, Miletsky said. In 1850, the court ruled against Roberts, a ruling cited in the 1896 “separate but equal” Plessy vs. Ferguson decision.

Speakers pushed back on even framing the history around the term “busing.”

“Those are wheels, transportation to and from,” said Peters. “And the buses actually, historically took Black children past good schools to the poor schools. ‘Busing’ really was taken on by people who did not want to sit next to kids who were not the same race they were.”

The deeper issue was not busing, she said, it’s racism.

“Each one of us has to have a commitment to call it what it is,” said Peters, adding an echoed call to vote.

The next forum in the series will discuss the legal case behind the busing order at the Federal Courthouse in Boston in June 2024, followed by three events scheduled for fall 2024.