HER OWN UPBRINGING NEARS THAT OF MANY OF THE STUDENTS.
NEWSCENTER 5 IT IS 6:00 A.M., AND THE SUN IS SHINING ON BOSTON.
ALREADY IN THE GROOVE, ONE OF ITS NEWEST RESIDENTS WITH A BIG JOB AHEAD TODAY AND IN THE YEARS TO COME.
SHE AND HER HUSBAND MOVED HERE FROM MINNESOTA.
THEY BEGIN EVERY MORNING TOGETHER, CHERISHING MOMENTS.
BRENDA SPENDS MOST OF HER TIME FOCUSED ON REFORMING THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
>> MY FIRST GOAL IS TO WIN BACK THE TRUST OF THE COMMUNITY.
NICOLE: SHE TAKES ON THE SUPERINTENDENT ROLE AT A TIME WHEN BOSTON REMAINS AMONG THE BEST PERFORMING LARGE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTRY.
BUT COMMUNITY TRUST IS SHRINKING.
IN PART, DUE TO TURNOVER AT THE HEAD.
SHE WILL BE THE DISTRICT’S FIFTH SUPERINTENDENT IN JUST THE PAST 10 YEARS IN A COMMUNITY WHERE 2/3 OF THE CITY’S 65,000 STUDENTS LIVE IN POVERTY.
>> CLOSING OPPORTUNITY GAPS FOR CHILDREN AND REALLY LOOKING AT THOSE CORE PRINCIPLES OF POVERTY AS A CITY AND GETTING AT WHY OUR CHILDREN COME TO US WITH LESS, SO THAT WE CAN DO MORE.
NICOLE: HOW DO SHE PLAN TO DO THAT?
BY LIVING AND BREATHING IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE JOINED BRENT HONOR COMMUTE -- WE JOINED BRENDA ON HER COMMUTE.
>> I WANTED TO GET INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGHOUT BOSTON BECAUSE BOSTON IS A NEIGHBORLY CITY.
I WANTED TO FEEL WHAT IT IS LIKE AND WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
NICOLE: SHE REMEMBERS WELL WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A KID ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF OPPORTUNITY.
>> I GREW UP IN THE SOUTHEAST PROJECTS OF MINNEAPOLIS MUCH OF MY CHILDHOOD.
NICOLE: SELLING FLOWERS AS A CHILD TO HELP SUPPORT THE FAMILY AND IN EARLY ADULTHOOD, STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET.
>> I WAS A SINGLE MOM FOR 10 YEARS.
I KNOW THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS COMING TOGETHER AND WRAPPING THEIR ARMS AROUND CHILDREN.
NICOLE: BUT IS COMMUNITY IMMERSION ENOUGH?
SHE CAME TO BOSTON WITH A LOFTY GOAL, TO GET INSIDE ALL OF IT 125 SCHOOLS IN 100 DAYS.
>> IF I HAD NOT GONE TO THE SCHOOLS AND TALKED TO THE TEACHERS WHEN I’M MAKING THESE BIG DECISIONS FOR THEM, IT DID NOT SEEM FAIR.
NICOLE: WHERE THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY IS NOT IN STATISTICS, BUT IN THE CLASSROOMS WHERE TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS ARE ON THE FRONT LINE OF OBSTACLES.
IT IS NOT :00 A.M. -- 9:00 A.M.
AND IS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS GETTING A NEW PLAYGROUND, A SEVEN-YEAR EFFORT.
>> IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN A LABOR LAW.
EVERYONE HAS GIVEN EVERYTHING THEY HAVE AND MORE TO DEDICATING WHAT OUR STUDENTS NEED.
[APPLAUSE] NICOLE A SIMPLE SPACE, THE VALUE OF WHICH IS UNTOLD, THOUGH CLEARLY THROUGH THESE TEARS OF JOY.
NOT EVERY SCHOOL IS SO LUCKY.
THIS ENTRANCE TO THE SCHOOL IN JAMAICA PLAINS SERVES AS THE ONLY PLACE FOR STUDENTS TO PLAY.
IT IS 11:00, AND SHE IS ABOUT TO HEAR ABOUT THE CHALLENGES AT THIS K-8 FROM STUDENTS WHO HAVE A WISH LIST.
>> I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO HAVE MORE SEATING OPTIONS.
>> WE NEED [INDISCERNIBLE] TO MAKE OUR SCHOOL A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR ALL CHILDREN TO LEARN.
NICOLE: PRINCIPAL WOODWARD HAS BEEN WORKING IN THE SYSTEM FOR 27 YEARS.
SHE HAS SEEN POSITIVE CHANGE SINCE THE DAYS SHE WALKED THE HALLS AS A STUDENT.
>> CHANGE IN THE SCHOOL DYNAMICS, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, THE TEACHERS, HOW THEY REPRESENT THE STUDENTS MORE.
HOW THE CURRICULUM STARTS TO REPRESENT THE STUDENTS.
IT IS MORE OF A WELCOMING COMMUNITY.
>BUT IT HAS CHALLENGES.
>> WE HAVE AT LEAST SEVEN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
NICOLE: OUT OF 600 STUDENTS, HALF ARE ESL LEARNERS.
ENGLISH IS THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE.
SIMPLE INSTRUCTION IS MORE COMPLICATED.
SOME CLASSES ARE MADE UP OF HIS MANY AS SIX DIFFERENT PRIMARY LANGUAGES.
AND FOR THE OLDER STUDENTS, AGING EQUIPMENT HAS THEM FAR BEHIND THE ADVANCES BEING MADE IN OTHER SCHOOLS.
>> WE NEED NEW TECHNOLOGY.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE SMART BOARDS IN THE ROOMS.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE DIFFERENT FURNITURE.
NICOLE THIS SCHOOL IS NUMBER 99 ON HER TOUR.
AFTER 31 YEARS IN EDUCATION, WE WONDERED IF ANYTHING SO FAR HAS SURPRISED HER.
>> THE GRAND SCALE AND SIZE OF THE DISTRICT, 130-SOMETHING BUILDINGS, HOW OLD THEY ARE, OR SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT HAVE ADEQUATE CAFETERIA SPACES.
NICOLE: WHERE ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH WE ARE ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BOSTON SUPERINTENDENT, AND SHE FACES BIG QUESTIONS AHEAD.
SHAYNA: AN UPDATE ON THE SUPERINTENDENT’S TOUR.
IN DECEMBER, SHE MET HER GOAL OF VISITING EVERY SCHOOL.
NOW SHE HAS ANOTHER CHALLENGE, ENDING HOMELESSNESS AMONG BPS STUDENTS.
THAT IS A BIG CONCERN FOR DR.
CASSELLIUS AND THE MAYOR.
ANTHON THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAS COME OUT WITH A REPORT VERY CRITICAL OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
THE CITY AND STATE HAVE AGREED TO ADDITIONAL STATE INTERVENTION TO HELP IMPROVE THE SCHOOLS.
A BIG PATH AHEAD.
SH