Mayor Launches Major Community-wide Campaign to Help Class of 2003

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino today joined community- and faith-based groups from across Boston at Madison Park High School to unveil programs that will help students in the Class of 2003 pass the MCAS and graduate in June. There are presently 1,600 students who need to pass the requirement and half of those students are within several points of success.

The Mayor was joined by Boston Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant, Boston School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger, Boston Teachers Union President Edward Doherty and representatives from several community and faith groups from across the city of Boston.

"Joining me today are leaders from business, community, religious and educational groups," said Mayor Menino. "We do not always agree on every issue, but we are always united on one front: our children. And we are committed to working together to support our students so that they can be assured of a bright future. Right now, access to that bright future is achieved by passing the state-mandated MCAS test."

The event marked the first time that these groups have stood on the same stage together working toward the same goal. Some of the community groups had previously been on the opposite side of the MCAS graduation requirement, and although they have not changed their positions, they have decided to put aside their differences and work together for the benefit of the students.

Mayor Menino also announced that these groups will come together to do extensive outreach to families of those students who still need to pass the state mandated test, activating phone banks, home visits, and community meetings. These efforts will provide parents with information concerning MCAS requirements as well as on the extra help available to all students.

"This is a community campaign to make sure that every student in the class of 2003 knows that they still have a chance to pass MCAS and graduate in June," Superintendent Payzant said. "We are working with these groups and the high school headmasters so that students know they if they come to school and take advantage of the extra support that is available, everybody in this community will work together to help them achieve this important goal."

There are approximately 1,600 seniors who have not passed one or both sections of the MCAS graduation requirement. Over 2,100 seniors have already met the requirement. State law mandates that all students pass the tenth grade MCAS exams in math and English in order to graduate from a Massachusetts public high school. There are stipulations in the law that allow students to re-take the exams throughout their junior and senior years if they don't pass the initial administration in tenth grade.

The state Board of Education also recently released guidelines for an appeals process. The process would allow students who haven't passed one or both parts of the exams to petition the Department of Education for a diploma. The guidelines, however, require that students take the MCAS at least three times and come within four points of passing on at least one of those attempts, maintain a 95 percent attendance rate, take advantage of tutoring programs and do well in all of their classes.

About half of the students who have yet to pass are within four points of passing and many more meet the attendance requirement. The community leaders encouraged students to take advantage of this opportunity and to continue attending school, continue participating in the extra help programs in the schools and to take the December retest scheduled for the 10th, 11th and 12th.

Some of the groups represented at the event include:

Allianza Hispana
Black Ministerial Alliance
Boston Higher Education Resource Center
Boston Parent Organizing Network
Cape Verdean CTF
Dudley Street Initiative
Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation
Hyde Square Task Force
Log School
Massachusetts Education Initiative for Latino Students
National Conference for Community and Justice
Societa Latino
Somali Development Center
10 Point Coalition

Several Boston Public School High School headmasters and their students also attended the event. Among the students attending were Aldrene Rowe, a senior at Hyde Park High School who initially failed but stuck with it and has now passed and Olga Nunez, a senior at Charlestown High who initially failed the math portion by just one point, but took the exam again and passed.

Read about "Who still needs to pass MCAS? A profile of the Class of 2003?" (this is a series of charts in Word or you can click here for the PDF version).