Boston Focus

BU and the city got big headlines with a 5-year pledge of $104M for the city’s PILOT (“payment in lieu of taxes”) program. Good news, but a solution to the city’s “budget woes?” The PILOT program was started under Mayor Menino, with the idea that the city’s tax-exempt, real estate-owning non-profits needed to pay something for city services/benefits.

What do the Iranian hostage crisis, the savings and loans crisis, the Iraq War, and the pandemic have in common? They all contributed to declining American confidence in institutions, according to new survey data and a report from Gallup. Not surprising, the most recent downturn has the timbre of polarization. There is easy right/left fodder here, but the bipartisan nature of institutional discontent is more interesting and more serious.

Kids weren’t the only ones getting final report cards last month. The state released educator evaluation data for 2024-2025. Massachusetts public school teachers earned honor roll grades. Nearly 96% of teachers were rated exemplary or proficient by instructional leaders, and this is remarkably consistent across districts. Only 10 Massachusetts districts reported ratings below 90%. Even more remarkable is the low incidence of low performance.

With the day off, you can read (or reread) my top four posts so far in 2026 and maybe share with a friend. Making less with more [analyzing the Boston Public Schools Budget] Online sports gambling is this generation’s cigarettes [linking to my pre Super Bowl Boston Globe oped] 8 MA public high schools you may want to visit in 2026 [MA schools beating the odds on the SAT] Boston Public Schools (BPS) enrollment declines for the 11th time in 12 years Happy 4th, Will

School is officially out today for all kids in Massachusetts. With fewer education news items and data during the summer, there will be less to share each week. You can expect shorter reads on Fridays, and at times I will devote more space to “Other Matters” (government/politics, housing, infrastructure, etc.). This is one of the two times each year when I formally say “thanks” and ask for your support.

After spending decades on courts, fields, and sidelines and now immersed World Cup content, there is a post that I read earlier this week I can’t quite shake. Soccer is a poor kid’s sport that the United States turned into a rich kid’s hobby. Ouch. This puts a sharp point on an issue that has slowly received more and more attention over the past few years: the decline and reshaping of American youth sports. Give Tim Daly credit.

Inclusion was supposed to fix a lot. That is what we heard from advocates, educators, and eventually district and city leaders. It is even in the Boston teachers’ contract. Broadly speaking, “inclusion” is the practice of teaching students with disabilities alongside their general education peers and avoiding segregated settings. When this was first being discussed seriously in Boston ~15 years ago, it made all the sense in the world.

A much-delayed and slimmer Report on the Condition of Education was released this week. Compiled from several federal sources (IES, NCES), it represents the most comprehensive snapshot of American education data from the age of 3 to the earnings of young adults.

Another year, more empty seats: enrollment declines in Boston and MA New state data reports that Boston and Massachusetts school enrollment - public and private - declined again in 2025-2026. This is not a new trend, with posted drops in 7 of the past 10 years. The totals are only part of the story. In Boston, charter enrollment increased considerably, nearly doubling and then maintaining consistency through and after the pandemic.

More high school grads, but fewer undergrads? I wanted better news this week. New state data on college enrollment for Massachusetts public school graduates did not deliver it. Instead, the lowest percentage… And fewest students since the data was first collected a decade ago. Same pattern for Boston Public Schools. I got a lot of questions - and pushback - for my characterization of the Massachusetts Education Scorecard results. And I expect the same again.