Boston Latin Academy, one of the three exam schools in the Boston Public Schools district, stands as a monument to dedicated teachers as well as glaring neglect. The schools’ teachers are regarded as having great dedication for their students, some teachers have held their positions for over ten years, some even longer. BLA has a reputation for providing students with exemplary lessons, but a reputation as being lesser than the other two exam schools. Boston Latin School, the main established rival school of BLA is regarded as one of the first high schools in the country, and has maintained a reputation of rigorous education and high standards. Students have stated that their university education has been easier than their BLS one. Boston Latin School has hosted a variety of notable alumni, who are able to contribute to its reputation, BLA and the John D. O’Bryant School has less of a reputation but has its own accomplishments.

Boston Latin Academy is located in Roxbury, a neighborhood that is regarded as in need of refurbishment, and the school building could be given the same assessment. For one of the exam schools, the building’s physical condition is appalling. Outside, the Boston Public Schools sign that is bolted to every BPS schools’ front is old, and the words are nearly completely faded away. The back walls have long faded graffiti tags, cracked windows and rusted hinges. Inside, you are greeted to chipping paint, wires sticking from the walls with their sources long removed, rodent waste in the corners, and old equipment that has not properly worked in years. The school has attempted to fix the cosmetic issues, with days of students repainting the doors and trim, with new monitors for the front desk and better computers, but the main interior problems remain. The school has been unable to refurbish large parts of the school without a substantial private donation. The school was only able to refurbish their science labs when in 2019, the co-founder of Airbnb, Nathan Blecharczyk, donated 1 million dollars to the school in order to contribute to their STEM department. In contrast to BLS, where their building is in considerably better condition due to the more substantial private donations. The interior of the school is in significantly better condition, with the exterior being well cared for with little to no vandalism. Their Boston Public Schools sign in contrast to BLA, is in pristine condition, with no fading or damage of any kind. Boston Latin Academy has been regarded as the lesser version of BLS, so much so that former headmaster Troy Henninger had stated that “BLA should not be a school that anyone has to apologize for.”

The John D. O’Bryant Schools’ building is similar to BLA’s, with a clearly outdated interior and lack of working facilities. One way to assess how each school is prioritzed is shown by the teacher’s salaries. Out of all of the exam schools, BLS had the highest, with the total earnings from teacher’s salaries equaling $12,520,074. BLA was second with a total amount of $9,108,274. The O’Bryant School was third, with a total amount of $8,302,416. These numbers suggest how much the city of Boston spends on each school’s salaries for teachers, clearly showing that each exam school’s teachers are well-paid, given how these schools are regarded by those in the Boston area. The exam schools are assumed to be of a higher caliber, so their teachers would need to be paid more in order to meet such expectations. The exam schools also have a considerable amount of students, so the ratio of students to teachers must be accounted for as well. Boston Latin Academy currently has 1,767 students, with 140 members of their staff. Boston Latin School currently has 2,440 students, with 139 teachers. The John D. O’Bryant School currently has 1,500 students, with 87 teachers. There is a clear correlation between student population and the amount of teachers, due to each of the exam schools having their own set amounts, and each one ascending in the amount of students and teachers.

There is a clear racial discrepancy in terms of how well each of the exam schools are provided for as well. Boston Latin Academy, located in Roxbury, has a building falling in disrepair to match the neighborhood it is located in. Roxbury is a neighborhood with a low population of white residents, the majority of people being Black. The school likewise is one of the most diverse of the BPS schools, with 21.4% of Black students, 18.8% Asian, 26.4% Hispanic and 29.7% White. In contrast, only 7.7% of students at Boston Latin School are Black, 29.3% Asian, 13.4% Hispanic, and 44.5% White. (MA Edu district profiles). Boston Latin School is located near Fenway, a much nicer neighborhood with more affluent residents, with a higher population of white residents. The John D. O’Bryant School, located in Roxbury, has 32.3% Black students, 20.2% Asian, 33.8% Hispanic, and 11.7% White. Racial issues have been established in the exam schools, with the former headmaster of BLS, Lynne Mooney Teta, resigned in 2016 due to racial concerns in the school. It had been revealed that the admissions to the school was based on race as well as the test scores, in order to supposedly “vet” the incoming classes. A former alumni of the school stated that the school had known about the issues for years, but had neglected to take any action until pressured to. The revelations about the school had come to light when a group of Black students had called for the school to be held accountable due to complaints of discrimination towards them. Through all of this however, Boston Latin School remains to be one of the highest paid schools in the district.

The three exam schools of the BPS district are able to be compared with each other because of their similar funding and status. However, the other schools in the BPS district are also either well funded or lacking in resources. The five highest paid non-exam schools in the BPS district are, BPS Another Course to College, Burke High, McKinley Middle, East Boston High, and Orchard Gardens K-8. The total earnings added together total $26,803,037.53. The lowest paid schools were Perkins Elementary, Madison Park High School, McCormack Middle, Charlestown High, and Adams Elementary. The total earnings added together total $23,937,904.83. These five schools’ total amount was $3,000,000 dollars less than the highest paid schools, which suggests a clear drop in funding. As the exam school budgets suggest, the amount of students to teachers have to do with how well the teachers are paid, as it causes more work for them.

The amount teachers are paid also have to do with the school performance as well as how much the budget allows it. The schools that are only focused on one age group also receive lower funding, for example, Adams Elementary would receive significantly less funding than Madison Park High School, due to Perkins only being an elementary school, and Madison Park being a 9-12 school. BPS high schools are given more funding, due to the amount of students and higher grade levels. All three of the exam schools are grades 7-12, meaning that both the middle and high school grade levels are taught. The exam schools are also much more academically rigorous than average schools, meaning the teachers there must be highly skilled to teach harder subjects. These kinds of schools are given more funding due to the much higher concentration of higher grade levels, and that the students would spend a much longer time learning in one school. The amount of teachers would also be greater in a 7-12 school, due to the amount of staff needed to maintain it. There would need to be enough teachers for all students of 6 grade levels instead of just 4, and the level of advancement in each grade level also needs to be accounted for. The differences in funding for the Boston Public Schools can be attributed to several factors such as student population, grade level, and the amount of teachers. These factors cause for certain differences in how each school is run, due to the amount their staff is paid. One could argue that all of the schools should be granted enough money to pay their teachers a consistent salary, but it would be difficult to account for the specifics of each school’s demographics. The schools that require higher salaries due to the amount of students and the amount and advancement of grade levels all have to be taken into account. Some teachers have bigger classes, harder lessons, and students that spend six years in one building rather than just four. The funding of the schools are also impacted by their location and demographics, and schools with higher prestige are favored more. However, it is clear that the BPS school district has a great deal of dedicated staff that will do their best to teach their students, regardless of how well they are funded.

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https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=00350545&orgtypecode=6& (Mass Edu School and District Profiles)