Boston Public Schools leaders will propose closing three schools in 2028, East Boston Early Education Center, Greater Egleston High School in Roxbury and Charlestown High School, at Wednesday's school committee meeting, as the district confronts declining enrollment. The committee is expected to vote on the plan in early December.
Mayor Michelle Wu said at a Monday press briefing that the district has long delayed these decisions. "Our public education dollars should be going to serving students and delivering outcomes, rather than keeping open half-empty buildings," she said.
The closures continue a long-term effort to shrink the number of city schools. Boston had 119 schools in 2023; with past closures and the latest proposals, that number would fall to 97 by 2028, and the district aims to reach 95 by 2030. Boston Public Schools enrolls just over 9,000 fewer students than it did a decade ago, according to state data. Districts nationwide are grappling with declining enrollment driven in part by falling birth rates. Immigration had helped sustain enrollment in many Massachusetts schools, but district leaders say heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration accelerated a recent drop in students.
Superintendent Mary Skipper said enrollment decline at East Boston Early Education Center, which serves pre-K through first grade, was severe enough that school leaders closed classrooms. Greater Egleston is one of the smallest schools in the district, with 76 students, and Charlestown High has lost nearly a third of its students in the last three years. Skipper said the Charlestown building can hold more than a thousand students, but roughly 650 attended last year.
Latino students and students with disabilities make up a larger share of enrollment at the three schools than in the district as a whole, according to state data: more than half the students at each school are Latino, and 45% at Charlestown High have disabilities. Some studies have found that the disruption of closure leaves a lasting impact on academic achievement and even future earnings.
The Charlestown proposal, announced over the weekend, has already drawn outcries. Students walked out Monday in protest, and Skipper visited the school that day, according to footage released on social media by a Boston Teachers Union leader; as she left the building, students shouted "shame on you." City Councilor Ed Flynn said in a Facebook post that as a former substitute teacher at Charlestown High he was disappointed the city and the district did not inform the school community, the Charlestown neighborhood and members of the City Council of the decision. Nearly 80% of Charlestown High students live outside the neighborhood.
Wu said the district intends to relocate another secondary school into the Charlestown building as early as the 2028-2029 school year, though she did not specify which. “There would be no empty school year in that building,” she said. “It would be a transition between the existing school and the new school, a new thriving school in the same footprint in a renovated building.”
The plan also calls for reducing grade levels at Joseph Hurley School in the South End and Joyce Kilmer School in West Roxbury, both of which would stop offering seventh grade in fall 2027 and eighth grade in fall 2028. Boston Arts Academy and Fenway High School may add a seventh grade in fall 2028 and an eighth grade in 2029 if the district finds a location. Three schools would relocate: Boston Green Academy from Brighton to the South Boston Building for 2028-2029 after a renovation, and Boston International High School & Newcomers Academy and Boston Adult Technical Academy to the former Grover Cleveland school in Dorchester from 2027-2028. The district does not need approval for the grade-level changes or the Green Academy move; the three closures go to the school committee for a vote.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The vote would remove three schools from a district that has already consolidated repeatedly, and would affect hundreds of families, including many Latino students and students with disabilities who make up a larger share of enrollment at the three schools than district-wide.
- It tests how Boston handles the national problem of shrinking enrollment, with district leaders pointing to both falling birth rates and immigration enforcement as drivers.
- The Charlestown decision has already produced a student walkout and criticism from a city councillor, signalling political friction ahead of the December vote.
Background
Boston Public Schools is the city's public school district, and like many urban districts in the United States it has faced shrinking enrollment as birth rates fall and families move. Boston has been consolidating schools for several years, and city leaders argue that keeping underused buildings open diverts money from classrooms. The latest round is driven largely by enrollment rather than building conditions, although the district has also struggled with aging buildings and inadequate learning spaces.
Key Perspectives
Mayor Michelle Wu: says the district has long delayed these decisions, arguing that public education dollars should go to serving students and delivering outcomes rather than keeping open half-empty buildings, and that a new school would move into the Charlestown building with no empty school year.
Superintendent Mary Skipper: says enrollment decline drove the closures, citing classrooms already closed at East Boston Early Education Center and roughly 650 students attending a Charlestown building that can hold more than a thousand.
City Councilor Ed Flynn: says he is disappointed that the city and the district did not inform the school community, the Charlestown neighborhood and members of the City Council of the decision to close Charlestown High.
Charlestown High students: shouted "shame on you" at Skipper as she left the building after a Monday visit, following a walkout against the closure.
What to Watch
- Wednesday's school committee meeting, where the plan is formally presented, and the early December vote that follows.
- Whether community and council opposition changes the Charlestown proposal, and which school the district names to move into that building.
- Whether the district identifies a location for the proposed seventh and eighth grades at Boston Arts Academy and Fenway High School.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedWu said, “Our public education dollars should be going to serving students and delivering outcomes, rather than keeping open half-empty buildings.”WBUR News: ““Our public education dollars should be going to serving students and delivering outcomes, rather than keeping open half-empty buildings,” she said.”
- SupportedWu said, “There would be no empty school year in that building,” and described a transition to “a new thriving school in the same footprint in a renovated building.”WBUR News: ““There would be no empty school year in that building,” Wu said. “It would be a transition between the existing school and the new school, a new thriving school in the same footprint in a renovated building.””
- SupportedStudents shouted “shame on you” as Skipper left Charlestown High.WBUR News: “As she left the building students shouted “shame on you.””
- SupportedBoston plans to close three schools in 2028 as enrollment falls.WBUR News: “Boston Public Schools leadership is set to propose the closure of three schools in 2028 as the district faces declining enrollment.”
- SupportedDistrict leaders will propose closing East Boston Early Education Center, Greater Egleston High School and Charlestown High School at Wednesday’s school committee meeting.WBUR News: “District leaders will put forward a plan to shut down East Boston Early Education Center, Greater Egleston High School in Roxbury and Charlestown High School at Wednesday’s school committee meeting.”
- SupportedThe committee is expected to vote on the plan in early December.WBUR News: “The committee is expected to vote on the plan in early December.”
- SupportedStudents walked out of Charlestown High on Monday in protest.WBUR News: “Students walked out Monday in protest.”
- SupportedBoston had 119 schools in 2023; the number would fall to 97 by 2028, and the district aims for 95 by 2030.WBUR News: “Boston had 119 schools in 2023. With past closures and the latest proposals, by 2028 that number would fall to 97. The district aims to get down to 95 schools by 2030.”
- SupportedBoston Public Schools enrolls just over 9,000 fewer students than it did a decade ago, according to state data.WBUR News: “Boston Public Schools enrolls just over 9,000 fewer students than it did a decade ago, according to state data.”
- SupportedGreater Egleston has 76 students and is one of the district’s smallest schools.WBUR News: “And Greater Egleston is one of the smallest schools in the district, with just 76 students.”
- SupportedCharlestown High has lost nearly a third of its students in the last three years.WBUR News: “The district says Charlestown High has lost nearly one third of its students in the last three years.”
- SupportedMore than half the students at each of the three schools are Latino, and 45% of Charlestown High students have disabilities.WBUR News: “More than half of the students at each school are Latino. At Charlestown High, 45% have disabilities.”