As a city known for its world-renowned colleges and universities, Michael firmly believes we should be doing more to ensure our own children can access those institutions. He has long fought to improve the quality and equity of Boston Public Schools to meet that goal.
Michael has worked with the Mayor, the school committee and his colleagues on the city council to improve public education, from implementing technologies that will keep our schools safe to making sure tax-exempt institutions are supporting their local schools and communities.
Michael believes we can improve our schools through bold reforms such as giving principals far greater authority to make decisions. The leaders who are in school every day know what students need to succeed. Under such a system, teachers and parents would be more involved in discussions about budgeting and programming. We must also demand greater standards for accountability, making all schools responsible for providing quality education and graduating all students, with the ultimate goal being increased college matriculation.
Michael led the initiative to implement more robust school safety technology and alert systems so that everyone can feel safe in Boston schools. In 2015, he sponsored a hearing for the implementation of a real-time alert system in Boston schools to keep students safe in the case of a shooting event or other threat to students’ safety.
In 2019, Michael introduced a flagship hearing order that seeks to create an optional 13th year of public education and in 2020, helped launch a pilot year of Boston Year 13 with non-profit Digital Ready, Wentworth Institute of Technology and countless industry partners. Over three semesters, students worked tech apprenticeships and earned 18 college courses at no cost. In 2021, the program is expanding to include even more Boston students and build on the successes of the pilot year. To learn more about it, click here.
Michael has worked with the Mayor, the school committee and his colleagues on the city council to improve public education, from implementing technologies that will keep our schools safe to making sure tax-exempt institutions are supporting their local schools and communities.
Michael believes we can improve our schools through bold reforms such as giving principals far greater authority to make decisions. The leaders who are in school every day know what students need to succeed. Under such a system, teachers and parents would be more involved in discussions about budgeting and programming. We must also demand greater standards for accountability, making all schools responsible for providing quality education and graduating all students, with the ultimate goal being increased college matriculation.
Michael led the initiative to implement more robust school safety technology and alert systems so that everyone can feel safe in Boston schools. In 2015, he sponsored a hearing for the implementation of a real-time alert system in Boston schools to keep students safe in the case of a shooting event or other threat to students’ safety.
In 2019, Michael introduced a flagship hearing order that seeks to create an optional 13th year of public education and in 2020, helped launch a pilot year of Boston Year 13 with non-profit Digital Ready, Wentworth Institute of Technology and countless industry partners. Over three semesters, students worked tech apprenticeships and earned 18 college courses at no cost. In 2021, the program is expanding to include even more Boston students and build on the successes of the pilot year. To learn more about it, click here.
Paid for by The Committee to Elect Michael F. Flaherty