By Mayor Martin J. Walsh
Behind every strong school is strong leadership.
I know Boston Public Schools are strong. We are a community, and together, we are working hard to continue guiding our schools and our children towards academic success. With the help and coordination of administrators, teachers, students and the greater community, we’ve reached historic milestones and strengthened our education system.
In just last year alone, the graduation rate of Boston Public Schools hit a historic all-time high while the dropout rate fell to an all-time low. In addition, our budget expanded by $3.1 million for public preschools for the 2016-2017 year, which has the potential to help close the achievement gap by significant margins.
I am incredibly proud of these achievements. But this progress would not have been possible without our school’s strongest advocates and leaders: our principals.
Boston principals are dedicated to their students and fiercely passionate about providing the highest quality of education possible. There is no question that our principals work hard for their schools and students–and like teachers, principals work with our students every day. Principals must also walk a fine line–on one end, they are committed to the interests of their individual school boards, while on the other, they must constantly be in tune to the needs of the broader community.
I want to personally thank Boston principals for walking that line, and making enormous strides towards a more equitable, coherent and innovative school system. I’ve worked closely with many of you, and I have seen the hard work you’ve put into growing your schools and caring for the needs of your students and teachers, while always being cooperative and transparent with the greater school system and community.
I want to thank Boston principals for recognizing the challenges our city schools face – in poverty, inequality, and injustice. More than ever, we’ve needed to share best practices and build coalitions to make our communities and schools healthy, supportive learning environments for all our children–across all ages, and all abilities.
Our principals have met these challenges head on, and I want to applaud them for working closely with me to help Boston Public Schools grow equitably, and grow smarter and bigger than ever before. And as Mayor, I want to personally thank our principals for helping make Boston a city where all of our children can learn and grow–both inside the classroom and out in their communities.
I encourage parents, students, and teachers both here in Boston and around the country to join me in honoring and applauding the hard work and dedication of our school principals. Thank you for all you do for our schools, students, teachers and communities–and our entire city as a whole.