With coordination across multiple mayoral and school administrations, Boston After School and Beyond nurtured and grew what is now known as the “Fifth Quarter,” solving all sides of the summer program problem. It bundles funding from federal, state, city, and private philanthropic sources. Through research and data agreements, it ensures programs with the city’s seal of approval meet field standards and goals. And it attempts to end the annual parent scramble to find available slots by operating a user-friendly website of programs searchable by age, type, and cost (many are free).

How — and why — did the city rapidly create a national model for summer school?

First, the vast majority of children in Boston have caregivers who all have jobs. Summer programming is not a nice-to-have; it is a necessity for working families. Busy kids mean more parents can remain in the workforce, supporting their families and contributing to the local economy.

Summer enrichment provides more than just child care. Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book “Outliers” popularized a term educators long had intuited: “summer slide,” the decline of academic skills while children were on summer break. With a 1980s Baltimore study as the touchstone, the lagging achievement of low-income students, students of color, and other historically marginalized students was pinned on missing out on the academic enrichment, camps, or travel during the summer that their higher-income peers benefit from. A recent Gallup survey revealed that higher-income families are twice as likely to enroll their children in summer planning than lower-income families. Closing the summer access gap is a potential path to closing achievement and opportunity gaps.

I have seen this firsthand. In my 15 years as a public school teacher and principal, I ran summer school six times. Although I would describe the initial attitude of the children as one of resignation at best, with those same children I witnessed exceptional academic and social growth. More often than not, I saw that carry into the following school year.

There have been competing studies and data on the consistency and scale of summer learning loss, but the theoretical quickly gave way to the practical needs created by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address children’s stalled academic progress, which disproportionately impacted lower-income students, school districts around the country leveraged federal recovery dollars to add learning time in the summers of 2021, 2022, and 2023. Some school districts made their academic year longer. Many, like Boston, invested millions to expand summer programs with an additional academic focus.

Does it work? Yes. A RAND-administered random control trial, the gold standard in social science, showed that students who regularly attended summer programs outperformed their peers academically.

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The same research indicated those students made greater progress in social and emotional skills.

American schooling is inherently conservative, largely the same in its form, delivery, and calendar for nearly a century. Change is rare, even when something has a clear track record of working. To meet the needs of the families of today and achieve goals of equity, it is reasonable to ask whether summer learning should continue to be an appendage.

Why not incorporate it, and, for all who want or need it, just make “summer school” part of “school?”

Will Austin is founder and CEO of Boston Schools Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to high-quality education in the city.

Citing concerns with violence and low staffing levels, a Boston city councilor formally requested that police department leadership enlist the help of outside law enforcement agencies to “ensure public safety” at this weekend’s festival and events.

City Councilor Ed Flynn made the request in a Tuesday email sent to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and Superintendent Lanita Cullinane, citing the need for increased enforcement at the “many events” scheduled this weekend, including the Caribbean Carnival celebration — which was associated with a mass shooting last year.

“I am respectfully requesting for the Boston Police Department to formally request law enforcement assistance of neighboring cities and towns for this weekend with many events taking place across the city, including the Caribbean parade,” Flynn wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Herald.

“Please note I have heard directly from members of the Boston Police Department, city residents and businesses on concerns about our staffing levels, as there are a number of events or large gatherings scheduled,” the councilor added. “Therefore, I am asking if we can identify any assistance from other police departments throughout Greater Boston, including our affiliation with the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, that would help our city and department to ensure public safety this weekend.”

Flynn’s request follows concerns cited earlier this week by Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest union, who said that although the department will deploy an all-hands-on-deck approach at Saturday’s Caribbean festival and parades, there aren’t enough available officers to appropriately cover regular citywide patrols and concurrent large-scale events.

A police source within the department told the Herald that police have a “heightened sense of alertness” every year heading into the Caribbean festival, which is known for “violence” and “gunplay.”

Eight people were shot during the J’ouvert, a morning parade associated with the Carnival, last summer, and this year’s event is occurring soon after last Sunday’s violence at the Dominican Festival in Franklin Park, where five people were shot.

Flynn, who drew blowback after pitching a pause on events in the downtown and on Boston Common, due to a stabbing in Downtown Crossing that nearly killed a man, said Wednesday that residents and business owners in the area “are asking for public safety support due to the violence taking place.”

Mariellen Burns, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department, said BPD already coordinates with city agencies and law enforcement partners for the scheduled events.

“We thank the councilor for his input,” Burns said in a statement. “The department has been working for many months with the organizers of the yearly events scheduled for this weekend. As we do in all of our planning efforts, we’ve made adjustments to the events themselves and to our deployment, to support public safety in the best ways possible.

“Leading up to the events and throughout the weekend we will continue to take the feedback of the community, intelligence and data into account to proactively mitigate or address any issues,” Burns added. “This year, as in years past, we will partner with other city agencies and law enforcement partners who have jurisdiction in the areas where the events take place.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office deferred comment to BPD, but said earlier this week that the city and Caribbean Carnival organizers debriefed after last year’s event, and “decided to change the location of the J’ouvert for the best experience and for safety.”

Originally Published: August 21, 2024 at 7:16 p.m.

The Boston Red Sox are wrapping up a series with the Houston Astros on Wednesday afternoon and Sox’ star Jarren Duran is looking to add onto his already historic season.

Durran, who won the All-Star Game MVP, is also likely to finish in the Top-10 in the American League in MVP voting. He’s been the lineup catalyst for Alex Cora’s group and is a main reason why the Red Sox are just 3.5 games back of a playoff spot entering play on Wednesday.

He’s also made some unique and special Red Sox history this year, per @SoxNotes on social media:

Through 125 team games, Jarren Duran has 153 hits, 68 XBH, and 31 stolen bases.

He is the only Red Sox player ever with 30+ steals, 65+ XBH, and 150+ hits through 125 games.

The last players to do that were Alfonso Soriano (2002), Alex Rodriguez (1998), and Willie Mays (1957).

The former seventh-round draft pick out of Long Beach State is hitting .293 this year with 17 homers and 64 RBI. He’s stolen 31 bases and posted a .350 on-base percentage. He also has a 134 OPS+.

The Red Sox are seeking their first playoff berth since the 2021 season when they advanced all the way to the ALCS. They last won the World Series in the 2018 season. They finished last in the American League East in both 2022 and 2023.

After the Red Sox are done with the Astros on Wednesday, they’ll take on the Arizona Diamondbacks for a new series beginning on Friday night at Fenway Park.

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