Over the last few decades, nonprofits have come to play a central role in the education of Boston’s children, ranging from providing after-school enrichment and college access supports to fulfilling basic school functions.
Any failure of Boston Public Schools to properly educate our city’s children is in part the failure of nonprofits to bring about any systemic change. Now that the BPS is at a critical moment, Boston’s nonprofits owe it to Boston students to step up and take on a wider responsibility under Mayor Michelle Wu’s leadership.
Boston is home to hundreds of nonprofits with a focus on education, from our world-leading universities to the many social service agencies that already work with Boston students and their families. Nonprofits stand out as a potential asset that could tip the scales in favor of BPS success. But first we must understand why they don’t. It is not a problem of scale.
Nonprofits have poured millions of dollars and hours into helping the students who attend BPS with favorable impacts. As the founder of Inversant and La Vida, two nonprofits aimed at helping students access college, I’ve seen nonprofits transform students’ lives for the better. But over the last few months, I’ve been reflecting on why we have failed to have the same transformative impact on Boston’s central school system.
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Many nonprofits start from the premise that BPS is the problem. They seek to rescue students from the poor education the system provides. They believe they cannot improve a system they see as controlled by a bureaucracy and a union. Rather than reform BPS, they avoid it entirely. Universities have kept their distance, offering advice but refusing to actually get their hands dirty. Each nonprofit, driven by its own vision and mission, enjoys free rein without the need to coordinate with BPS.
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BPS needs more cooperation and inspiration. If we nonprofits expect to continuously extract honey from the beehive, shouldn’t we take some responsibility for the health of the hive? BPS should create an office to marshal our efforts, guided by the reform plan the city creates. Those that can help should be organized into groups with clear goals and measurable outcomes. There should be a covenant under which nonprofits work together with each other and BPS, subordinating leadership claims to a joint mission. Timelines, metrics, and accountability are essential.
It’s time for Boston’s nonprofits to step up and truly engage with the public schools of our capital city. At this critical moment, their answer can no longer be to help the students they serve without regard for the overall health of the school system. It can’t be to open a new charter school that, worthy as they may be, in the past have drained dollars and students from BPS, leaving behind a husk, ever poorer and tougher to teach. Our city’s education nonprofits need to be working together to deliver a future where their services aren’t needed.
Boston’s industry and service companies have a huge stake in the success of BPS and should provide funding to support nonprofits and the school system as well. The major foundations that fund local education nonprofits such as the Boston Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and the Cummings Foundation have a critical role to play in keeping everyone focused.
Boston is far from unique. Urban school systems across the country are struggling despite the many nonprofits that attend to their students. If the nonprofit community can step up and truly collaborate and engage with Wu, we would make Horace Mann proud.
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And, more importantly, it could make the difference to achieving success for future generations of Boston students and the city itself.
Robert Hildreth is a philanthropist and education reformer. He is the founder of Inversant, La Vida Scholars, and other nonprofit organizations.
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