Keller @ Large: What can be done to fix problems in Boston Public Schools?
BOSTON – Michelle Wu is far from the city's first mayor faced with the challenge of improving Boston Public Schools. So what will make this time different with a new mayor in City Hall?
Wu spoke to WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller about problems in the city's schools that her predecessors have failed to find a solution for.
"I would say that with our schools, as with every other challenge in the city, what I've seen in my first six months on the job is that the barriers are not financial, they're not for lack of expertise or knowing what we need to do," Wu said. "It is primarily organizational. We have a very large organization that needs a sense of predictability, direction and cohesiveness to make real progress. It's like turning a big ship."
Keller asked if "cleaning house" at an administrative level would help provide a change in the right direction.
"The reality is we are facing the last couple weeks now of a leadership transition. There is some natural turnover there as we are finishing our superintendent search," Wu said. "We also already have many vacancies within the central office side as well as the ranks of our teaching staff. It is not only possible but necessary to reshape the direction of our schools, and most of all to empower our families and school communities."
Keller @ Large: Part 2