Boston Public Schools Apologizes For 'Insensitive' Flyer

curriculum rodeo.png — Flyer advertising a “curriculum rodeo,” during which high school leaders could claim materials left over from the shuttered West Roxbury Education Complex.

Molly Boigon is a former associate producer and reporter for Learning Curve, WGBH’s K-12 education desk. She has also worked for Boston Public Radio and WGBH’s higher education desk, On Campus. Her interests include jazz, yoga and public records requests. Before joining WGBH, she worked at SiriusXM, WZBC and WAAF. She has a degree in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education.

August 13, 2019

Updated August 09, 2023

Boston Public Schools is apologizing for a controversial flyer sent out this week advertising a “curriculum rodeo” during which high school leaders could claim materials left over from the shuttered West Roxbury Education Complex.

“The unapproved flyer in question was intended for a small group of employees and was not properly vetted. The flyer is no longer being used, and BPS regrets the insensitive tone, which was unintentional,” said Dan O’Brien, a district spokesperson, in an emailed statement.

The flyer advertised “FREE curriculum materials, equipment & various school supplies” from the West Roxbury Education Complex on a “first come, first-served basis” for three days next week. The rodeo was described in an email as a “great opportunity!!!” by district staff, and the flyer depicted a cowboy on a horse, throwing a lasso.

While the flyer has been pulled, school leaders will still be allowed to enter the West Roxbury Education Complex next week and take items like textbooks for use in their schools.

The West Roxbury Education Complex, which housed Urban Science Academy and West Roxbury Academy, was closed at the end of the last school year in part because of concerns about the safety of the facility. The district declined to answer questions about why the school was still open to high school leaders for the rodeo, months after the building and programs were closed.

“It feels like people dancing on our graves,” said Allison Doherty, a former special education teacher at Urban Science Academy. “It's like a feeding frenzy, like sharks in the water picking off the [West Roxbury Education Complex] carcass.”

The schools served a majority black and brown student body, as well as 120 students with special needs. More than half of the students were economically disadvantaged and a dozen had already transferred at least once because of a school closure.

“You don't want things to go to waste, but [supplies] should have gone to schools on a needs basis,” said Doherty. “It should have been framed in a much more careful way, and not as a rodeo.”

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