WORLD SERIES ELECTRIFIES THE CITY— As the Boston Red Sox set off for St. Louis and — ultimately— another World Series trophy last week, the students and faculty at Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy’s Columbia Campus banded together to show off their Boston pride. The school kids were encouraged came to school wearing their fake beards last Friday— a hat tip to the hometown squad who turned this baseball season into one for the ages here in Boston. Images courtesy Claire F. Barton Sheridan/ Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy

The state will take over four chronically under-performing schools that have been "stuck" as other troubled schools have made "quite good progress," Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester announced Wednesday.  Read more

Menino slams bus driver strike: The mayor called for striking bus drivers to return to their jobs tomorrow. Photo by Isabel Leon/Mayor's OfficeCaught off guard by a strike of Boston’s public school bus drivers on Tuesday morning, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said the city would pursue every legal action possible against the drivers as he asked families to arrange transportation home for their children and cancelled afternoon athletics.

"I want all these bus drivers back to work tomorrow morning,” Menino said during an afternoon press conference at City Hall, ridiculing the “illegal action” taken by the unionized drivers to go on strike in violation of their contract.

Menino said the management company Veolia Transportation, Inc. would go to court on Tuesday afternoon to seek an injunction compelling the drivers to return to work, and promised that if drivers would go back to work his administration would sit down with union leaders to work out disagreements over provisions in their contract.

He said the city would also explore possible disciplinary action against drivers who participated in the strike.  Read more

A surprise and unauthorized school bus drivers strike impacted at least half of the city's student population this morning, according to the Boston Public School department. The work action, which BPS officials have condemned as "illegal", involves around 300 drivers and will impact about half of the city's 33,000 students who ride buses daily to public, parochial and charter schools.  Read more

Changing Boston’s School Committee back from appointed to elected is a dangerous idea. Proponents forget how the old elected school committee usually overspent its budget, handled racial minorities poorly, and used the committee as s political stepping stone to higher office. Even worse, four members were indicted and two convicted of crimes, including one member taking kickback money from bus contractors.  Read more

Looking to catch a mayoral candidate in action? A list of forums and debates taking place over the next two months, as the city edges closer towards the Sept. 24 preliminary, is available after the jump. The list is a work-in-progress: times and dates are subject to change, and there are forums and debates we've probably missed. If you want to submit a listing, email newseditor@dotnews.com with the information.  Read more

Boston Public Schools officials are hoping to have a new superintendent in place by early next year, a time frame that would have finalists for the position in place in January or February, shortly after the swearing-in of the next mayor.  Read more

Mayoral Candidates Address Education from Chris Lovett on Vimeo.

The candidates sat almost shoulder-to-shoulder on the stage inside Edward Brooke Charter School’s auditorium, five on either side of the moderator.

Even with no opening or closing statements allowed, candidates looked down at the table, out into the large crowd, or quietly joked with one another as they waited for their turn. One question took fifteen minutes to get through, as each candidate weighed in with their response to the various questions.

Welcome to the life of a mayoral contender for the foreseeable future.  Read more

The Mattahunt Wheelock Community Center will join forces with the BCYF Mildred Ave. Community Center to offer high school juniors and seniors a College & Career Engagement event on Thurs., April 18.  Read more

In a 6 to 1 vote last Wednesday night, the Boston School Committee signed off on a sweeping overhaul of the school system’s assignment process. The 57,000 students now attending the city’s schools, along with their siblings, are grandfathered under the existing three-zone plan, which has been in place for 24 years.  Read more