Boston Schools suspends relationship, launches investigation into nonprofit following student concerns

Boston Public Schools has launched an outside investigation and suspended its relationship with a nonprofit organization that students claimed emotionally manipulated and silenced them.

“Although this may sound like good news, I personally don’t see BPS ever doing enough action to ensure these types of structures don’t occur again,” Boston Latin Academy senior Charlene Adames-Pimentel said.

She added, “I see BPS’ actions as nothing more than a temporary solution and a way to quiet down the situation.”

Adames-Pimental is one of several students who recently resigned from the Boston Student Advisory Council, a body of elected student leaders which Somerville nonprofit Youth On Board co-administers with the district.

“While I am glad they are not dismissing the concerns raised by students. I have to say BPS’ solutions are both imperfect and unsatisfactory,” said former BSAC member Naesoj Ware.

The students said Youth On Board leadership has often censored their remarks and silenced their ideas. Students also said peer counseling sessions with the organization were emotionally manipulative and uncomfortable.

Shortly following last week’s student resignations, the district has suspended its work with Youth On Board pending an outside investigation, according to a BPS spokesman.

The peer counseling sessions, which students said were held in the basement of Youth On Board director and co-founder Jenny Sazama’s home, will no longer be offered to BSAC members.

Sazama said in a statement, “We stand by the quality and integrity of our program and the reputation we have built over 30 years, and we welcome any outside investigation.” The BPS contract with Youth on Board is $20,500.

Not all BSAC students chose to resign, though.

While current BSAC members agree with the other students that their voices were silenced and that peer counseling was “immoral,” they are hoping to stay and change the program with a set of demands.

The demands include giving the students more power along with the resignation of Sazama and termination of the partnership between BPS and Youth on Board.

Dorian Levy, BSAC member and freshman at Boston Community Leadership Academy said, “I’m staying to make sure BSAC is reformed to its full glory and that this never happens to another student again.”

But moving forward isn’t easy. Samuel Draisen, a senior at Boston Latin Academy said, “We didn’t realize the extent to which the adults would, you know, try and silence moderate us and control everything we were working on … it’s hitting us all at once.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2O85dJn