Silja Kallenbach on Students Being “Aged Out” of School
January 7th, 2019 | News
Massachusetts requires its districts to provide an education for people until they turn 22. Boston has had a waiver that allowed older students to finish school. But with a current superintendent vacancy at the Boston Public Schools, the waiver was not reinstated for the 2018-2019 school year, and students must now leave school the day before their 22nd birthday. Older students who want to continue in school must enroll in an adult education program.
WGBH News asked World Education’s Silja Kallenbach what this means for Boston’s older students, many of whom are recent immigrants without strong English language skills. “Those young adults are going to run the risk of not re-enrolling in any program,” Kallenbach said. “A policy that will push out younger people … out into the streets, essentially, and into the adult system is not a good one, and many of those young adults are going to fall through the cracks.”
Read the article at wgbh.org
