Boston schools

Scores of Boston Public Schools students walked out of class Friday in protest of the district and state’s response to the surge in COVID cases that has seen nearly 3,000 students and staff infected between the end of winter break and Jan. 12.

More than 40% of students in Boston’s public schools don’t have a library in their building, including one-third of the high school students who do not attend the city’s three exam schools, according to a survey made public by a coalition of education activists.

In the fight to pass eviction legislation that could protect renters and small landlords during the COVID-19 crisis, City Life/Vida Urbana has partnered with other COVID-related causes. Teachers from the Boston Teachers Union, parents and renters in Nubian Square voiced their concerns about housing, school reopening and job loss in a rally Wednesday in front of the Boston Public Schools Bolling Building headquarters.

The cards are stacked against Boston Public Schools students seeking entrance to the city’s three exam schools, according to members of a coalition of civil rights and education groups calling for changes to the schools’ admissions criteria.

Students in Madison Park Technical Vocational High School’s allied health programs have a new opportunity this year to shadow health professionals at Boston Medical Center, learn about jobs and career paths at BMC — one of the city’s largest employers — and apply for jobs there.

BPS officials say they’re spending $1 billion as part of a ten-year process aimed at building new schools and renovating existing ones to fit changing needs of the city’s students. But parent activists, school committee members and city councilors are still looking for clear answers on what will get built, when and for whom, and some expressed frustration during meetings last week at City Hall and the Boston School Committee as BPS officials answered questions on the BuildBPS planning process.