Mission Statement

The pursuit of justice for students, parents and teachers in the Boston Public School system by building a stronger and better public school system driven by community voices.

History

BEJA was originally founded in 2013 under the name Boston Truth Coalition as a response to the persistent educational disenfranchisement of communities of color as well as the encroaching privatization of public schools. The 21 member organizations of the coalition include educational equity advocacy groups, the Boston Teachers Union, and, most importantly, student and parent organizations. BEJA is one of the founding members of the growing statewide coalition, Mass. Ed Justice Alliance (MEJA). BEJA fought for and experienced a monumental victory in the 2016 elections when we defeated a ballot question initiative, by a significant margin, that would have drastically increased the number of Commonwealth charter schools across the state. Overwhelmingly, poor communities and communities of color rejected the measure and voted NO on question 2.

Our campaign exposed the corporate interests of the ballot initiative and dispelled the myth that increasing the number of charter schools, “doing more with less” and blaming teachers and their unions would address systemic race and class issues plaguing public education. In order to counter the corporate education reformers already embedded in our city’s education system, the leaders and activists of our alliance are committed to building a broad-based movement tied to an educational justice vision that holds that schools must be a fully-funded public good for all students and pillars of authentic parent and student voice, participation and democracy in the communities of Boston they serve.

What We Believe

Constituency and Core Principles

Our member organizations are all expressly dedicated to organizing communities of color and low-income families in Boston. Our work is rooted in the truth that communities most impacted by racial and class disparities need to be the helm of our educational justice movement and alliance. Our Core Principles are as follows:

Public schools are public institutions.

• Our voices matter.

• Stronger schools sustain stronger communities.

• Assessments should be used to improve instruction.

• A rich and varied curriculum is the key to student success.

• Quality teaching must be delivered by committed, respected educators.

• Schools must be welcoming and respectful places for all.

• Our schools must be funded for success and equity.