Testimony of Jenna Ogundipe, Joint Committee on Education, In Support of H.632

Good afternoon. My name is Jenna Ogundipe. I am the Executive Director of Boston Collegiate Charter School. We are located in Dorchester and offer grades five through twelve. We have proudly served the students and families of Boston for over twenty-five years. Our mission is simple yet ambitious: to prepare every student for college. 

We are incredibly lucky that our school sits at the intersection of Dorchester and South Boston – two neighborhoods with very different demographics and cultural ethos. The richness of these two communities has gifted us with a truly diverse student body – in terms of race, socioeconomic status, life experiences, political perspectives, and more. The varied backgrounds and identities of our students is one of our greatest strengths. 

At Boston Collegiate, all children, of all identities, are academically challenged, deeply supported, and prepared for college and life after high school. Over 20% of Boston Collegiate students have identified disabilities – comparable with our local district and the statewide average. We offer a variety of robust supports to meet the needs of our students, including both inclusion programs and a subseparate program for students with more significant needs. For example, we have students who came to us completely non-verbal who are today actively communicating with assistive devices, building relationships with peers, and excelling in their classrooms. 

While we have a large, thriving population of students with special needs, our multilingual learner population is smaller. We have incredible multilingual educators who consistently help students build English proficiency efficiently and effectively. They are ready and eager to serve more students. If we could, we would give multilingual learners who enroll in our lottery a greater chance of being able to attend our school – the school they believe is right for them. H.632 would make that possible. 

While the blind lottery helps build a diverse student population most of the time, sometimes it isn’t sufficient, and we need to give kids with high needs a greater chance. 

Please support this bill.