Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Announces First ‘State of the Schools’ Address

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will deliver the city's first-ever “State of the Schools” address on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown. Wu's address will focus on the progress and plans for Boston Public Schools (BPS).

“The country's oldest public school system should be the best, and our city has the resources and vision to make it happen,” Wu said in a pre-event announcement shared with the Boston Herald. “I look forward to delivering this first-ever State of the Schools address to showcase the work of our school communities and invite our entire city in pushing forward progress for our young people and families.”

According to the announcement, Wu aims to showcase Boston's resources and vision to improve the public school system. “In a moment when public education is under attack, Mayor Wu will celebrate Boston's educators and lay out a shared agenda to make BPS the first choice for Boston families,” the announcement stated

Wu's address follows recent MCAS and state accountability results, which show some improvements but also reveal that students are still behind pre-pandemic academic levels.

The Boston Policy Institute highlights the speech as critical to addressing important educational objectives. This group cited evidence that BPS has not fully recovered from COVID-related learning loss or reversed pre-pandemic declines, based on recent MCAS data and a March 2025 report called “Beyond Small Fixes.” That report describes a lack of improved academic outcomes after the 2020-2025 state intervention in BPS.

The mayor's release said that, under the current leadership, BPS “is setting ambitious goals, with high academic expectations and high-quality supports for every student.”

“Across our school communities, we are dedicated to ensuring that every student has the support and resources needed to reach their full potential in learning environments that uplift students and give them a sense of purpose,” said Superintendent Mary Skipper in a statement to the Boston Herald. “The State of the Schools is an exciting opportunity to honor this collective commitment and reaffirm our shared belief that every child in Boston deserves a world-class education.”

The speech will be streamed live on the City of Boston's website, boston.gov.