Prominent Author Accuses Brookline Schools Of Aggressive Policy

BROOKLINE, MA — A noted author made allegations about Brookline's school district on social media last month with no basis, according to Interim Superintendent Jim Marini.

Seth Mnookin accused Brookline of taking a "hyper-aggressive stance" when it comes to remote schooling, saying the district threatened families who aren't on Zoom all the time, while also saying that some teachers were simply not showing up for Zoom classes.

"[Brookline Public Schools] has also been - and I so wish this was a joke - hunting down kids who are out of state [because] of illness or death or safety reasons and told them they had to return immediately or get thrown out of the district," he wrote.

Mnookin is a prominent author with several books, he's also the director of MIT's graduate program in Science Writing and has about 34,000 followers on Twitter, where he posted the accusations.

"Nobody is hunting anyone down. That’s pretty strong language," Marini said in a phone interview Nov. 3. He also said he had not heard of any teachers not showing up for class.

If a student experienced that, he said, they should contact their principal, who would then report it to him. Marini said teachers also keep attendance like they regularly do and would reach out to the family if a student failed to show up a number of times.

"That’s not something that has been an issue," he said.

Mnookin did not respond to request for comment. But he said on Twitter that it hadn't happened to his own family. He said when he's tried to get answers he has been told "someone else" makes those decisions.

Marini said he was not aware of Mnookin's accusations and had not spoken to him.

The school's attendance policy for online learning is the same as for in-person learning, according to Marini.

"Residency in Brookline forms the foundation for the eligibility to enroll in the school district. Having an 'address in town' is not the same thing as residency," Marini said in an email.

In order to apply our residency policy equitably and fairly to all families, he said, the school committee policy authorizes the district to issue an annual affidavit of residency to Brookline families.

Those annual requests went out late last month, and may have been what Mnookin was referring to, he said.

"They’re trying to do a residency check. That’s all." Marini said in the phone interview.

"I can understand the frustration," he said. "But I think teachers are working very hard, and being very responsible and the residency check is part of the system. It’s honestly difficult to hear because [Mnookin] paint[s] such a bleak picture, but nobody is trying to do that."

Marini stressed there’s an appeal process for any family who has to be out of the district during the school year for extenuating circumstances.

"We are always ready and willing to work with our families who have extenuating circumstances and have been built-in an appeals process for just that purpose," Marini said.

"Upon an initial determination by the Office of Student Affairs that a student is not actually
residing in the Town of Brookline, the student’s enrollment in the Public Schools of Brookline shall be terminated. The student’s parent or legal guardian may appeal the determination," reads the policy.

Although the policy mentions that there is a process, the email sent to families asking them to unenroll with the subject line: "Non-Residency Letter" did not mention it or spell out how it works.

How to look at residency requirements amid the pandemic is a good question, said Marini, but ultimately the district kept the policy as it was before the pandemic for consistency. He said the fact that there is an appeals process is clear in the residency check form.

The residency policy does not affect METCO students, special programs, tuition-paying students, or students entitled to attend the public schools under the Mckinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

According to district policy there are a few such circumstances that would merit an appeal:

"Students who move to or from Brookline temporarily because of the severe or chronic illness of the student or immediate family member; the death of an immediate family PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BROOKLINE POLICY MANUAL member; disaster to the residence; or other circumstances having a significant impact upon the student"

"He’s certainly entitled to his opinion, but I don’t resonate with it because I don’t see people working that way."

Brookline had a rethink of its policy in 2015, when the district asked the school committee to help it hammer out what to do with short term residents as enrollment grew.

"There is some discussion happening about what to do if kids are caught between a rock and a hard place where custody is divided," said Glenn Koocher of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. Particularly if students are stuck in other countries or other states.

But, he said, he hasn't heard much discussion on changes to policy overall.

"I don't know if anyone has acted on policy regarding residency amid the pandemic," he said.

Others agreed.

"I'd be shocked if districts were to change their residency policy," said Matt Hills a former Newton School Committee chair and a member of the Massachusetts department of elementary and Secondary Education board.

Have you gotten a letter from the district that asked you to take your child out of Brookline Schools? Email us at Brookline@Patch.com

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .