Boston museum program now open to all

December 5, 2024

By MIChael Jonas

When it comes to an ambitious Boston initiative that opened the door to arts and culture institutions for thousands of young people, but drew criticism for initially excluding thousands of others, all’s well that ends well. 

In January, Mayor Michelle Wu used her high-profile annual State of the City speech to announce a new program that would fund free admission at six arts and cultural museums for all Boston Public Schools students.

Tapping federal pandemic relief funding and private donations, Wu said the program would unlock access for Boston young people and their families to renowned cultural jewels like the Museum of Fine Arts and New England Aquarium, giving them free admission there and at four other institutions on two Sundays each month. 

Formally launching the initiative several weeks later at the Boston Children’s Museum, Wu said the program was an affirmation that the city’s “world-leading arts and culture institutions are public infrastructure in the same way that our roads and bridges, libraries and parks, and schools are,” and they “belong to all of our residents, especially our young people.” 

But the program, dubbed “BPS Sundays,” did not open the door to the museums for all young people in the city. By restricting eligibility to the 46,000 Boston Public Schools students and their families, it excluded the roughly 13,000 young people in the city who attend charter schools, the 2,800 who are enrolled at suburban district schools through the Metco program, as well as the thousands of students at Catholic schools and other religious and non-denominational private schools. 

On Wednesday, Wu announced that starting in January all young people in Boston – regardless of what school they attend – will be eligible for the free museum program, which will be renamed “Boston Family Days” and will now include three additional museums.  “Every student in Boston, from our littlest learners all the way up through high school, will have free access for themselves and two family members to all nine of these amazing participating institutions on the first two Sundays of every month,” Wu said in an event at the Museum of Science. 

Wu said the city has secured two years of funding for the expanded program. City officials did not respond to an inquiry on details of the funding, including a breakdown of its sources. Jim Caneles, president of the Barr Foundation, said at Wednesday’s announcement that his organization has committed $1 million to the two-year effort.

The program initially included free admission to the Boston Children’s Museum, Franklin Park Zoo, Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, and New England Aquarium. Starting in January, it will include three more facilities: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and the Museum of African American History. 

Charter school leaders, who expressed disappointment that their students weren’t included in the initial phase of the program, praised the expansion announced by Wu. “We're grateful that this opportunity is being extended to all children and families who reside in the city, regardless of which school they attend,” said Tim Nicolette, executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, in a statement released by the mayor’s office. 

Eileen McLaughlin, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Boston, echoed those sentiments at Wednesday’s announcement. “I am so proud to be part of a city that prioritizes this type of cultural education for all of our students,” she said. 

Tensions have long existed in the city among the different education sectors, particularly between the district school system and charter schools, which are publicly funded, but operate independent of the district system. 

Nearly 15 years ago, then-Mayor Tom Menino and charter school leaders signed a compact, pledging a new day of cooperation. Charter schools vowed to redouble efforts to recruit English language learners and special needs students, populations that critics pointed out were underrepresented in their classrooms, while the city said it would consider leasing surplus school buildings to charters. 

Meanwhile, a three-way compact was formed that extended the new era of cross-sector collaboration to parochial schools run by the Catholic Archdiocese, with leaders of the three sectors meeting quarterly. 

Boston school superintendent Mary Skipper cited those ongoing meetings at Wednesday’s announcement. “What we have seen is that what used to be difference is actually a lot of similarity,” she said. “And the idea of Boston Family Days brings that fully square into the center of what’s important.”