Boston Business Journal Viewpoint from my colleague: Opening doors for young people is moral, educat

I was proud to partner with Arthur, the CEO of Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, to develop this important piece in the late spring. Please enjoy and pass on.

Author of this blogpost: Arthur Pearson

Knowing that Boston's School Committee has narrowed its superintendent search to three finalists, looking ahead to the opportunities and risks of the summer, and reflecting on the recent college admissions scandal, I have been thinking about how privilege begets privilege, and barriers beget barriers.

Consider Michelle Obama’s 2012 speech: “When you’ve walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you; you reach back and give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.” Opening doors and removing barriers for young people who did not grow up with economic privilege – it is the right thing to do and has a measurable return on investment.

Right here in Boston, our public schools are teeming with smart, talented, ambitious and hard-working young people facing tremendous odds. Some 4,000 are homeless; one-third are not native English speakers; more than two-thirds live in households struggling to cover the basic costs of food, clothing, healthcare and housing. Too many have experienced racial discrimination and/or the trauma of violence.

I did not face these barriers growing up. I benefitted from — and took for granted — travel, camp, unpaid internships, trips to museums. The schools I attended had science fairs, robust arts and music programs, and well-equipped sports teams. In this country, by age 12, children from well-off families experience an average of 6,000 more hours of this kind of enrichment outside the classroom than their less advantaged peers. When children from low-income communities access these kinds of activities, they achieve higher grades and better test scores, and are more likely to complete high school and attend college, which in turn impacts their earning potential, which in turn fuels our tax base and our economy.

Against incredible odds, I see students in our island’s Connections program strive mightily to become scholars, leaders, athletes, and then volunteer to give back to their community. In their presence, I realize that while I worked hard to get into college, it was not nearly as hard as these young people work. And when I made mistakes, cut corners, or got into trouble — as young people often do — the adults in my world would wink and send me on my way, the opposite of the fate faced by many of our students.

Doors were held open for me, both when I deserved it and when I didn’t. Those of us who had this kind of head start in life have a responsibility to open doors for others. 
At Thompson Island Outward Bound, where the doors are wide open, I see the impact on students of having an island and all its natural beauty as their science classroom. I see kids from underserved communities explore tidepools and meadows and become friendly with crabs and mummichogs for the first time. I see them push outside their comfort zone as they engage in outdoor challenges. And there is irreproachable evidence that with enough time in a safe, enriching environment, their academic performance improves, and their aspirations rise.

So, what can we do to open more doors? Forward-thinking citizens can resist changes at the federal level that would reduce funding for public schools and threaten access to student loans. On the state level, we can applaud our Republican governor and our Democratic Legislature for working together to develop new education funding formulas. And we must always remind our representatives about the return on investment of public education.

Right here in Boston, as the three BPS Superintendent finalists undergo interviews, the school committee can prioritize candidates who understand that schools can’t go it alone in closing the opportunity gap; the right leader will have a clear vision for engaging corporate and nonprofit partners.

Finally, knowing the risk and opportunity posed by unstructured time during the upcoming summer months, business leaders can expand employment and internships for our city’s older youth, while nonprofits provide high-quality, free summer learning for elementary and middle school students.


As the college admissions scandal lands headlines about the need to close “side doors” for high-income families, let’s redouble our efforts to open front doors for every young person in our city.

Arthur Pearson is president and CEO of Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center in the Boston Harbor.