Series Two: A School Under Receivership
Series Two: A School Under Receivership
In 2014, the Paul A. Dever Elementary School—once a beacon in the Columbia Point community—was labeled chronically underperforming by the state of Massachusetts.
Overnight, it was placed under state receivership.
For many families, educators, and longtime staff, the news hit like a gut punch.
Despite vocal opposition from the Dever community, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) moved forward with the takeover. What followed was not a rescue—
It was a decade of disruption, instability, and a revolving door of leadership.
All in the name of “improvement.”
🔄 A Decade of Disruption
Receivership promised transformation.
Instead, it delivered chaos.
Beloved programs were cut.
Many of the school’s Latino educators—who reflected the culture, language, and identities of the student body—were pushed out.
Trust began to unravel. Honesty began to fade.
Here’s how the timeline unfolded:
2014: DESE assumes full control of the Dever.
2017: Former BPS Superintendent Tommy Chang briefly serves as receiver, then transfers oversight to Blueprint Schools Network, a national education reform nonprofit.
2017–2018: Under Blueprint’s leadership, the Dever cycles through five principals in just over a year.
2018: DESE terminates the Blueprint contract, appointing Michael Contompasis, a respected veteran Boston educator, as receiver.
2020: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, School & Main Institute becomes the latest—and current—receiver.
Each change was marketed as a solution.
But for those on the ground, it felt like the Dever was being experimented on, without meaningful community input—or accountability.
DESE pointed to low test scores, chronic absenteeism, weak leadership, and lack of academic rigor to justify receivership.
But by 2023, nearly a decade later, the school remained under state control.
In late 2024, quiet discussions began to return the Dever to local oversight.
And then, without explanation, those conversations stopped.
And the question still lingers:
Wasn’t receivership supposed to save the Dever?
🌟 Leadership That Made a Difference
In the middle of this storm, one leader brought light.
Margaret Reardon, who became Vice Principal in 2015 and Principal in 2020, is widely credited with stabilizing the Dever during its most turbulent years.
Her philosophy was simple but transformative:
“The students who enter my building are my children.”
And she led with that heart.
But also with results:
Staff retention improved
Test scores showed steady growth
Family engagement increased
School culture shifted toward one of respect, inclusion, and equity
Margaret didn’t bring change through top-down mandates or corporate strategies.
She built trust—with families, with teachers, and most importantly, with students.
For the first time in years:
Families felt hopeful
Teachers felt supported
Students began to thrive
🧭 Looking Ahead
Receivership was supposed to be a lifeline.
For many, it became a weight.
But within that flawed system, leaders like Margaret Reardon proved that real change is possible—
When you invest in people, not just policy.
🔜 Sneak Peek: Series Three — The Dever’s Heartbeat: Community & Family
To some, the Dever might look like just another city school.
But for those who know it—the students raised in its classrooms, the teachers who gave it everything, the parents who trusted it with their children—it’s so much more.
At its core, the Dever was built on two values: community and family.
These weren’t buzzwords on a mission statement. They were lived.
Every day. In morning greetings. Family nights. After-school programs. Classrooms where every student felt seen, heard, and empowered.
The Dever didn’t just serve a community.
It was one.
In the next post, we’ll explore how the Dever became a model for diversity, inclusion, and educational innovation.
We’ll show what happens when a school chooses connection over separation, and equity over excuses.
And with closure now looming, we ask:
What exactly do we stand to lose?
Stay tuned for stories of belonging, resistance, and the heartbeat that kept this school alive.
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