Sunday

10-19-2025 Vol 2118

Josiah Quincy Elementary School Faces Demographic Shift and Enrollment Policy Challenges

The Josiah Quincy Elementary School has long been a cornerstone of Boston’s Chinatown community, evolving since its modern iteration opened nearly fifty years ago.

However, calling it merely a school fails to capture its deeper mission, as it was designed to serve the community’s broader needs.

The planning for the current version of the school began in 1961 through a collaboration that included Tufts New England Medical Center, The Architects Collaborative, and the Quincy School Community Council.

Strategically positioned within walking distance of key housing complexes, including the Mass Pike Towers, Castle Square, and Tai Tung Village, Josiah Quincy Elementary is accessible to many community members.

In addition to its educational responsibilities, the school provides valuable community resources, such as a swimming pool, gymnasium, and a rooftop playground, all accessible to the public.

Moreover, the institution has built strong connections with various community organizations, such as Kwong Kow Chinese School, which offers after-school and weekend programs in Chinese language and culture.

As former Principal Suzanne Lee notes, these connections are part of the school’s “wrap-around” services aimed at supporting the students and their families both inside and outside the classroom.

Recently, however, Lee and other educators and parents are grappling with the challenge of maintaining accessibility for Boston’s Asian American community in light of changes to the city’s student enrollment procedures.

The Boston Public Schools’ Home-Based plan has revised the criteria for school enrollment, which now excludes a number of neighborhoods that house significant Asian populations from attending Josiah Quincy Elementary.

The current principal declined to discuss the issue on record.

A Demographic Shift in Boston

As the Josiah Quincy School was built, Boston was predominantly white, with a limited immigrant population.

In the 1970s, the Asian American demographic was only about 1% of the city’s total population.

The situation has transformed dramatically in the decades since.

The neighborhood’s Asian population peaked around 1990 but has since declined to levels below those seen five decades earlier due to aging families and the departure of many long-standing residents.

Simultaneously, the rise of luxury housing developments has pushed many Asian American families to settle in other Boston neighborhoods.

While Chinatown continues to be a cultural and social anchor for Asian Americans, it represents only a small fraction of the total Asian population in Boston today.

As of now, approximately 3,478 Asian residents live in Chinatown, accounting for roughly 56% of the neighborhood’s total population.

In contrast, neighborhoods such as Allston, Mission Hill, Fenway, and Charlestown have seen a significant increase in their Asian American populations since the 1970s.

This demographic shift, combined with recent changes to school enrollment criteria, means that Josiah Quincy Elementary is becoming increasingly inaccessible for families that live in neighborhoods where Asian populations are thriving.

The city maintains that it is continually reviewing its enrollment policies to fairly serve all students, regardless of their backgrounds or homes.

“We are committed to ensuring that students have access to high-quality educational options that meet their unique needs,” said a Boston Public Schools spokesperson.

They added that the Josiah Quincy Elementary School remains a vibrant part of the district known for its commitment to multilingual education and unique resources.

The spokesperson emphasized ongoing efforts to offer more options to students across the city and enhance enrollment processes for all families.

Voices from the Community

Residents who spoke to Sampan were careful to express their concerns without confrontational tones toward the city.

When Josiah Quincy Elementary School first opened in 1975, it coincided with Boston’s controversial busing program, which forced many local families to send their children to schools far from their homes.

Suzanne Lee, who was instrumental in the school’s planning, recalls being one of those children on those buses and finds parallels between past and present school policies.

“We designed a school to serve the community, and then we found out we couldn’t all come here, and now it’s narrowing down again,” she said, highlighting the systemic issues that stem from the changing policies.

Lee pointed out that many families have been pushed out of the neighborhood, leading to decreased student enrollment at Josiah Quincy.

Under Boston Public Schools’ Student Assignment Policy, children may apply to schools within a one-mile radius, with additional options for high-quality institutions based on the School Quality Framework.

Typically, this allows families to rank 10-14 school options, with a lottery system determining the final assignment.

However, some parents are concerned that this system does not function as planned.

One parent, a Chinese American whose child is entering Kindergarten, echoed these sentiments, explaining how vital it would be for their child to attend Josiah Quincy Elementary to maintain a connection to their Chinese heritage and language.

“Even if you select options highlighting Chinese language, if you’re outside of the JQS service area, it doesn’t show up as an option,” the parent remarked, questioning the effectiveness of these offerings.

The parent emphasized that early immersion in language and culture is crucial to fostering pride in their children’s identities.

Bilingual Education at Josiah Quincy

Bilingual education has been a long-standing commitment at Josiah Quincy Elementary.

However, a Massachusetts law enacted in 2002 aimed to dismantle bilingual programs, creating challenges for language education.

The LOOK Act, passed in 2017, rejuvenated efforts to reintroduce bilingual education, thereby enabling the expansion of language programs like the newly implemented Chinese program.

The contemporary program builds on the existing heritage language curriculum by aiming to maintain native language skills while also achieving English proficiency.

This new Chinese program will include weekly Mandarin classes and math lessons taught in Mandarin, running through Grade 5, with further options available at the Josiah Quincy Upper School up until Grade 12.

The first two strands of this program began with kindergarten students this September, and plans are in place for rolling it up a grade each subsequent year.

Ann Moy, a former teacher at Josiah Quincy Elementary, emphasizes the importance of bilingual education from personal experience.

As a child of immigrants, Moy understands the significance of strong familial connections and believes that teachers must advocate beyond the classroom to empower families and help them stay involved.

“Beyond the classroom, you have to do more than just be a teacher; you must advocate for your families and keep them connected,” Moy stated.

She firmly believes that cultural and language learning strengthens family bonds, especially for children of immigrants facing unique challenges.

Moy noted that schools serve as vital centers for children growing up in the U.S., teaching them values and messages that shape their identities.

Therefore, the role of educational institutions is essential to building foundations for the future.

Charlene Situ, a parent of a current Josiah Quincy Elementary student, shares her own family’s experiences navigating identity and cultural connection.

Her partner, who is half Asian, faced feelings of isolation due to his racial background when growing up.

Situ expressed her desire for her child not to experience that same sense of alienation.

Through Josiah Quincy Elementary, her son initially struggled with learning Chinese but grew to appreciate his identity as a Chinese American, demonstrating the school’s impact on personal development.

Situ recounted a memorable experience when Josiah Quincy Elementary partnered with Kwong Kow Chinese School for a cultural program, leading her child to discover new dumpling recipes that expanded his culinary preferences.

Being surrounded by peers with similar backgrounds fosters a supportive atmosphere for exploring culture.

Situ also highlighted the beneficial effect their school community has had on her understanding and celebration of Chinese holidays, which she had previously forgotten about.

“Now my child comes home excited to celebrate holidays that I had lost touch with,” she described, underscoring the school’s role in rekindling her cultural heritage.

However, due to the recent changes in enrollment policy, families living in Charlestown, who were once eligible for enrollment at Josiah Quincy, are now excluded.

“Right now, my daughter is set to enter kindergarten in one year, and I can’t send her to the same school as her brother anymore,” Situ shared with concern, contemplating the complications this separation would create for pick-up and drop-off arrangements.

Josiah Quincy Elementary remains committed to diversity, as close to half of its student body identifies with a race outside of Asian.

Even students who do not identify as Chinese American reap the benefits of the school’s programming, according to Lee, who believes that the approach it takes to education serves as a prototype for nurturing pride in identity and cultural heritage.

The challenges presented by demographic shifts and altered enrollment policies call for collective action to ensure that Josiah Quincy Elementary effectively meets its mission of serving the entire community.

image source from:sampan

Benjamin Clarke