Boston District and Union Agree on Adding ‘Pilot Schools’

City and school leaders in Boston reached an agreement with the Boston Teachers’ Union last week to expand the district’s system of small, autonomous schools, ending a 2-year-old standoff that had stalled the growth of the experimental program.

Under the agreement, which must be approved by the school board, the city would open at least seven new “pilot schools” over the next three years, including one that would be governed by the union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. The 59,000-student district opened the first of its 19 pilot schools in 1994, through a partnership with the BTU. The schools, which are the district’s answer to charter schools, enroll various K-12 grade levels.

“This new agreement on pilot schools will offer our students more choice and continue to provide them with a world-class education,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a statement announcing...