District overview
Rafael Hernández Dual Language School
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
A BPS dual-language PreK-6 school with formal family and staff shared governance
Hernández is operated and funded within Boston Public Schools rather than as an independent district. The appointed Boston School Committee adopts the citywide BPS budget and the superintendent allocates school resources. At the school, six elected family members and six staff members serve with the principal on the School Site Council (SSC), the central shared-decision body for the Quality School Plan, discretionary resources, major program recommendations, engagement plans, waivers, and personnel processes defined by the BPS-BTU agreement.
The school does not levy or appropriate its own revenue
Its core allocation comes through the City-funded BPS budget, state aid, and federal/state grants; Friends of the Hernández and other partners can add restricted private support.
SSC authority is meaningful but bounded
The SSC reviews the full school budget and approves discretionary materials, supplies, textbooks, and equipment, while citywide labor, capital, and appropriation authority remains with BPS and the City.
The school now serves PreK through grade 6
BPS completed the planned transition from a PreK-8 configuration in 2025-26 as part of its citywide grade-reconfiguration strategy.
Dual-language and inclusion define the program
The school integrates English/Spanish bilingual and biliterate instruction with inclusive education and participates in BPS's Community Hub School model.
BPS publishes citywide FY27 tables, but a clear current Hernández school-level operating total was not located in the reviewed public materials. That prevents a responsible current per-pupil spending calculation.
Where the district stands
Massachusetts-reported public enrollment for grades PreK-6.
State profile ratio; not a class-size measure.
New restricted facility-improvement grant approved through the Boston School Committee process.
Major projects
Hernández de-leading facility project
FY27 grant acceptedBPS accepted a dedicated grant for lead-hazard reduction at the Hernández campus. The work is a City/BPS facilities responsibility, with the principal named as the program manager in the grant record.
- FY27 grant and project period began
- Boston School Committee considered the new $915,000 FY27 grant
Funding
Friends of the Hernández De-Leading Project Grant
Recent news
Prepared from the school's Site Council and family-governance pages, BPS FY27 budget and capital materials, Massachusetts enrollment data, and the July 8, 2026 Boston School Committee grant record.
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