IN A BOLD move of, let’s call it, “inspiration,” the Massachusetts Teachers Association and some of our elected officials have decided that the MCAS — the very foundation of our educational accountability — is no longer necessary to pass as a high school graduation requirement. Here in the Cradle of Liberty, where revolutions were sparked […]
Keri Rodrigues
Posted inEducation
Wu’s school challenge: Put Black, Latinx, and low-income kids on path to success
IF MAYOR MICHELLE WU focuses her upcoming State of the City speech solely on the state of Boston Public Schools (BPS), she would need to convey difficult truths about how the city is failing our Black, Latinx, and economically-disadvantaged children. Perhaps her greatest challenge as mayor will be the transformation of Boston Public Schools, a […]
Posted inEducation
Families need answers on school details
WHEN THE SCHOOL YEAR ended in June, parents scrambled to find activities to keep their children occupied during the pandemic’s long summer days. While families did their best to juggle kids and jobs, they assumed district leaders and educators were using the summer to transition from a spring of “emergency” remote learning into a fall […]
Posted inEducation
As parents, we’re all now superintendents
I RECENTLY DECLARED a “snow day” for my school district. I made the call early after my oldest son complained of a toothache and my younger two boys came down with a serious case of the wiggles. The forecast said the afternoon would be in the 60s, and after a long stretch of rainy, cold […]
Posted inOpinion
Charter politics takes precedence over New Bedford students
JUST DAYS BEFORE the end of the school year, the future of hundreds of New Bedford families has been thrown into chaos as the Massachusetts Teachers Association pulled out all the stops to kill a community-driven home rule petition to move forward with the already-approved expansion of Alma del Mar Charter Public School. And while […]
Posted inOpinion
Listen to New Bedford families, not special interests
SINCE THE 2016 BALLOT campaign around charter schools, we’ve seen victory lap after victory lap from the regressive anti-innovation crowd in education, but zero solutions presented to address the real and persistent problems that plague our education systems in urban areas. While those claiming they are trying to “Save Our Public Schools” continue to congratulate […]
Posted inOpinion
Testing isn’t punishment, it’s a matter of social justice
LAST YEAR WHILE CASUALLY asking my son about taking his first MCAS exam as a third grader, he responded with an adverse physical reaction at the mere mention of the word MCAS. He literally flinched with fear. Now, I did sign many forms at the beginning of the school year, but I don’t recall the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
MTA deserves ‘time out’ for bad behavior
AS REPORTED IN CommonWealth on Thursday, last weekend the Massachusetts Teachers Association decided to reject a resolution congratulating the 2017 National Teacher of the Year, Sydney Chaffee from Codman Academy, right here in Massachusetts. Usually the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year is celebrated by the MTA and given the chance to talk to their fellow […]