PUBLIC SCHOOL superintendents made the case for changing the state funding formula for education at forums in New Bedford, Fitchburg, and Malden on Tuesday as lawmakers on Beacon Hill prepared to roll out legislation addressing the problem. After the House and Senate failed to agree on school funding legislation at the end of the last […]
Education
Posted inCriminal Justice
New civics law should spur study of race and urban violence
THE STRENGTHENED MASSACHUSETTS civics standards for schools that was signed into law last month may well contain an unexpected benefit that will bolster the core of the state’s democracy: It can serve as a conduit to grapple with the persistent issues of race and violence— especially in the Commonwealth’s urban centers. The law was needed. Along […]
Posted inOpinion
The sorority defense doesn’t stand up
SEVERAL CURRENT and former Harvard sororities and fraternities recently sued Harvard in both state and federal courts, citing gender discrimination that violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the US Constitution. The sheer irony of this move is laughable. In 2016, Harvard’s then-president Drew Faust banned students in sororities, fraternities, and final […]
Posted inEducation
Time to end food insecurity among Mass. children
WITH THE HOLIDAY season upon us, many of us find ourselves enjoying quality time with family and friends, often spoiled with delicious food. Yet, many of us can remember a time when food was not so readily available because we were in between paychecks, cash-strapped during college, faced with a medical emergency, or in between […]
Posted inOpinion
Public higher ed isn’t really that public any more
THE BOSTON FOUNDATION and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation recently released a new report, Grade Incomplete: Implementation of the Community College Funding Formula in Massachusetts. The report examines the “performance-based funding” formula developed in 2012 as a tool for allocating state resources to Massachusetts’ 15 community colleges based not only on “inputs” like the number of students […]
Posted inEducation
Hold leaders accountable for Boston school closings
WHAT I HAVE learned as a Boston Public Schools teacher for the last 14 years is that my teaching has to be consistently scrutinized by the administration to make sure I am held accountable for my actions: how I design my classes, how I respond to my students and their caregivers, how I keep my […]
Posted inEducation
Ed reform needs a new plan
MASSACHUSETTS, WITH ITS innovative industries and history of leadership and reform, should be the laboratory for reimagining public education to ensure equity, opportunity and excellence for all. But that’s not happening. As proud as we are of gains we have made in student achievement, our education system remains outdated – unable to deliver on the […]
Posted inEducation
MTA will push for $1.5 billion in new ed spending
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION is pushing lawmakers to increase state funding for public education by more than $1.5 billion a year by May 1, a campaign the union’s board unanimously threw its support behind on Saturday. “For far too long, the state has underfunded public education,” union vice president Max Page […]
Posted inEducation
Mass. cities losing clout in ed funding fight
WE PREVIOUSLY CO-AUTHORED an article in CommonWealth detailing the increasing discrepancies in municipal finance between the “haves” and the “have-nots” among Massachusetts cities and towns. It should not be surprising, therefore, that we are concerned about antiquated funding formulas that create a similar divide when it comes to state aid to education in Massachusetts. The issue […]
Posted inEducation
Use pot revenue to expand afterschool programs
IN A RECENT report on the importance of afterschool programs, the Legislature’s Afterschool and Out-Of-School Time Coordinating Council, chaired by Sen. Brendan Crighton and Rep. Jennifer Benson, reached a familiar conclusion, but offers a promising new solution. For years, chronic underfunding has left too many Massachusetts children without access to the invaluable afterschool and summer learning […]