STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG, who still expects to determine by the end of the month whether a majority in his branch could support an expansion of […]
Elementary and Secondary Education
Posted inEducation, The Download
Charter school data wars
When the new year begins, be prepared for the great charter school debate of 2016 to kick off in earnest. The first order of business will be whether the Legislature […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Two cheers for a charter school’s “Got to Go” list?
Pushing unruly kids out of high-performing “no-excuses” urban charter schools isn’t exactly something that draws praise. Indeed, the typical reaction is quite the opposite, with harsh condemnation for the idea […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
State education formula out of whack
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HIGH COSTS for employee health insurance and special education have reduced the resources school districts can invest in other areas, including extended learning time, books, technology, […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
‘Charterizing’ Lawrence schools wrong way to go
I RECENTLY READ Jim Stergios’s critique of the approach that the Lawrence Public School system has taken to reforming the once failing district. He argued that instead of working with the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
The keys to helping students in poverty thrive
WITH POVERTY ON THE RISE in many communities across the state, and with a noticeable uptick in youth violence this summer in Worcester and the Boston area, many of our […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Riley’s turnaround effort bigger than schools
A FEW YEARS AGO, Lawrence’s schools were considered some of the worst in the state. Only half of their students were finishing high school. Test scores were abysmal. Beyond the […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
PARCC vs. MCAS
CommonWealth’s new fall issue set the table for the debate over whether to scrap the use of MCAS in Massachusetts schools in favor of the new Common Core-aligned PARCC test, and […]
Posted inEducation
Share your stories on the opportunity/sports gap
ONE OF THE GREATEST JOYS of my life has been watching my son play sports. Over the years, he’s played soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball on organized teams, and football, […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Baker pushes for more charter schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER REIGNITED a debate on Thursday that has vexed and divided Democrat and Republican lawmakers in recent years, proposing an expansion of charter schools […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Charter school chess match
With yesterday’s filing of a class-action lawsuit challenging state limits on charter schools, the debate over the publicly-funded, but independently operated, schools becomes a complicated chess match that will now […]
Posted inEducation
Dealing with stressors at urban schools
AS STUDENTS RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM this week, some will arrive burdened by more than a heavy book bag. For many children in low-income communities, back-to-school means managing social and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
Massachusetts can lead in inmate college education
MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO, Congress voted to make prisoners ineligible to receive Pell Grants, the funding program aimed at low-income college students. This summer the Obama administration expects to […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Another education storm brewing
It is, like a tropical depression, nothing to be concerned about yet but it has the potential to develop into a full-blown hurricane, the likes of which haven’t been seen in […]
Posted inEducation
A provocative court challenge to charter cap
TWO MONTHS AGO, three prominent Boston lawyers made a big splash with news on the front-page of the Boston Globe that they plan to file a lawsuit challenging the state […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
Is bipartisanship killing the era of school accountability?
Partisan gridlock is something everyone loves to hate. The dysfunction in Washington underscores everything that’s wrong with governing today. That should make moments of bipartisan agreement something to celebrate, glimmers […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
State takes control of Holyoke schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOLYOKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS will be taken over by the state, after the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 8 to 3 Tuesday to authorize the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
Pushing back on Baker’s T reform
Lawmakers began pushing back against the Baker administration’s MBTA reform plan on Monday, questioning the need for a special T control board, raising doubts about unspent capital funds, and suggesting […]
Posted inEducation, Environment
Bruce Smith wants to take rowing to a new level
FOR BRUCE SMITH, rowing is more than just a sport. It’s a way of life, or a way of changing lives. He admits few people view rowing the way he […]
Posted inEducation
Fixing failing schools
(Illustration by James Steinberg) DEVIN SHEEHAN, THE vice chairman of the Holyoke School Committee, welcomed Rob Curtin to the board’s monthly meeting in early March, but no one there was […]
Posted inEducation
Getting along
WHEN BOSTON SCHOOL officials and the city’s teachers union announced an agreement last year on extending the K-8 school day by 40 minutes, it was hailed as an important breakthrough […]
Posted inEducation
Special ed spikes
HOW TO FUND special education has always vexed state and local officials, but now many of them are struggling to deal with unexpected mid-year spikes in special ed costs as […]
Posted inEducation, State House News Service
Young kids’ behavior alarms schools
A TIMEOUT USED to be a way to solve kindergarten temper tantrums, but it’s not that simple anymore. School officials say extreme behavior is more prevalent among young children who […]
Posted inEducation
Boston schools failing black and Latino males
AFTER DOCUMENTING LAST FALL how poorly the Boston Public Schools were doing in educating black and Latino males, researchers went looking for individual schools that were doing a good job, […]