in 1993, the state passed an education reform law with a funding formula that closely followed proposals I developed with the late Jack Rennie and the Massachusetts Business Alliance for […]
Elementary and Secondary Education
Posted inEducation, Opinion
No magic bullet
gov. patrick, the Boston Globe, MassINC, the Boston Foundation, the business community, and President Obama are all supporting charter schools as a key step toward school improvement, but a careful […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service
Hub youth work to bring civics class back to public schools
It’s civic engagement at its finest. Like most students, Boston youth organizer Katherine Garcia, 16, had never designed a curriculum for a high school course. Roy Karp, executive director of […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
School mergers in Maine hit snags
massachusetts officials looking to consolidate some of the state’s school districts need only look north to Maine to see how tough that job will be. Maine Gov. John Baldacci first […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
IBM offers transition to teaching careers
When Elizabeth Cowles of Bedford graduated from college in 1987, she had two job offers: one to work for IBM and one to teach high school physics. She chose IBM […]
Posted inEducation
Spending spiral
INTRO TEXT EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the publication of this story, CommonWealth has learned that some of the information it presented was incomplete. For clarification, please go here.
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
The 85 percent solution
at a recent MassINC board meeting, we were discussing the achievement gap between students from wealthy versus poor school districts and how best to shrink it. I found myself saying […]
Posted inEducation
Spending spiral
INTRO TEXT EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the publication of this story, CommonWealth has learned that some of the information it presented was incomplete. For clarification, please go here. ONLINE FORUM: To […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, State House News Service
Utahs financial literacy requirement
INTRO TEXT States want to be trendsetters, but not all trends are worth bragging about. That was Utah’s predicament from 2002 through 2004, when the Beehive State ranked No. 1 […]
Posted inEducation
Cos for action
THE OCCASION WAS an NAACP dinner to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision outlawing school segregation, but Bill Cosby was in no mood to […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, State House News Service
Patrick reveals a big appetite for education reform
INTRO TEXT The unveiling of the Readiness Project should dispel any doubt that Gov. Deval Patrick sees himself as the master builder of the next epoch of education reform. “Our […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion
Too many incompletes
Education reform in the Commonwealth focused our attention on those students who were passing through school without acquiring basic academic skills. We aimed for a particular target, and we hit […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Next steps
The commonwealth of Massachusetts is frequently, and with solid justification, considered to be the poster child of successful, systemic, standards-based school reform, but the ultimate goal of the 1993 Education […]
Posted inEducation
High-stakes test
Passage of the state’s landmark 1993 Education Reform Act was a rare moment in politics when consensus was forged around a truly big idea that shook up the status quo. […]
Posted inEducation
Ed reform must move beyond MCAS
As mayor of New Bedford, I rely upon the entire community to work together to move our city forward. So it alarms me to watch New Bedford’s best resources, our […]
Posted inEducation
One last thing, Mr. President
NOTE: Sen. Edward Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after this edition of CommonWealth went to press.Like any good Democrat, Sen. Ted Kennedy is hoping that his party […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Shock to the system
During the 27 years after Proposition 2 1/2 became law in Massachusetts, the town of Randolph never passed an override of the state property tax cap. Between 2003 and 2007, […]
Posted inEducation
Raising the bar
By most measures, K-12 public education in Massachusetts is in better shape than in other states. We can boast higher scores on standardized tests, more spending per student, and fewer […]
Posted inEconomy, Education
Fewer high school grads in jobs pipeline
INTRO TEXT Massachusetts is facing a serious brain drain. Over the next 15 years, forecasters expect the state’s school-age population to shrink and the number of high school graduates to […]
Posted inEducation
The bottom line
set amid the row houses and apartment buildings of the poor, mostly Hispanic community of Bushwick, the New York Harbor School seems a long way from the open water. The […]
Posted inEducation
What about college?
Salvador Pimentel, asenior at Brighton HighSchool, says his jobs haveshown him there’s notmuch to look forward towithout a college degree.The colorful murals that ring the walls of Brighton High School’s […]
Posted inEducation
Prep schools
The Bay State’s public colleges and universities attract a sizeable number of students from Boston, but they seem to be more valued as a higher-ed option in other parts of […]