FOR A MOMENT, imagine you commute to work each day by train. A co-worker also commutes by train, but on a different line. Every day your co-worker arrives late, missing […]
Elementary and Secondary Education
Posted inOpinion
I wish I had teachers that looked like me
IN THE FIFTH GRADE, I was inexplicably popular. I would strut down the hallway at the very end of a single file line with my class, dressed in a floral […]
Posted inOpinion
Early College checks a lot of boxes
IF YOU WANT to know who and what our state lawmakers care about, you simply have to follow the money. Our state budget, after all, is a reflection of the […]
Posted inEducation
Number of homeschoolers more than doubles
THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS being homeschooled more than doubled this year, as families feared the impact of COVID-19 and many schools switched to remote learning. According to new numbers released by the […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to scale up early college in Mass.
STUDENTS FROM FAMILIES with financial means are two and half times more likely to earn a college degree in Massachusetts than students who come from low-income families. This disparity isn’t […]
Posted inOpinion
All school committee members deserve compensation
MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION Commissioner Jeff Riley’s push to have elementary students back in classrooms, which required school committee action in each district, shows just how important school committees are to public […]
Posted inThe Download
State won’t require 11th grade MCAS
In an attempt to reach a compromise on whether to administer the MCAS this year, Education Commissioner Jeff Riley may have pleased no one. Teachers’ unions and school officials had […]
Posted inEducation
State won’t require 11th grade MCAS
IN AN ATTEMPT to reach a compromise on whether to administer the MCAS this year, Education Commissioner Jeff Riley may have pleased no one. Teachers’ unions and school officials had […]
Posted inOpinion
Time to rein in Riley’s authoritarianism
ON MARCH 5, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education took the extraordinary step of granting state Education Commissioner Jeff Riley unprecedented power over local communities. The majority of […]
Posted inOpinion
A pandemic is wrong time to dump MCAS
IN AN ERA of heightened partisan divide, it is heartening to see our Democratic President and our Republican Governor in alignment on whether it is essential that children be tested […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s not (only) about the science
“I am very much confused by the petition request[ing] to open [schools] to full 5-day return while also implementing full infection control measures. This is objectively not possible.” “Any return […]
Posted inEducation
School building formula failing Gateway Cities
THE STATE’S SYSTEM for financing the construction of new public schools is broken. Nowhere is that more apparent than the city of Lynn. The number of students in Lynn’s schools […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston center’s gang database lists 3,853 people.
THE DIRECTOR of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center said on Tuesday that the center’s gang database is comprised of 3,853 people with active status. In a hearing held by the […]
Posted inThe Download
Teachers unions seem to have Baker’s number
If you’re keeping score at home, Gov. Charlie Baker lost another battle on Wednesday in his long-running war with the state’s teachers unions. Baker for months had resisted the call […]
Posted inEducation
Teachers unions seem to have Baker’s number
IF YOU’RE KEEPING score at home, Gov. Charlie Baker lost another battle on Wednesday in his long-running war with the state’s teachers unions. Baker for months had resisted the call […]
Posted inEducation
Spilka to Baker: Get teachers vaccinated
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE STATE expecting to see its supply of COVID-19 vaccine increase over the coming weeks, Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday said Gov. Charlie Baker […]
Posted inOpinion
Cancel standardized tests this spring
PUBLIC EDUCATION in Massachusetts is at a crossroads. Amidst a deadly COVID-19 pandemic that has taken 15,000 Massachusetts lives, Gov. Charlie Baker and Education Commissioner Jeff Riley have called for […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s make school meals free for all kids
LIKE MANY PARENTS in Massachusetts, Rebecca Wood was getting by on a tight budget that left her struggling with school meal debt, among other costs, well before the pandemic hit. […]
Posted inOpinion
Math learning taking a hit during COVID
AS WE NEAR the one-year mark of the unprecedented disruption to our public education system wrought by the pandemic, we are grappling with what we have lost and what we […]
Posted inOpinion
Making pods work for everyone
AS MANY STUDENTS struggle to keep up with schoolwork virtually, Julia Rios welcomed praise that two kindergarteners she is working with in a new community learning pod are thriving. Their […]
Posted inEducation
Everett plan to vaccinate teachers goes awry
TEACHERS HAVE BEEN decrying their low status in the vaccine pecking order for weeks, but Everett decided to do something about it. The local School Committee voted on January 19 […]
Posted inEducation
Teachers should get vaccine priority among essential workers
THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR has been challenging for all involved. As educators, we have had to adjust and rapidly shift from managing classrooms to ensuring that our families are secure and […]
Posted inEducation
Teacher unions cry foul over Baker claim
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday said he is standing by a statement issued by his administration accusing teacher union leaders of making false and misleading claims about the COVID-19 vaccine […]
Posted inUncategorized
Teachers complain about bump down in vaccination line
TEACHERS UNIONS ARE criticizing changes Gov. Charlie Baker made to the vaccine schedule that elevate those over 65 but push educators and others lower on the priority list, a shift […]