GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Tuesday ordered all schools to remain closed for the rest of the school year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Baker called the decision the “right thing […]
Elementary and Secondary Education
Posted inEducation
MCAS testing requirement suspended this year
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MCAS TESTING REQUIREMENTS for the school year are suspended, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will modify or waive graduation requirements for students set to […]
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how to steer a school through uncertain times
AS SCHOOL LEADERS, we prepare for shutdowns of two or three days due to extreme weather. We prepare for terrifying scenarios like school shootings. But not a single school leader […]
Posted inEducation
Baker closes Mass. schools through May 4
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday ordered all schools and non-emergency childcares closed through May 4, extending the current three-week suspension by an additional month in order to slow the spread […]
Posted inEducation
Boston officials unveil new student privacy policy
BOSTON SCHOOL OFFICIALS are preparing to unveil a new, stricter student privacy plan intending to clarify what information federal immigration officials can access. But at a briefing for reporters on […]
Posted inOpinion
Why hasn’t Mass. sex ed changed in 20 years?
IF YOUR CHILD or grandchild was being taught math or science with a 1999 curriculum, would you stand for it? The answer is likely no. If we want our children to […]
Posted inOpinion
Unpacking Riley’s teacher licensing proposal
THOUGH TOO TIMID BY FAR, a proposed alternative route to state teacher licensing is a hopeful crack in the armor of our destructive obsession with high-stakes testing. If you read […]
Posted inEducation
Kid-free Boston
THERE WAS A TIME when couples from the suburbs might hire a babysitter or drop their children at the grandparents in order to splurge on a weekend in Boston. Now, […]
Posted inEducation
House approves $1.5b education bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Wednesday night unanimously approved a seven-year plan to pour $1.5 billion into the state’s public education system, moving legislation that has been […]
Posted inOpinion
The politics of MCAS 2.0
EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING, a Massachusetts teacher posted on social media that she was “thinking about retirement” and “now accepting virtual hugs.” She concluded, “#WorstMCASscoresEver.” On Tuesday, Massachusetts had released results […]
Posted inEducation
The taxing matter of education funding
When it comes to school funding, do we want to have our cake and eat it too? That’s the conclusion of an annual national poll of views on public education. […]
Posted inThe Download
The taxing matter of education funding
When it comes to school funding, do we want to have our cake and eat it too? That’s the conclusion of an annual national poll of views on public education. […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t include us in charter school crossfire
OCCASIONALLY, WE GET ASKED if Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School is a charter school. Sometimes, critics point fingers and include us in the charter school conversation. We are not a charter […]
Posted inOpinion
Advanced Placement inconsistency is troubling
OVER 2.8 MILLION HIGH SCHOOL students this month received their Advanced Placement (AP) results, test scores that will reflect their proficiency in college-level curricula in subjects ranging from calculus to […]
Posted inEducation
After showdown, all systems go at New Bedford charter school
THE CONTENTIOUS SHOWDOWN over a controversial New Bedford charter school plan may have faded from view, but the nuts-and-bolts work of getting a new school up and running has continued […]
Posted inArts and Culture
In Holyoke, arts education takes front seat
SIX-YEAR-OLD JUAN patted an inflatable ball as he peered out of his blue-rimmed glasses. Which way to send the ball? What could he knock down? Juan was playing “human bowling” […]
Posted inThe Download
Sex education in the land of the Puritans
The Northampton High School student union surveyed students last year, asking them what they thought were the school’s biggest problems. “We got a lot of people saying sex ed,” said […]
Posted inEducation
Sex education in the land of the Puritans
THE NORTHAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL student union surveyed students last year, asking them what they thought were the school’s biggest problems. “We got a lot of people saying sex ed,” said […]
Posted inOpinion
Where do charters fit in ed funding debate?
AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE’S early-spring Joint Committee on Education hearing on various proposed K-12 funding bills, the stories from scores of school districts were depressingly familiar. New Bedford is facing […]
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Students need new skillset – creativity
TODAY WE MUST educate children for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented. The tumultuous change on our planet, in our societies, and in our schools, […]
Posted inOpinion
New Bedford charter deal is immoral
STATE REPS. Antonio Cabral, Christopher Hendricks, and William Straus have boldly asserted their opposition to the unprecedented charter school model proposed for the city of New Bedford. They have demonstrated […]
Posted inEducation
With time short, New Bedford charter bill inches along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CONTROVERSIAL and time-sensitive New Bedford charter school bill inched along on Beacon Hill Wednesday as the House sent the legislation to the Education Committee for […]
Posted inEducation
Emails shed light on Worcester sex ed lobbying
THE WORCESTER SCHOOL COMMITTEE recently failed to adopt a new sexual education curriculum, and emails unearthed by Worcester Magazine point to one reason why. The magazine, using emails gathered through […]
