Getting Phase 1 across the finish line was no easy feat. And just over a year later, state officials still have not rolled out a plan to finance and finish the second phase — also called the “full build” — that was proposed nearly a decade ago.
Jon Mitchell
Posted inArts and Culture
New Bedford building poised to rise as artist space — again
In 2023, efforts to harness arts and culture as part of New Bedford’s economic revitalization strategy were dealt a blindsiding blow. Two years later, it looks as if all’s well that ends well.
Posted inEducation
New Bedford charter school at center of 2019 battle poised to hit enrollment target
THREE YEARS AFTER a proposed compromise plan for expansion of a New Bedford charter school collapsed in the face of opposition from teachers unions and their legislative allies, the school […]
Posted inEducation
Charter school proposal roils South Coast
IT’S BEEN MORE than five years since the debate over charter schools in Massachusetts came front and center in the form of a high-profile ballot question that would have raised […]
Posted inEducation
How New Bedford boosted its graduation rate
IN SEPTEMBER OF 2013, two months after her arrival as the district’s new school superintendent, Pia Durkin paid a visit to New Bedford High School one morning not long after […]
Posted inEducation
State proposes sweeping change to vocational school admissions
FOUR YEARS AFTER elected officials and advocates began calling for changes to state regulations governing admission to vocational-technical high schools, Education Commissioner Jeff Riley is proposing a sweeping update to […]
Posted inEducation
Voc-tech schools facing scrutiny over admissions policies
AFTER YEARS OF complaints from city officials and urban school superintendents that vocational-technical schools are turning away some of the students who might benefit most from their hands-on learning programs, […]
Posted inEducation
Why I opposed New Bedford charter school plan
THE PROPOSED charter school expansion plan crafted by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, Alma del Mar charter school, and state education Commissioner Jeff Riley earlier this year was simply too […]
Posted inEducation
Riley throws in towel on New Bedford charter plan
FOUR MONTHS AFTER he unveiled a novel proposal for a New Bedford charter school billed as a way to ease the acrimony that has plagued the state’s education sector, Massachusetts […]
Posted inEducation
New Bedford charter school plan on the ropes
A PLAN TOUTED by state education leaders as a breakthrough compromise aimed at healing the rift between district and charter schools has instead inflamed passions on Beacon Hill where the […]
