Entries by Micaela Dawson

Stop with the running!

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Another post on running?! Well, this one is on running afoul of intellectuals because of running! The TimesOnline, grazie tante to the Arts & Letters Daily for this one, reports that President Sarkozy has fallen foul of intellectuals and critics who see his passion for jogging as un-French, right-wing and even a ploy to brainwash his citizens. Attacks on Mr Sarkozy’s pastime, which he has made a symbol of his presidency, began on the internet as soon as he bounded up the steps of the Elysée Palace in shorts when he took office in May. That moment has become the icon of his hyperenergetic administration. The grumbling has now moved to television and the press. “Is jogging right wing?” wondered […]

Slow to act

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Post haste it is not. I received a few days ago a letter from a friend in DC. She had apparently cut out a newspaper article from May 2nd and sent it to me. Now, I don’t know what blue plate special it got stuck under, but it took almost two months for me to get it. Speaking of slow to act, how about the contents of said article? Let’s start with the title of the article in The Current: “Old convention center site to host 700 housing units.” Seems that the 10-acre parcel southwest of Mount Vernon Square where the Washington Convention Center was (New York Avenue and 9th, H and 11th streets) is being redeveloped as a Town […]

An even happier Fourth

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… and perhaps an unhappy fifth. The deed is done. I made it through the Arnold Mills four-miler far faster than I had thought, executed with aplomb and a fine Pioneer-esque strategy. I gave due consideration to the Greek psychology (mine), which is based primarily on avoidance of shame. I thought of what was achievable and paced myself. To be specific, I made my way to a place within eyeshot of a teenager, who I had overheard telling her dad how she was training but just couldn’t take it seriously. Music to my ears. I stayed throughout the race within eyeshot and came away right smack in the middle of the 500-plus runner race. I feel good, red-faced and ready […]

Jim on WGBH – Housing

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At 7 p.m. sharp (in three minutes), with David Wluka of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and a developer who is seeking to use the market to produce housing for folks in the 65 to 80 % of median income range. Discussion covers: the continued impact of regulations that restrict supply; the arguments made by municipalities (impact on property values and, ugh, we cannot afford the schools costs that come with kids!); and how cities can address these issues (long-term contracts with municipal employees, pension reform, and insuring employees through the Group Insurance Commission). Munis, if you have problems, come to Pioneer.  We have the solutions.  Just look at what Springfield’s been able to accomplish.   5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

Give me a break – and a Happy Fourth

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Over the weekend, someone was on the T griping about how people have started to say “Happy Fourth!” in that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed American way. I am sure my fellow rider was impressing her Eastern European-sounding interlocutor. Perhaps it is better to say “Enjoy the time off,” “I hope you enjoy the 4th with your family,” or something similar. But give me a break: Why not “Happy Fourth”? We are constitutionally constructed around the ideal of the pursuit of happiness as defined by citizens, so I think it is absolutely great to have a happy 4th, and I intend on doing just that — back in li’l old Cumberland, RI. Happiness on the Fourth in Cumberland means: A 4-mile footrace in […]

Revenge of the status quotists

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In his letter to the editor (“Ed board shuffle: a lesson in irony,” July 2, 2007), Dan French trots out a number of myths long perpetuated by supporters of the status quo in education. He contends that Governor Weld packed the Board of Education, overlooking the fact that changes on the board had strong support from a Democratic Legislature alarmed at what was then the slow pace of education reform. Weld appointed John Silber as the chairman of the Board, who, notwithstanding the views some may have of him, was the largest vote-getter among recent Democratic gubernatorial candidates until Governor Patrick’s election last year. He contends that five of the nine members had ties to Pioneer or other free-market think […]

Progress after Education Reform

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So the “revisionistas” (a.k.a. status quotists, special interests, etc.) are trotting out the view that Massachusetts’ school system was always the best in the country, even before the Ed Reform Act of 1993 (and before standardized testing, accountability and innovation through charters). As my 6th grade American Civics teacher used to say in his baritone drawl: That’s mullarky! See my previous post on the NAEP scores. How about Massachusetts’ performance on the SATs? As former Senate President Tom Birmingham, one of the architects of Ed Reform, noted at a November 06 Pioneer event entitled “Has Education Reform Stalled?” If you had told Weld or Roosevelt or me on that hot day in June 1993 that more than 90 percent of […]

Wrong again, Glenn – PI is for one accountability system (4 of 4)

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Finally, in his letter to the Globe editor Glenn talks of districts balancing the state’s largest educational regulatory burden — a 14-tiered system of accountability, assessments, and accreditations — against severely restricted local budgets. He goes on with the preposterous: Pioneer cheerlead[s] for the bureaucracy that burdens the nation’s most overregulated public schools. As everyone knows, generally (though not always) Pioneer agrees with the view that micromanagement of localities should not be the state’s first course of action. There are too many mandates on the use of state funding (on HMOs, on businesses, etc.). Pioneer supports a single accountability system: the independent, district-wide and school-based accountability assessments performed by the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA). This morning we […]

What Glenn gets wrong – Ed Reform and progress (3 of 4)

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I remember a rally in front of the State House when my daughter Teruha was only one or two. I lived on Beacon Hill back then, in a five-floor walkup. My legs were stronger, as were Ritsuko’s. Teruha was a champ and at that age would sleep on tables whenever we went out to eat, which was too often because I love to eat out, especially in the summer. It was hot out — I think it was June. My calm lass in my arms, I was headed to the Commons to play with a ball. But the open area was crowded with protesters, and the tract of Charles Street between the Public Garden and the Commons was lined with […]

What Glenn glosses over – GIC and better coverage for teachers (2 of 4)

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Odd that, in his letter to the Globe editor (6/30/07), Glenn glosses over the part of the bulk purchasing proposal for teachers’ health insurance through the state Group Insurance Commission that should matter most to teachers. Here’s that (2) left hanging from the previous post: Purchasing teachers’ health insurance through the GIC = Better coverage for teachers Hate to raise that significant (for teachers) and perhaps pesky (for Glenn) fact, but as Allison Fraser and I pointed out in our Globe op-ed: smaller districts often have just one or two health plans, while GIC offers a dozen. Not a small matter for the folks who play an important role in how our kids do in school.

Where Glenn Koocher agrees – GIC cost sharing (1 of 4)

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In a letter to the Globe editor yesterday, it seems that Glenn Koocher, ED of the MA Association of School Committees, thinks he disagrees with an op-ed (An avoidable teachers strike) published on Tuesday in the Globe by Allison Fraser and me. But he writes: Cost sharing of health insurance, a most contentious item, is but part of the task. Taking it off the bargaining table camouflages the real health and educational problem. Containing health costs at the provider level and managing inappropriate use of healthcare resources are equally effective strategies for controlling insurance costs. Exploring short- and long-term disability coverage can also help manage sick leave costs. So, it seems to me, he agrees that cost sharing is part […]

When you are wrong

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Does the PTA really represent parents? After the PTA’s support of teacher strikes across the country in the 1960s, there was a significant drop in support for the organization. Across the country the number of PTA members has declined by more than half since the early 1960s from over 12 million to less than 6 million. The political bent of the PTA is not common knowledge to its membership, but as it becomes known–especially the PTA’s opposition to school choice, charters, and school reform–their membership has furthered declined. In the Commonwealth there are 1 million kids in K-12. There are 20,000 members of the PTA (down from a high of 100,000 in the 1960s). Only 3 percent of Massachusetts schools […]

When you are wrong, you are wrong. When you are right, you are right.

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On NewsNight (NECN) last week, I wanted to communicate that the PTA is, as Jim Braude summarized, “a wholly owned subsidiary of the NEA.” He got my point, but I got my facts wrong. And I hate that. I said that the PTA headquarters was co-located with the National Education Association (NEA) HQ. In fact, as Lisa Guisbond pointed out to me in an email, the PTA HQ is in Chicago, not in DC like the NEA’s. I was referencing the fact that the PTA rented space within the NEA HQ from 1920 to 1953. I was off by 54 years – no small matter.  And I apologize for the mistake. The context for this mistake was a discussion about the […]

They call it Pioneer Valley for a reason, 2

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So what has all the reform in the City of Springfield led to? Hundreds of jobs in the pipeline and tens of millions of dollars in private investment. You want to see the cold, hard facts on the progress? Good. Click here. Hard to imagine just a couple of years ago that we can now say without any possibility that someone would laugh – the City of Homes is the best managed large city in the Commonwealth. And with Ed Flynn at the helm of the Springfield Police, there is confidence that the public safety issues are going to be given the right kind of attention. If you are tired of the traffic, want access to great open space, and […]

They call it Pioneer Valley for a reason, 1

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One of the standout winners at the 2007 Better Government Competition was the Municipal Leadership Award given to the City of Springfield (Mayor Charles Ryan) and the Finance Control Board. And, guys, the award was a no-brainer. Springfield went from a deficit of $41 million in FY05 to a surplus in FY06 (and 07) a free cash position of minus $41 million in FY04 to plus $10 million in FY06. Oops, but I am understating their progress, aren’t I? In the Springfield Republican of today, there is an article noting that the FC position is actually plus $17 million. And how was all this accomplished? Hmm. Perhaps it was the usual bellyaching about the need for a huge new cash […]

Naples v. Massachusetts on the Seat Belt Freedom Index

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Wearing your seat belt is a good idea. Full stop. Please do not write in telling me that I am urging people to break the law. I am simply recounting a story from 1986, the first time I ever stepped foot in Naples, Italy. Lots of people hate the place — chaotic, sometimes 3 people and furniture driving down the road on a moped, sometimes those mopeds on the sidewalk (but only when cars aren’t parked there)… There is the Mergellina district with heroine and, uh, other things. There is also one of the most beautiful bays and overlooks around, the best, best, best pizza, and there are beautiful women who actually read books (unlike in Rome). So, on balance, […]

Putting mother in the back seat

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I adore my mother.  She complains this year that I put in too many tomato, cucumber, eggplant, pepper and basil and parsley plants in her backyard; I tell her that she still has way too much grass.  While she says she doesn’t mind, in the end, she doesn’t water the plants in that quiet revenge that mothers are so good at.  She cooks good stuff for everyone and stuffs the kids with baklava, so no one takes the complaints too far.  It’s called love.  Well, now, mother, whether you water the plants or not, you are going to have to sit in the back seat!  Seems that there is consideration being given to bill H 2361 requiring children smaller than 4’9″ sit in a booster […]

Two-fer from the Globe

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Yesterday’s editorial in the Globe on the Governor’s veering away from support for MCAS was spot on. It’s a must read. Today, again, the right stuff and the right tone on the Quincy teachers’ strike (click here). The money quotes (not in the order presented in today’s paper) are: The Quincy strike — which was still under way as of yesterday evening — is illegal under state law, and should be ended immediately. Like municipal leaders across the state, Quincy Mayor William Phelan can’t keep asking the city’s taxpayers to pay the same share of escalating healthcare costs, which in Quincy have almost doubled since 2002. A bill before the Legislature would allow cities and towns to purchase insurance for […]

Market approaches to blogging

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Subsequent to a number of emails on the post mentioning Tom Waits, which ranged from deranged and delightful to slightly frightful, I have decided to push the celebrity mention scheme for drawing traffic to the blog. Here goes: Paris Hilton Lindsay Lohan Brad Pitt George Clooney Please note that, henceforth, in accordance with Pioneer General Laws, Chapter 39B, Section 3(a)4.t: All blog entries forthwith must begin with, or within the first 17 1/2 words utilize celebrity names according to the provisions set forth in the present statute. No more than two names shall appear in the blog title, which shall appear at the top of the blog entry. Up to three names can appear in the first 17 1/2 words […]

Tom Waits and Jack Markell running for Governor of Delaware

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From a website (DownWithAbsolutes) that is so cool it starts with a quote from Tom Waits (“I offer champagne to real friends, but real pain to sham friends.”), we get the news that Jack Markell (D), three-time State Treasurer (click here for his website), has thrown his hat in the ring in the race to become governor. Jack would be dumb not to run. I mean this guy won the 2002 Treasurer’s race with more than 66% of the vote. In the most recent race (2006) he received 70.5% of the vote. So why bring all this up? Ha-ha, you have a mind like a trap! Well, near the top of his list of accomplishments on the www.markell.org site is–you […]

Media hounds…

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Who is?  We are!  Two op-eds in two days.  Ahem, you might want to dig Jamie Gass’ piece in the Metro West Daily News entitled “Teacher licensing rules just got more complex“. How about Alice White’s “City officials silent on looming health care liability” in the New Bedford Standard-Times? Then there is a wonderful piece by Howard Greis entitled “Lawmakers should reject Patrick proposal to drop EQA” in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Outside of Boston, there is grumbling

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Outside of Boston the Governor’s plans are not playing well. The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune opined yesterday that Governor Patrick’s promises run afoul of fiscal reality. The following are the money quotes (unconnected excerpts): Gov. Deval Patrick has Republicans and members of his own party scratching their heads over his grand plans for spending money the state and its taxpayers simply don’t have. The rhetoric is soaring… But the reality is neither the state, nor the cities and towns on which the burden of paying for many of these mandates will inevitably fall, are in a position to afford such grand schemes. Such talk is certainly not appropriate at a time the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission says it will cost between $15 […]

3 chairs to craft the education plan

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A change of the guard seems underway for the “Readiness Project,” as the Governor calls his recently announced education plan. Rumor has it that Dana Mohler-Faria is on his way back to Bridgewater State College at the start of July. Also, there is the Governor’s announcement of the core leaders of the new new Task Force he is calling on to deliver a fleshed out plan, a budget, and an implementation plan. Up to the front come Tom Payzant, EMC Chairman/President/CEO Joe Tucci, and Wheelock’s Jackie Jenkins-Scott. Congratulations to the Governor for three solid picks, listed below with the strength they will bring to the TF. Strong on urban education reform: Payzant has the know-how and a strong record of achievement […]

MCAS and dropout rates

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In a previous posting on the appointment of Ruth Kaplan to the Board of Education, I noted a significant problem with promoting the view that there is a connection between MCAS and increasing dropout rates: More than half of all dropouts have already passed the MCAS. Then, passed on from one of our wonderful Center for School Reform Advisors, is the editor’s commentary from last summer’s American Educator, a publication of the American Federation of Teachers (an affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO). Using two very different studies, the commentary, entitled “Conventional Wisdom on Dropout Rate is Questioned–Impact of Higher Standards is Not,” points out that high standards and exit exams have NOT driven up drop-out rates. So let’s set […]

Good luck to the new commissioner of DCR!

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Great column by Taylor Armerding in the Eagle Tribune today (We ‘interfere with natural processes’ in everything we do) on the attitude many within DCR have toward human management of the environment. The hands-off, let it lie naturally philosophy is, as Armerding underscores, a moral position–and one that makes it hard for the Department to do its job. Even when they make the right choices, they can run up against the local talent (ConComs). Armerding: I am living in fear that somebody from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, or perhaps from the Rockport Conservation Commission, will visit me and declare my very existence to be interfering with a natural process. And these people are pretty authoritative on the […]

What a difference a few feet make

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As a kid, I lived on the border of Massachusetts and used to jump over the border regularly. Fun for us was rock fights, with one side being Rhode Island and the other the Bay Staters. What a difference a few feet made back then, and still do now. Massachusetts may be growing accustomed to Governor Patrick’s biweekly billion dollar proposals, but Rhode Island seems headed in a different direction. Governor Carcieri, facing a deficit quite a bit smaller than our $1.1 billion shortfall, is moving to Cut what probably approaches 10 percent of RI’s state employees, and Bid out as much work as possible to minimize ballooning public salaries, pension and health care liabilities. The Providence Journal article quotes […]

Promises, promises

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During the campaign, we heard that good ideas were what mattered — what didn’t was whether it was a Democrat or Republican idea. We did a check-in at around the 100-day mark, when the Harshbarger & Co. Cleaning Crew came up with the brilliant idea of cleaning out all the Republican appointees. As Frank Phillips put it, the first priority for the shadow advisory group (Ron Homer, Scott Harshbarger, pollster Tom Kiley, state Dem Party chair John Walsh, and political consultants/advisers John Marttila, Dennis Kanin, and Michael Goldman) was to crack the whip on the administration’s lagging efforts to replace Republican-appointed government managers with a team loyal to Patrick. Now the work’s been done — out Harry Spence (Social Services), […]

The Gov’s new BOE pick (number three)

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There is no need to comment on this.  Ruth’s words do all the talking that is needed:  When educators are devalued, when the business model ALONE is considered a healthy and effective way to run a learning organization, when shame, fear and humiliation are considered healthy and effective motivators for teachers and principals, then the whole child is being left behind. Is that your view of testing?

What does Ruth Kaplan mean for ed reform? (Redux)

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Ms. Kaplan is right to be “deeply troubled by the fact that too many children are being left behind in Massachusetts despite 12 years of Ed Reform,” as she noted at a State House press conference held by the Alliance for the Education of the Whole Child on January 10, 2006. As she further noted on that occasion: For the school year 2003-4, DOE figures show that over 10,000 children dropped out of our schools. All good so far. Also, not bad to have someone with passion to address the drop-out rate on the BOE. As Ms. Kaplan states later at the conference: This drop-out rate is a disgrace and should be of urgent concern to everyone who has watched […]