THE PIONEER BLOG

Brunch in Boston

Brunch in Boston – or anywhere really – is a time to get caught up and let the conversation meander. No policy or politics this morning. Just some thoughts on kids, grey hair and Engelbert Humperdink. My brunch partner has an issue with America and its cultural decline. I know this is a broad and ugly topic, and it has gotten to the point where some blame our cultural loss for the Islamic Fundamentalist movement’s fire. Guys, I don’t get it. I mean, my sausage, yogurt and fruit (not a traditional mix, I know) was accompanied by Tom Jones over the wire. First we got the oldies-but-goodies like “What’s new pussycat?” with its deep refrain of Pussycat, pussycat, I love […]

Merit pay gaining steam

As AP and the New York Times reported, New York Mayor Bloomberg is intent on throwing everything and the kitchen sink at education. Charters, AP-specific programs, testing and accountability, and now merit pay. I know Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier don’t think much of Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein’s reforms, but from afar we would give our left and right hands for the kind of can-do attitude and willingness to stake out big, structural changes. The lack of a new generation of education leaders on Beacon Hill is having its impact. Note the departure now of Mike Duffy of City on a Hill to, yup, New York City. The merit pay plan in New York is reminiscent in part of […]

Three choice selections on educational options

In the Sunday Globe, Jim Peyser had a terrific (and hopeful) piece on the transformation of the New Orleans public school system. You think New Orleans is so different from many of our Middle Cities? Think again — and review Pioneer’s Rehabbing Urban Redevelopment. Failing schools, deep and troubling crime trends, and no economic opportunity. All that’s missing is Katrina. Then we can say how shocked we are at the “appearance” of a permanent underclass. Money quote from Peyser: The public schools in New Orleans were under water long before the levees broke. What has happened since the disaster, however, is redefining urban public education. Instead of simply rebuilding the old district, based on the old institutions, policy leaders in […]

Carrots for homes

The Greater Boston Housing Report Card released last week concludes that 40R and 40S “have established an impressive track record in a very short period of time.” Given the numerous reasons that communities cite for opposing development, it is great that the state has provided a reason in the form of the 40R/40S financial incentive to allow dense housing development in town centers, along transit lines, and in other areas that make sense. Whether the approach is really working is critical information for policymakers. Despite the slowdown in the market, greater Boston remains one of the most expensive areas in the country to buy a house, and our current pattern of large lot McMansionization is consuming too much land to […]

Very Off-Topic Post on Baseball Playoffs

1) I never thought I would be pining for Jack Buck and Tim McCarver, but can we ban TBS from ever having anything to do with the major league playoffs again? And take your 9 foot lead line with you. 2) I am fully prepared to spend the rest of my life never seeing or hearing about Cal Ripken again. This means you, Chevrolet and TBS. Oh, and let me throw in Brett Favre as well. This means you, Chris Berman, Wrangler, and Peter King. 3) Is it wrong to be reveling in the joint NY agony of Mets and Yankees fans? 4) Plus the apocalyptic nature of the Yankees meltdown in the nasty, bug-infested Cleveland night, with wonderchild Joba […]

Always the last one picked

I think I’m the only person that the Patrick Administration has not picked to be on an education advisory committee. I was fine when I was overlooked for the pre-K – 12 and Higher Education transition teams, consisting of 11 and 12 members respectively. Then, they went ahead without me for the K – 12 and Higher Education Task Forces, consisting of 47 total members. Next, I was snubbed for the Readiness Project Leadership Council, made up of 21 members. And now the final straw, no room for me among the 150+ members of the Readiness Project subcommittees. I’m kidding here obviously, but my broader point is this — how many committee meetings and members do you need to determine […]

Greek futurists, indeed.

November 13, 2007, at the Boston Harbor Hotel, Dr. Peter Diamandis will excite the imagination when he delivers this year’s Lovett C. Peters Lecture in Public Policy. Space travel, cars that get 100 miles to the gallon of gas, returning to the moon. These are ideas that can bring out the daydreamer in anyone. The thing is, Dr. Diamandis is helping make them reality. Watch and hear what he has to say, then decide for yourself whether it is worth a contribution to Pioneer to be there November 13, 2007. Who knows what previously-thought-to-be-impossible endeavor he may come up with?

Not rocket science – competition works

The Sunday Globe ran a great story on the dawn of a new industry – the space rocket business. No, it is not some George Jetson (“with Jane, his wife”) cartoon. Burt Rutan, Jeff Greason, and Dave Masten are all hanging out in the Mojave desert designing, engineering and building rockets. As the Globe noted, Fifty years after the Soviets launched the satellite Sputnik into space, Mojave has found itself at the center of a private space race that boosters say is as important – and risky – as the nationalistic race between the Soviets and the United States.This time, a group of ambitious entrepreneurs is leading the competition to launch regular Janes and Joes into space. So why the […]

They might also consider pricing

Globe West recently highlighted the issue that day-of-the-week restrictions on watering lawns may actually lead to increased watering.  The restriction can serve as a reminder to water on a regular basis.  The article notes that the state may consider stricter restrictions.  Perhaps the state and municipalities should also consider using pricing as a policy tool to achieve conservation.  I would direct them to Pioneer’s recent paper on the topic by Professors Rob Stavins and Sheila Olmstead at this link.

Beware of Administrations Bearing Gifts

Remember the pledge to put 1000 new police officers on the street? That is not happening, but the administration has just put forward a plan to put 50 more officers on the street. However, Chief Anthony Scott of Holyoke is balking at the state aid, saying “After the three or four years, the city and taxpayers need to find the money to keep those individuals employed…[i]t’s not fiscally responsible.” The Chief points out the problem with state initiatives for local programs. Can you rely on continued funding? Its akin to someone ‘buying you a house’ by making the downpayment, then handing you a mortgage. State government pays for the initial cost of hiring the officers (and takes the credit), then […]

Why wait?

My post today is really a question. It has to do with Boston English High, one of the oldest and most venerable secondary schools in the country, erstwhile rival to Boston Latin and the focus two weeks ago (sorry, I’m behind the times) of a Boston Globe feature. It seems that English High is on the brink of closure due to consistent underperformance. The school, and its principal, Jose Duarte, have been granted a one-year reprieve to turn it around. To help him, Mr. Duarte has been given a moratorium on union work rules, allowing him “greater leeway over faculty appointments.” As Mr. Duarte and his teachers strive to turn English High around, I wish them only the best. But […]

DiMasi Rex

Ready, AIM, fire! Call it what you want–line in the sand, declaration of war, shot across the bow. Can it be that, a few years into his reign as Speaker of the House, DiMasi is morphing into Amicus Consortii, the grown-up in the room, DiMasi Rex ready to brandish the sword of fiscal discipline? To push this overwrought string of descriptors further than it ever ought to have gone, is he the “salvatore” of business? OK, if you read on, I promise to cut that junk out. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts event on Friday showcased House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, and as the State House News noted he asserted that state government does not need ‘new revenue sources’ and proposed […]

Needless Piling On Department

From today’s Senate Session, via State House News (sub. required): MOORE STATEMENT ON MISSED ROLL CALLS: The Senate agreed to print in its journal a statement from Sen. Moore explaining how he would have voted on roll calls he missed Sept. 20 while attending a National Conference of State Legislatures event. The statement indicated Moore would have voted to override all of Gov. Patrick’s budget vetoes taken up that day. Given that all the overrides passed by overwhelming margins, was this really necessary?

Tired, cynical – Them is fightin words

At Tuesday’s hearing on charter schools, the Mass Association of School Superintendents (MASS) trotted out their “tired” and “cynical” attempt to snuff out charters. “Tired”, “cynical”? Well, don’t ask me, read today’s inspired Globe editorial on charter schools, which opens by calling the supes’ bill “shifty” and not “merit[ing] serious consideration.” There is a lot of speaking truth to power, or at least to the MASS Protectors of the Status Quo. EACH YEAR opponents of state-supervised charter schools in Massachusetts perform the same tired dance steps on Beacon Hill in an effort to stamp out these distinctive examples of education reform. It’s a cynical exercise and an insult to the families of roughly 19,000 young people waiting for an opportunity […]

More quotes on charters

The challenge to the reign of the education establishment is showing all kinds of crevices among Democrats and those positions that had once protected the status quo. From James A. Williams, Superintendent of Buffalo Public Schools: “I’m not afraid of charter schools. I want to learn from them.” And from Arne Duncan, CEO of Chicago Public Schools: “[Creating charter schools] is about a lot more than education. It’s really about a movement for social justice. Our kids desperately need to have the best education possible.” “I’m not an ideological person but I like the competition and choice [charter schools] provide.” Again, thanks to M. Goldstein for forwarding these.