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Jim Stergios

Education
July 16, 2025

On Literacy, Time to Learn From Louisiana & Mississippi

Twenty years ago, saying that Louisiana and Mississippi had something to teach Massachusetts about education would have given rise to laughter. Well, it’s no longer a laughing matter. After years during which Massachusetts was celebrated as a national leader in education, we...
American Citizenship
June 20, 2020

Sensible police reform includes changing ‘qualified immunity’ laws

Even in a time of painful divisions in our country, there is little doubt among people of good faith that what Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers did to George Floyd was criminal. If they are indeed convicted of a felony, how is it that the former officers could very well be immune from civil liability?
Transportation
July 9, 2018

Proportional Parking Fees: The MBTA Listens to Pioneer’s Recommendations

The Pioneer Institute has produced extensive research on the MBTA. Not only has it provided analysis and criticism, but various remedies to policy. In particular, Pioneer’s research has gained notoriety and resulted in a policy change. One issue that recently influenced MBTA...
Education
May 29, 2018

Troubling takeaways from the SJC ruling on charter schools

These would be the best of times for Boston public charter schools were education policy decisions driven by evidence.  Boston’s charters are nationwide models and uniquely successful at closing pernicious achievement gaps.  But in education politics, where “momentum” is too often the...
Opportunity
January 13, 2016

GE comes to Boston: Here's why

The Globe‘s Shirley Leung gets it right in her piece this afternoon on General Electric’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Boston: This is better than hosting the Olympics. No controversy over potential cost overruns, or whether taxpayers will be on the...
Education
December 17, 2015

West Virginia, Massachusetts and why the End Common Core ballot is going forward

When it comes to the “confidence game” that has been played around the country to advance Common Core standards, there are few places where connivance was more on display than in West Virginia.  As noted in a post in March of 2012,...
Opportunity
December 2, 2015

What is the Lawn on D Costing Us?

Jon Chesto’s report in the Globe on Monday noted that the Lawn on D, an almost three-acre parcel immediately behind the South Boston Convention Center, is currently costing about $2.7 million to operate and generating about $424,000 in revenues, sponsorships, etc.  Both...
Education
September 1, 2015

Op-ed: Big money pushes PARCC and Common Core

Each year, much is written and said about K-12 education when students head back to school. That will be especially true this fall, as the education policy community eagerly awaits a decision by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education about whether to...
Education
April 7, 2015

A highly temporary solution on higher education

With my older daughter heading off to college next year, the question of how much debt is too much debt for her take on is something I’m mulling over quite a bit these days. How much can you pay, how much will...
Education
March 18, 2015

Suing to Lift the Charter School Cap

  Lawsuit – who is part of it – Michael Keating (Foley-Hoag), William F. Lee (WilmerHale), Paul F. Ware Jr. (Goodwin Procter).  Good on them for doing it.  Is it a civil rights issue?  You bet it is.  The long history of...