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March 6, 2012

Handwaving away opposition to the national standards

Periodically, over at the Fordham blog, Checker Finn does his best imitation of the cop waving traffic through at the scene of the car crash we like to call Common Core. In a post last week (“The war against the Common Core”),...
March 2, 2012

Psst. Hey MBTA, Could You Use $60 Million?

I had the pleasure of doing Bradley Jay’s radio show on WBZ a few weeks back. We talked about the MBTA, but what really lit up the phone lines was our discussion of potential savings from reform of the T’s Ride paratransit...
Education
March 1, 2012

"Removing the Barriers: Virtual Schools & State Regulations" (March 1, 2012)

On March 1st, 2012, Pioneer welcomed education experts from across the country: Susan Patrick, CEO of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning; Hanna Skandera, New Mexico Secretary of Education; Julie Young, President of Florida Virtual School; Healther Staker, Innosight Institute; as well...
March 1, 2012

What Exactly is the MBTA's "Big Dig Debt"?

The back-and-forth over the MBTA finances has seen a great deal of attention to the MBTA’s $5.2 billion in debt. A portion of that debt has been tagged with the nearly toxic label ‘Big Dig Debt’, and it’s important to be precise...
Education
February 26, 2012

Mandatory Volunteerism

The last decade has seen an explosion in the number of middle and high schools mandating volunteerism. I am not a fan of forcing volunteerism, and “mandatory volunteerism” offends those who treasure meaningful language. But within a set of courses and activities...
Education
February 23, 2012

Are Turnaround Schools Just Spin?

The waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act will, as noted yesterday, have a number of effects, with three big ones being: It moves the goalposts for accountability back years (at least 2017, more likely 2024) and weakens the accountability...
Education
February 20, 2012

Moving the Goalposts on NCLB

Massachusetts and nine other states made news last week by seeking and receiving waivers from major provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The waiver was never a favorite of mine but I think the way it was upended...
February 8, 2012

Driving Costs at Boston Public Schools

Education spending is one of those things that makes everyone feel good — we all want the best for kids, right? But that good feeling begins to fade when you see that many of the drivers of increased spending aren’t directly related...
Education
February 4, 2012

A Halfhearted School Budget in Massachusetts

You know you’re in for trouble when a school district with major graduation and dropout rates problems announces a new budget and leads with the hiring of five new nurses. That is not the definition of urgency. The big new Boston budget...
February 3, 2012

Manufacturing's Moment?

Manufacturing has a bad image these days. For those of us inside Route 128 , it can feel like there’s nothing left. But the reality for the rest of the state is very different. Manufacturing still employs approximately 260,000 people or 8%...