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Jeffrey Meyers on Edgar Allan Poe, Gothic Horror, & HalloweenOctober 30, 2024 - 11:44 am
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Study Published by Pioneer Institute Shows Massachusetts Learning Loss Among Nation’s WorstOctober 24, 2024 - 10:31 am
U-TX at SA’s Catherine Clinton on Harriet Tubman & the Underground RailroadOctober 23, 2024 - 11:30 am
Award-Winner Tom Segev on Israel’s Founding Father, David Ben-GurionOctober 16, 2024 - 11:59 am
Pioneer Institute Study Finds MCAS, Education Reform Have Significantly Improved Academic AttainmentOctober 16, 2024 - 11:46 am
McAnneny October Monthly Musings – Ballot InitiativesOctober 11, 2024 - 2:17 pm
Homeschooling with Hope: Katie Switzer’s ESA ExperienceOctober 10, 2024 - 11:24 am
Lynch Foundation’s Katie Everett on School Finance Model for Catholic Schools & School ChoiceOctober 9, 2024 - 11:30 am
Pioneer Institute Study Finds Wide Range of Approaches to Compliance with MBTA Communities LawOctober 6, 2024 - 9:12 pm
Education news from other states
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /byLast July, while most of the Massachusetts educators were at the beach, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) endorsed Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester’s recommendation and voted to replace Massachusetts’ best-in-the-nation academic standards. There is lots of gab about what all that means—and major media outlets have spilled a lot of ink copying the press releases from public officials. Falling into the category of “So much effort to advance unproven ideas” are the folks at EdWeek, who continue to monitor DC chatter, the national testing vehicles being developed, a thus-far postponed debate on where proficiency will be set (cut scores), and a manifesto issued by the Shanker Institute arguing for a national curriculum. The tentacles of the Gates […]
Connector Saving Taxpayer Money
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Healthcare, Healthcare /byOn this blog– and in the press– I have often been critical of the policy choices of the Connector and its governing Board. However, credit is due to the staff at the Connector for the latest round of negotiations with CommCare’s managed care organizations, in which $80 million of taxpayer money was saved. With a projected 11% membership growth this coming year, any savings is welcome in a program with subsidies of roughly $840 million. As Executive Director Glen Shor said in his monthly update e-mail, this will mean that CommCare “members will not have to face the prospect of benefit reductions…”– good news in a tight budget year.
Permitted to Succeed? Part Three
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /byMy last two blog posts (here and here) have provided some ideas about some key aspects of the Mayor’s initiative to reform the permitting process. If we can get the physical layout right, the organizational structure right, and the culture right, the last step is to build in accountability measures. Right now, its noteworthy that the City’s performance measurement program is silent on the topic of permitting times. It measures the number of permits issued and complaints responded to, but not how long it takes. (And while we are at it – can we get BAR performance reports to show historical results that are comparable to current year results. Right now, we get year-to-date results for the current year and […]
Permitted to Succeed? Part Two
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /byIn response to Mayor Menino’s pledge to create a “one-stop shop” for permitting, we’ll be examining what factors need to be addressed in order to spur job creation in Boston. On Day One, we looked at the leadership issues that would need to be resolved. Day Two – changing an organizational culture of highly personalized, uneven customer service – is harder. To make the permitting process easier for entrepreneurs, the culture of the bureaucracy that’s involved has to change from a process orientation to results. That means viewing business owners as customers, not obstacles. Talk to people trying to start businesses in Boston and you quickly hear about uneven experiences with the staff at the Inspectional Services Division at 1010 […]
Harvard’s Effort to Make Cities Matter
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Healthcare, Middle Cities/ Urban /byHarvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative has recently launched an interesting academic exercise of a virtual think tank at the Harvard Business Review website HBR.org on the topic of revitalizing cities. The series of thought pieces serve as the appetizers for an upcoming multi-day conference feast at Harvard Law School on the same topic. Thursday, April 28-Saturday, April 30. Globally, 2008 marked the first time that a majority of citizens would reside in cities. Locally, the most recent census data showed significant growth in many smaller cities in Massachusetts. While large cities like Boston garner significant attention and resources as they adapt to population growth, the new growth in these smaller cities is more significant since they often have fewer resources to […]