The Mayor of my home town (Cumberland, RI), Daniel McKee, is engaged in a very interesting experiment. As Ed Week noted, if McKee:
and a coalition of other Rhode Island town leaders have their way, they’ll ditch public education’s current bureaucracy and start over with a clean slate. It’s just not clear yet exactly what they will be able to write on it.
The plan, as Mr. McKee and his Coalition of Communities Improving Rhode Island were planning to announce it late last week, is to set up a regional, mayorally headed network of charter schools—something that charter school experts say has never been attempted in quite the way the coalition is proposing.
Yes, the Cumberland teachers union rep is against it, saying, “The approach that he’s taking, in my opinion, would tend to alienate the people we already have in the trenches doing their jobs.”
Yes, as the Providence Journal reports, the superintendents oppose the idea, as well. “Citing Title 16-2-9, the state law that lists the general powers and duties of the school committee,” Schools Supt. Donna Morelle is quoted as saying:
As a professional, I’m not a territorial person, but the law speaks to who has care and control of the schools. It’s very clear. It’s the School Committee.
Translation: This is about territory. McKee underscores that the “current cost of education in Rhode Island isn’t sustainable” and that “taxpayers aren’t getting the results based on what they’re being asked to spend.”
The numbers suggest he is right. As Marcia Green of the Valley Breeze notes,
Just-released scores achieved by last year’s 11th-graders show more than half of Cumberland students aren’t making the grade – just 48 percent are proficient in English language arts and 39.5 percent in math.
In the past year, scores are down 9 percentage points in English and almost 5 points in math.That leaves Morelle asking aloud, “How do you make it more than a slogan?”
Perhaps, in addition to allowing for the McKee’s Municipal Academy, which would serve 150-250 kids, one might begin by asking the School Committee to insist on accountability. Ah, but that is too much to ask: They voted in secret to extend Morelle’s contract…
For you, Massachusetts-ers who are wondering what this has to do with your navel, well, the Mayor and Michael Magee, who runs the newly established Cumberland Office of Children Youth and Learning, have cited the MATCH school as an inspiration. Magee notes in the Valley Breeze that MATCH has two times the number of students proficient in math and English than my alma mater…
Massachusetts is an example for many. Unfortunately, it seems our incredible record of improvement does not inspire our own Governor.
You may recall our recent report — Our Legacy of Neglect — that examined the condition of the Longfellow Bridge and the condition of our state’s assets.
MSNBC has done an enterprising bit of reporting on national bridge inspection standards and come up with some shocking results — massive numbers of bridges go uninspected for more than two years at a time (the absolute maximum recommended time between inspections).
The good news is that Massachusetts has none of these bridges, although some other states (Illinois, Arizona) look pretty shabby.
Sadly, we are still in the top 3 for structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges (at more than 50%) but we have improved by .6% in a year!
Finally, if you have immediate concerns, you can map your route to work and find out the condition of the bridges along the way.
Additional Info — The FHWA thinks the state should spend more on maintenance and bridge safety. See the FHWA letter here.
“Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)” was provided in January 2008.
Download Report: Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)
“She’s a good girl. She helps me a lot. She has big, big dreams. I don’t have the money, but she has big dreams. I hope she’s going to get everything, but she works so hard. She works so hard in school.”
“Our family is needing to make some really big sacrifices because we believe this is important, and so, we’re basically going to do whatever it takes… Sometimes we look at each other and go ‘I don’t know if I can do it again another month…’”
“A lot of the families have to sacrifice and work multiple jobs… And just scraping together enough money to just make tuition, just the basics.”
“It is discriminatory, that parents who want to choose an alternative to public school for their children, would not in any way receive any compensation for that, whether it be tax credit, whether it be a voucher…”
In the 1840s, nativist movement leaders formed official political parties and local chapters of the national Native American Party (later the American Party), although they continued to be commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party. Politicians sought to insert provisions into state constitutions against Catholics who refused to renounce the pope. The Know-Nothing movement brought bigotry and hatred to a new level of violence and organization.
The party’s legacy endured in the post-Civil War era, with laws and constitutional amendments it supported, still today severely limiting parents’ educational choices. A federal constitutional amendment was proposed by Speaker of the House James Blaine prohibiting money raised by taxation in any State to be under the control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations. These were then named the Blaine Amendments of 1875.
in recent decades, often in response to challenges to school choice programs, the U.S. Supreme Court has demonstrated great interest in examining the issues of educational alternatives and attempts limit parental options. Massachusetts plays a key role in this debate. The Bay State was a key center of the Know-Nothing movement and has the oldest version of Anti-Aid Amendments in the nation, as well as a second such amendment approved in 1917. Two-fifths of Massachusetts residents are Catholic, and its Catholic schools outperform the state’s public schools, which are the best in the nation.
The Mayor of my home town (Cumberland, RI), Daniel McKee, is engaged in a very interesting experiment. As Ed Week noted, if McKee:
and a coalition of other Rhode Island town leaders have their way, they’ll ditch public education’s current bureaucracy and start over with a clean slate. It’s just not clear yet exactly what they will be able to write on it.
The plan, as Mr. McKee and his Coalition of Communities Improving Rhode Island were planning to announce it late last week, is to set up a regional, mayorally headed network of charter schools—something that charter school experts say has never been attempted in quite the way the coalition is proposing.
Yes, the Cumberland teachers union rep is against it, saying, “The approach that he’s taking, in my opinion, would tend to alienate the people we already have in the trenches doing their jobs.”
Yes, as the Providence Journal reports, the superintendents oppose the idea, as well. “Citing Title 16-2-9, the state law that lists the general powers and duties of the school committee,” Schools Supt. Donna Morelle is quoted as saying:
As a professional, I’m not a territorial person, but the law speaks to who has care and control of the schools. It’s very clear. It’s the School Committee.
Translation: This is about territory. McKee underscores that the “current cost of education in Rhode Island isn’t sustainable” and that “taxpayers aren’t getting the results based on what they’re being asked to spend.”
The numbers suggest he is right. As Marcia Green of the Valley Breeze notes,
Just-released scores achieved by last year’s 11th-graders show more than half of Cumberland students aren’t making the grade – just 48 percent are proficient in English language arts and 39.5 percent in math.
In the past year, scores are down 9 percentage points in English and almost 5 points in math.That leaves Morelle asking aloud, “How do you make it more than a slogan?”
Perhaps, in addition to allowing for the McKee’s Municipal Academy, which would serve 150-250 kids, one might begin by asking the School Committee to insist on accountability. Ah, but that is too much to ask: They voted in secret to extend Morelle’s contract…
For you, Massachusetts-ers who are wondering what this has to do with your navel, well, the Mayor and Michael Magee, who runs the newly established Cumberland Office of Children Youth and Learning, have cited the MATCH school as an inspiration. Magee notes in the Valley Breeze that MATCH has two times the number of students proficient in math and English than my alma mater…
Massachusetts is an example for many. Unfortunately, it seems our incredible record of improvement does not inspire our own Governor.
You may recall our recent report — Our Legacy of Neglect — that examined the condition of the Longfellow Bridge and the condition of our state’s assets.
MSNBC has done an enterprising bit of reporting on national bridge inspection standards and come up with some shocking results — massive numbers of bridges go uninspected for more than two years at a time (the absolute maximum recommended time between inspections).
The good news is that Massachusetts has none of these bridges, although some other states (Illinois, Arizona) look pretty shabby.
Sadly, we are still in the top 3 for structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges (at more than 50%) but we have improved by .6% in a year!
Finally, if you have immediate concerns, you can map your route to work and find out the condition of the bridges along the way.
Additional Info — The FHWA thinks the state should spend more on maintenance and bridge safety. See the FHWA letter here.
“Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)” was provided in January 2008.
Download Report: Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)
MATCH School inspires my home town
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Education, Blog: School Choice, Jim Stergios, News, Related Education Blogs /byThe Mayor of my home town (Cumberland, RI), Daniel McKee, is engaged in a very interesting experiment. As Ed Week noted, if McKee:
Yes, the Cumberland teachers union rep is against it, saying, “The approach that he’s taking, in my opinion, would tend to alienate the people we already have in the trenches doing their jobs.”
Yes, as the Providence Journal reports, the superintendents oppose the idea, as well. “Citing Title 16-2-9, the state law that lists the general powers and duties of the school committee,” Schools Supt. Donna Morelle is quoted as saying:
Translation: This is about territory. McKee underscores that the “current cost of education in Rhode Island isn’t sustainable” and that “taxpayers aren’t getting the results based on what they’re being asked to spend.”
The numbers suggest he is right. As Marcia Green of the Valley Breeze notes,
Perhaps, in addition to allowing for the McKee’s Municipal Academy, which would serve 150-250 kids, one might begin by asking the School Committee to insist on accountability. Ah, but that is too much to ask: They voted in secret to extend Morelle’s contract…
For you, Massachusetts-ers who are wondering what this has to do with your navel, well, the Mayor and Michael Magee, who runs the newly established Cumberland Office of Children Youth and Learning, have cited the MATCH school as an inspiration. Magee notes in the Valley Breeze that MATCH has two times the number of students proficient in math and English than my alma mater…
Massachusetts is an example for many. Unfortunately, it seems our incredible record of improvement does not inspire our own Governor.
Some Good Bridge News
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byYou may recall our recent report — Our Legacy of Neglect — that examined the condition of the Longfellow Bridge and the condition of our state’s assets.
MSNBC has done an enterprising bit of reporting on national bridge inspection standards and come up with some shocking results — massive numbers of bridges go uninspected for more than two years at a time (the absolute maximum recommended time between inspections).
The good news is that Massachusetts has none of these bridges, although some other states (Illinois, Arizona) look pretty shabby.
Sadly, we are still in the top 3 for structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges (at more than 50%) but we have improved by .6% in a year!
Finally, if you have immediate concerns, you can map your route to work and find out the condition of the bridges along the way.
Additional Info — The FHWA thinks the state should spend more on maintenance and bridge safety. See the FHWA letter here.
Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)
/0 Comments/in Public Testimony /by Steve Poftak“Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)” was provided in January 2008.
Download Report: Testimony to the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets (1/31/08)