Watering down Milquetoast
Jamie Vaznis in today’s Globe presents a bombshell: The state’s second-largest teachers union organization, which represents teachers in Boston and other big cities, has decided to boycott Massachusetts’ application for…
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Don't give up pole position on standards!
/by Jim StergiosThere is little to add to today’s Globe editorial on academic standards other than to applaud the detail and effort that went into hearing out all sides and making the…
Hole punched in national standards effort
/by Jim StergiosAs Sam Dillon of the New York Times noted our opposition to the national standards effort because it would weaken the Massachusetts standards. And now the opposition builds. Governor Pawlenty…
Why soft skills are pernicious
/by Jim StergiosWay back in February 2009, we criticized a report issued by the 21st century skills task force report produced by an ad hoc committee established by the chair of the…
Private: Waiting for the candidates to debate education
/by Jim StergiosThere are many lessons to learn from this year’s two major party conventions, many of which extend beyond education—the focus of this blog. The “scriptedness” of the events was only…
Stealing from our ed reform blueprint
/by Jim Stergios…Ohio takes a page from the Commonwealth in seeking to establish a teacher licensure test that is focused on subject-matter competency (rather than the easier PRAXIS licensure tests). As Stephen…
Why hold a grudge?: Ed czar won’t accept success of SABIS charter schools
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.lowellsun.com/oped/ci_19584224 February will be decision time for another round of Massachusetts charter-school applications. In 2012, the focus will be on “Gateway Cities” — middle-sized cities outside the Boston area. As…
Not grateful for “charter school cap lift”
/by Editorial Staffhttp://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/05/not_grateful_for_charter_schoo.html The 2010 Achievement Gap bill that was passed by both the House and the Senate and signed into law by Governor Patrick lifted the limits on charter schools and…
Concerns over Romney plan allowing choice of schools
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_20709107/concerns-over-romney-plan-allowing-choice-schools Mitt Romney’s plan to encourage parents of poor and disabled students to send their children to the school of their choice is receiving mixed reviews. In a speech Wednesday,…
Old foe resurfaces as law school pursues accreditation
/by Editorial Staff…only that, Hoey said, but UMass Law is already proving to be a moneymaker for the commonwealth as opposed to what its critics thought would be — a financial drain….
Ardon: Learning gaps, rural and urban
/by Editorial Staff…of the commonwealth’s residents, approximately 10 percent of the overall population, live below the poverty line. Statewide, roughly one in three students qualify for free or reduced price lunches, although…
Wong and Fitchburg charter official ready to defend school
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_19805585 FITCHBURG — Supporters of the North Central Charter Essential School were prepared to travel to Malden this morning to ask the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to…
Chester plan for Lawrence falls short on ideas, options
/by Editorial Staff…about 80 percent of students score in the two lowest categories on MCAS exams. The announcement is hardly reassuring on at least two counts. First, research demonstrates that school turnaround…
Romney Turns Focus From Economics To Education
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.wbur.org/2012/05/24/romney-education BOSTON — Calling it the “civil rights issue of our era,” presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney shifted the discussion in the 2012 presidential race from the economy to education,…
Ed officials flunk Romney plan
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_20709084/ed-officials-flunk-romney-plan Mitt Romney’s plan to encourage parents of poor and disabled students to send their children to the school of their choice is receiving mixed reviews. In a speech Wednesday,…
Filling the job training gap
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Voices/Back-Story/2012/Spring/005-Filling-the-job-training-gap.aspx Adrian Walker’s column in the Boston Globe on Monday, outlining a tale of shockingly clueless leadership at Roxbury Community College, may have delivered as big a punch as all…
Boston Superintendent: Parents shouldn’t worry
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.necn.com/02/09/12/Boston-Superintendent-Parents-shouldnt-w/landing_health.html?blockID=648384&feedID=8368 (NECN: Alison King) – “In September, after waiting far too long for congress to act, I announced that my administration would take steps to reform no child left behind…
Chipping away at charter schools
/by Editorial Staffhttp://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/01/chipping_away_at_charter_schoo.html Charter school approvals are granted in February. They shouldn’t be. They should have been granted on January 16th this year–Martin Luther King Day–for one simple reason: No education policy…
Parents Hope ‘No Child’ Waiver Helps Improve Schools
/by Editorial Staffhttp://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/02/09/parents-hope-no-child-waiver-helps-improve-schools/ WINCHESTER (CBS) – At Lynch Elementary School in Winchester, parents have seen first hand the impact of No Child Left Behind: The school has been labeled as failing for…
The power of the New Orleans school reform
/by Editorial Staffhttp://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/04/louisiana_marches_to_its_own_b.html For all the talk about a big national education agenda, the fact is that little implementation of the national standards is actually going on. Lots of talk, lots of…
Diminished literature curriculum hinders scholarship
/by Editorial Staff…codfish, Lexington and Concord, Horace Mann’s public schools, and the Kennedys — one of the commonwealth’s most lasting contributions to posterity is our gift of poetry. Architects of the landmark…
Different perspectives on Gov. Romney’s Education Announcement
/by Editorial Staffhttp://boston.com/community/blogs/rock_the_schoolhouse/2012/05/different_perspectives_on_gov.html A round-up of various perspectives on Governor Romney’s education policy announcement yesterday. I’ll post later on today to help you navigate through the noise, but it is always good…
Three of 12 Ventures Funded by Romney-Created Energy Fund Failed
/by Editorial Staffhttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-06/three-of-12-ventures-funded-by-romney-created-energy-fund-failed A $17 million, state-backed green-energy fund created during Mitt Romney’s tenure as governor of Massachusetts invested in a dozen companies, three of which have since closed, according to the…
How are the rural poor doing at school?
/by Editorial Staff…one state has a lower percentage of rural students qualifying for FRPL, but the percentage of the commonwealth’s urban students who qualify is higher than in 35 states. The highest…
An education in virtual schooling
/by Editorial Staff…the other. Massachusetts has been slow to embrace virtual schooling. Although more than 200 state schools offer online courses, the Massachusetts Virtual Academy (MVA) in Greenfield is the commonwealth’s only…
Kimberly Steadman of Edward Brooke on Boston’s Charter School Sector
/by Editorial Staff…current size. We have 2,000 core members a year, and her proposal would require A million or more, but still, it’s an important idea. I recommend the piece to everybody….
Baking Young Minds: Scientific Concerns for Cannabis on Kids
/by Editorial Staff…an addiction. And you look at mental health outcomes. So how common is a major depressive episode? How common is it that they’ve had suicidal ideation recently? How common is…
The Causes and Potential Cures for Inflation
/by Editorial Staff…some, some basic calculations. We have a lot of common sense, right? There’s another tradition which is, you know, the white lab coat scientist. And if I think about someone…
Core Academic Knowledge
/by Pioneer Institute…provide some Massachusetts context to our ongoing discussion about the nature and level of expectations to which we can appropriately hold our public school students. Download Report: Core Academic Knowledge…
Larry Kim’s One-Way Ticket to the American Dream
/by Editorial Staff…only word I’ve ever won. That kind of reflects, you know, my core, core belief system. And so that’s why I declared that this was the most meaningful or that…