Massachusetts

The following is testimony in support of the Education PROMISE Act (S.238/H.586), which aims to provide public schools the funding they need to deliver high-quality, equitable education across Massachusetts.

Members of the committee,

My name is John Jackson and I am the President & CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, whose national headquarters is in Quincy.

When striking Los Angeles teachers won their demand to call for a halt to charter school expansions in California, they set off a domino effect, and now teachers in other large urban districts are making the same demand.

More than a hundred people attended the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance’s (MEJA) first statewide convening in late June. Held in central Massachusetts, organizers and representatives from community, parent, youth, and educator groups from across the commonwealth gathered for a day of strategizing, network-building and inspiration to help build a stronger network to fight for public education.

In many ways 2017 seemed like a never-ending stream of bad news and attacks on public education. However, advocates kept up the good fight and the movement for education justice saw growth and increased capacity. Thanks to our grantee partners and allies working tirelessly in communities across the country, we’d like to share some good news!

Thursday, October 26, 2017
5:45 – 8:30 PM

First Parish Unitarian Universalist
3 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA

Hair is an integral part of black cultural expression, but it has little to do with educational development, says John H. Jackson, president and CEO of the Schott Foundation. His response, highlighted in recent media reports, was a sharp dressing-down of a charter school in Malden, Mass., that disciplined African American girls who wore braided hair extensions to school.