Massachusetts

As part of its annual Condition of Education in the Commonwealth report, the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy has outlined three ways Massachusetts can build on its already strong education system to better prepare students for school, support them while they're there, and help them make the transition to college or a career.

"If we know that more Latino teachers means more Latino kids will finish school, go on to college and live to their fullest potential, then we are duty bound to hire more of them." This post is the third in a series featuring testimony from a recent hearing hosted by Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson on how Boston Public Schools can recruit, train and retain more teachers of color.

According to a new report from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, 9 out of the 10 school systems in Massachusetts with the highest suspension rates are charter schools, with some of them suspending between 40 and 60 percent of their students often for minor misbehaviors like dress code violations or being tardy.

Thanks to the hard work of youth organizers in Boston over the past year, starting next summer, Boston will launch a pilot program to offer discounted subway and bus passes to students and help make transportation to and from school more affordable.

Want more after-school or summer programs in your district? Well here's what it would probably cost to make that happen. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center has released a policy brief outlining the costs of expanded learning opportunities and how we can make them available to each and every student.

In this interconnected world all children, and particularly those who stand at the margins, need a diverse teaching force if they are going to be able to be competitive globally. I’m glad to report that a seemingly contentious hearing yielded a true partnership between Boston Public Schools, local community members, researchers, and myself and colleague City Councilor Ayanna Pressley to create and implement an accountability structure that ensures we recruit, support, and, most importantly, retain highly qualified teachers of color.

In a testament to the many parents, students and teachers who have been educating the public and policymakers about the potential consequences of charter school expansion, the Massachusetts State Senate voted to not lift a cap on the number of charter schools in the state.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy have launched a new project to put a firm price tag on what it would take to finally close the opportunity gap gap and ensure all students have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed

The small city of Lynn, MA, has become a local hotspot in the national immigration debate. On July 22, dozens of local parents, students and community members rallied on the steps of Lynn City Hall to protest city officials trying to scapegoat young immigrant students for the ails of a long-underfunded school system.

On July 1, Massachusetts took a bold step forward in the national school discipline reform movement when its new Chapter 222 law went into effect. To help advocates in other states learn how they, too, might tackle the school-to-prison pipeline, here’s how our Massachusetts coalition came together, fought hard, and won reform.