The charter funding debate

Lots of the conflict is over short-term vs. long-term picture

IN THE HIGH-STAKES battle over charter school expansion, the impact of charters on school finances has come front and center. Supporters of Question 2, which would allow up to 12 new charter schools or expansion of 12 existing schools per year, argue that the funding formula for charter schools holds districts harmless when students move

Celebrating Gateway Cities

The Gateway Cities Journal

Gathering the links below has become one of my favorite parts of the job. It’s a window into the collective work of Gateway City leaders—whether they’re finding solutions to the Commonwealth’s most pressing problems or advancing bold, ambitious visions that reflect optimism for their communities and unwillingness to settle for projects that sell their cities

Advocates push T to restore late-night service

Supporters say there’s demand and need for 'transportation equity'

MBTA OFFICIALS CONTINUED to take a slow approach to rebooting late-night bus service over concerns about cost despite a detailed plan from advocates and pleas from state and local officials that such a service is a matter of equity for low-income earners rather than a convenience for millennial barhoppers. State Rep. Adrian Madaro of East

NGALC Meeting #3 Recap  

Hearing the voice of urban school leaders

NGALC members gathered on September 20th for a third and final meeting. Unlike the other sessions, there were no expert presentations. This gathering focused on hearing from the members and hashing out their thinking on next generation accountability after three months of reflecting together on the opportunities and challenges ESSA presents. For the first two sessions,

NGALC Dispatch #2

Establishing Principles for Accountability

How can educators make the Every Student Succeeds Act a pivot to smarter, next generation school accountability? With generous support from the Barr Foundation, the Next Generation Accountability Learning Community (NGALC) is examining this question with an emphasis on small-to-midsize cities, communities that serve a disproportionate share of the disadvantaged students—the core focus of the new federal

Doing our job

The MassCJRC Journal

Jimmy G. epitomized the “do your job” mantra when he took to the field Sunday night amid the bright lights and fan noise and executed. For all of those who have worked equally tirelessly over the last decade or more to advance criminal justice reform, the moment to channel Garoppolo and the Patriots is quickly approaching —  

ESSA Updates

A look at how stakeholders are responding to the USDOE’s draft regulations

While many lauded ESSA for providing more flexibility to state and local educators, many state officials, advocacy groups, and education experts have expressed concern over proposed ESSA regulations issued in May 2016. Their chief concerns pertain to how the regulations overstep the language of the original statute. Some of the most common objections to the

At the buzzer, Gateway City leaders score a game-changer

The Gateway Cities Journal

Gateway City leaders enthusiastically applauded the smart economic development investments Governor Baker signed into law last week at the State House. This session’s economic development package authorized an unusually large infusion of capital spending, including $500 million for the MassWorks grant, $45 million for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, and $45 million for the Transformative Development Initiative. These

The Codcast: Open court?

CommonWealth Magazine

The Massachusetts Trial Court this week issued its new rules and regulations regarding public access to court records and it’s fair to say officials erred on the side of less rather than more. The rules, which were more than two years in the making, were issued in conjunction with the updated court website that is

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