President Obama’s parting plea to work collaboratively as citizens to address hard issues had to resonate with Gateway City leaders, who never shy from this civic responsibility. Together, they grapple with the toughest problems and try to find commonsense solutions. In just the past two days, we’ve witnessed two great examples. Wednesday, at the first
Next Generation Education Accountability in Lowell
Recapping our Second Community Conversation
Gateway City leaders from the Merrimack Valley gathered yesterday for a conversation on the power of education accountability, and how change brought about by the impending implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can help advance the Gateway City vision for educational excellence. While many themes similar to those surfaced in Worcester were discussed, here are
Jobless rates dropping all over MA
Of 10 metro areas in US with biggest declines, 7 from Bay State
NEW ECONOMIC DATA suggest the state’s labor market is nearing full capacity, which is translating into employment gains across the state and not just in metropolitan Boston. A group of Massachusetts economists released a MassBenchmarks report on Wednesday suggesting tight labor market conditions are likely to lead to worker shortages in some occupations and high
MassINC Year In Review
Looking back at our work in 2016
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 2016 has been an incredible year for the MassINC family which includes our Policy Center, CommonWealth magazine and the MassINC Polling Group. Please take a moment to look through the highlights of substantive research, civic events, and journalism from 2016 and consider making a year-end donation that will help us
Activists interrupt criminal justice meeting
Advocates worried reform bill won’t address sentencing issues
CHANTING “JOBS NOT JAIL,” advocates for criminal justice reform briefly disrupted the final meeting of a state criminal justice policy commission today, part of a growing chorus of voices expressing concern that state leaders are preparing to put forward legislation that won’t include major changes to sentencing laws. The protest came as advocates and lawmakers
Next Generation Education Accountability in Worcester
Recapping the Conversation
Worcester leaders gathered last Thursday for a spirited conversation on the opportunity that the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presents to help Gateway Cities realize their vision for educational excellence. Here are four takeaways from their dialogue: A measure that “raises the bar” is critical. When urban students see that they can meet the highest
Initiating an urgent conversation on education accountability
The Gateway Cities Journal
We head to Worcester this week for the first of six community dialogues on education accountability. Over the next few months, Massachusetts will revise its accountability policies to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a major overhaul of federal education law signed by President Obama last December. Anticipating this change, we spent a
Serious Fun for All!
Celebrating 20 Years
Serious Fun for All! Thank you for joining us on December 1 to celebrate MassINC and CommonWealth magazine’s 20th Anniversary. For those of you who were unable to attend, it was a wonderful gathering of MassINC friends, old and new, and you can now see the photos from the evening and share the videos (below) with anyone
Recapping the Fourth Annual Gateway Cities Innovation Awards and Summit
Recognizing this year's award winners
A warm thank you to all of the Gateway City leaders who travelled to Springfield last week for the fourth annual Gateway Cities Innovation Awards and Summit. As always, your spirit and optimism were infectious. We especially want to recognize this year’s award winners. For those who were unable to join us, please take a
BNN News Interviews MassINC Research Director, Ben Forman
To discuss latest research on the Geography of Incarceration
On Wednesday, November 16th MassINC Research Director, Ben Forman sat down with Christopher Lovett on Network Neighborhood News to discuss a new report from MassINC on the “geography of incarceration,” tracing its disproportionate effect on certain Boston neighborhoods and populations.