Establishing Principles for Accountability

Perspectives from small-to-midsize urban districts and their allies

The Next Generation Accountability Learning Community (NGALC) is a group of roughly two dozen New England education leaders who have come together to look at the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) from the perspective of small-to-midsize urban districts. Members of the NGALC gathered twice this summer to hear from experts and exchange ideas on this read more
Topic(s): Education
These reflections have been prepared by the staff of the Next Generation Accountability Learning Community (NGALC). The NGALC is a group of roughly two dozen New England educators interested in the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) from the perspective of small-to-midsize urban districts. In the pages that follow, we summarize foundational questions read more
Topic(s): Education

Leading Together

The Holyoke Safe and Successful Youth Initiative Case Study

The Holyoke SSYI Program is a powerful example of how successful Gateway City initiatives fuse leaders and leadership styles together to overcome stubborn challenges. SSYI is a carefully coordinated effort to reach the community’s most difficult to reach young men—those who are “proven-risk” for violence. Making the most of a new state grant program, Holyoke read more

Leading Together

The Lawrence Community Partnerships Case Study

In 2012, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education moved to address the chronically low performance of the Lawrence Public Schools by placing the district in receivership. Jeff Riley, the leader appointed to transform the system, immediately set about extending the school day to offer students a wider array of learning opportunities. A central read more
Social and emotional support systems are a key pillar of the vision for education that Gateway City leaders developed collectively in 2013. These systems protect at-risk children who, without effective intervention, face difficulties that can result in enor­mous costs for entire cities. The universal learning experiences at the core of these systems are equally important. read more

At the Apex

The 2030 Educational Attainment Forecast and Implications for Bay State Policy Makers

This analysis draws attention to the problem the Massachusetts economy will confront as the large and highly skilled Baby Boom generation ages out of the state’s workforce. To help inform policymakers at this critical juncture, the report examines the drivers of recent gains in educational attainment and projects skill levels in Massachusetts out to 2030. read more
Topic(s): Education
Developed collaboratively with Gateway City mayors, managers, and education leaders, this vision highlights effective new models to prepare students for the changing economy and ensure an adequate supply of skilled workers for growing regional economies across the Commonwealth. The Vision also calls for strategies that leverage the educational assets of our urban centers so that read more

Recapturing the American Dream

Meeting the Challenges of the Bay State's Lost Decade

This joint project with the Center for Labor Market Studies was made possible by the generous support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Partners Health Care. More so than any previous report, this research sheds light on the economic well-being of workers at a moment when public attention is hyper-focused on policymaking to read more
The first-of-its-kind Middle Class Index is designed to serve as a barometer of the status of middle class residents. Composed of 26 different indicators, the overall score for Massachusetts in 2010 was 97.4, down 2.6 points from the benchmark figure of 100 for the year 2000. Nationally, the index number was 94.2. The index number read more
Going for Growth: New Education-Housing Partnerships to Stabilize Families and Boost Student Achievement, the fourth brief in a series exploring policy innovations to spur reinvestment and renewal in the state’s key regional cities. Extensive research documents the negative consequences that student mobility – the churn of youth entering and exiting classrooms during the school year read more

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