Education and workforce development, ten years later

1 Monday, February 7, 2011 Snowstorms!  A good time to sit by the fireplace (mine is a “Yule Log” CD we play on our DVD player) and get some reading done.  Here are a few suggestions. CommonWealth magazine was released recently and if you still harboring any doubts about how MCAS can improve urban schools, you

Its time to review our economic development priorities

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 John Schneider The day it was announced that A. J. Wright was closing its distribution center in Fall River, I was in city hall meeting with the mayor.  We were talking about education and employment and the challenges of raising educational attainment in a small city. It was about an hour

Wonk & Roll: How school choice can change schools

On October 16th, the Boston Globe ran a front page story about school choice.  The Globe reported that enrollment in the program has increased by 60 percent over the last decade. However, in total, just under 12,000 students participate in the program, not a significant amount.  Few remember this, but the debate over school choice

Wonk & Roll: Moving beyond access in higher education

I have just one reaction to issues raised at this week’s fine “Reinventing the University” conference sponsored by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE): How serious is higher education about change?  If we are indeed living during a period of “transformation” in higher education, as Pat Callan asserted at the NEBHE event, we have

Wonk & Roll: Three cheers for three year degree

UMass Amherst’s announcement that it will start offering a three-year undergraduate degree is good news for ambitious students and cash strapped families looking to save some money. For those high school seniors who can cut it, a three-year degree is a good option to have when considering where to attend college.  According to the Globe,

Wonk & Roll: Will Obama pick balance the scales?

We get to meet and work with a lot of very talented people here at MassINC.  But over the years (nine for me and counting) no one has impressed me more than Elizabeth Warren, named on Friday by President Obama to lead the newly created Consumer Financial Protection agency. CommonWealth interviewed Warren in 2003 about

Wonk & Roll: Local solutions to national gridlock

Brookings policy honcho and MassINC board member Bruce Katz’s call today in Politico about an emerging “pragmatic caucus” led by leaders in states and cities around the nation is just what we “wonk & rollers” want to hear.  It’s time for a lot more “bottom-up innovation”—too bad most of the media isn’t paying attention.  We

Wonk & Roll: Required reading on higher ed

I’ve been a regular reader of the Washington Monthly since the 1980s and their annual college guide, out this week, has become one of my favorite issues.  Here’s why: it turns the college rankings system on its head by trying to measure how well colleges are contributing to the nation’s wellbeing. Simply put, the rankings

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