Across Massachusetts, Gateway City leaders are working to create exceptional learning environments. It’s a community-wide effort. By strategically marshalling available resources, Gateway Cities can provide the comprehensive supports and educational opportunities that will enable students to gain the full set of advanced skills today’s economy requires. Achieving this vision calls for new approaches to state
Advancing the Gateway Cities Vision
The Potential of Next-Generation Approaches to Education Accountability
We’ve got a prime opportunity to advance the Gateway Cities Vision. In 2013, Gateway City leaders came together to develop an “education vision.” Their farsighted plan leverages unique urban assets to create exceptional learning environments. Achieving this vision is fundamental to making Gateway Cities more attractive communities for families to live and more productive places for
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
Next Generation Education Accountability
Design Ideas from New England’s Small-to-Midsize Urban School Districts
Can policymakers take hold of the recently passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and create new approaches to education accountability that accelerate opportunity and learning for all students? With generous support from the Barr Foundation, the Next Generation Accountability Learning Community (NGALC) examined this question over the past five months with an emphasis on small-to-midsize
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
Workforce Development Transformation Case Studies
Three Examples of Systems Change through Collaborative Gateway City Leadership
It is with great pleasure that we offer three case studies to complement the report Calling All Leaders: An Action Guide to Workforce Development Transformation. The action guide outlined the grand dimensions of the challenge by the numbers, and contrasted the need for workforce development services with the limited resources available. These case studies show
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
MA Board of Elementary & Secondary Education Looks at ESSA Implementation
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education met on September 27th and heard from agency staff on ESSA outreach and implementation. In materials made public for the meeting, the Department published a list of indicators suggested by external stakeholders during outreach performed by the department over the spring and summer. A couple of observations
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
Exploring Foundational Questions For Next Generation Accountability
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