Education
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Fixing the Foundation Report Release
The MassINC Policy Center and the Worcester Regional Research Bureau convened leaders at the State House to discuss new research on inequities in school facilities and the urgent need for more equitable state investment.
October 10, 2025
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Fixing the Foundation: Uneven Access to Modern Schools and a Blueprint for a More Equitable Future
This report examines disparities in school facility conditions across Massachusetts and their implications for student learning.
October 7, 2025
- Nearly 60% of Massachusetts’ lowest-rated or over-capacity schools are located in Boston or a Gateway City.
- At the current pace, it could take 50 years to replace or renovate all high-need school buildings in Massachusetts.
- Suburban districts received 57% of major MSBA Core Program grants since 2015, while Boston and Gateway Cities received less than 19%.
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Rolling Up Our Sleeves to Build the Schools Students Deserve
Massachusetts’ current school construction funding system reinforces inequities, leaving Gateway City students in outdated and inadequate facilities while suburban districts benefit disproportionately. There must be bold, collaborative solutions to ensure all students can learn in modern, 21st-century schools.
October 3, 2025
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Gateway Cities Journal | ESOL in Massachusetts: Short-term relief, long-term strategy
Progress in the quest for a more robust and more dynamic ESOL training system in Massachusetts.
May 15, 2025
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Early College Life Sciences Pathways
Expanding Early College access and strengthening career-connected learning are critical to ensuring Massachusetts maintains a competitive, skilled workforce. This report outlines four key objectives to guide an expansion strategy that state leaders are currently developing.
March 3, 2025
- Early college is Massachusetts’ most systemic and impactful effort to increase college access and success. Marrying this educational equity strategy with industry-led efforts to grow the life sciences workforce will deliver stronger results on both fronts.
- Building robust Early College life sciences pathways is a difficult and complex undertaking that requires strong industry involvement. At present, the industry has very little awareness of the state’s Early College strategy, and there has been no formal effort to engage the sector in the state’s ambitious Early College initiative.
- With the Massachusetts Early College Initiative conducting its first strategic plan and the state’s Life Sciences 3.0 economic development package signed into law, the coming months will be decisive. The actions leaders take to enable the growth of Early College life sciences pathways will heavily influence the ability of Massachusetts students to participate fully in this cutting-edge industry for years to come.
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Opening the Doors to the Jobs of the Future
Expanding Early College access and strengthening career-connected learning are critical to ensuring Massachusetts maintains a competitive, skilled workforce, and this report outlines four key objectives to guide the state’s expansion strategy.
March 3, 2025
- Massachusetts must significantly expand Early College programs to reach more low-income students, as current enrollment remains too limited to make a substantial impact. The state should prioritize high-potential high schools and utilize hybrid or online learning models to ensure accessibility, particularly for students in rural areas.
- Current Early College programs lack structured connections to high-demand industries like health and STEM. A more robust program should integrate specialized advising, career development experiences, and credit accumulation targets, while also aligning Early College with Innovation and Career Pathway (ICP) programs.
- Expanding Early College to middle-income students can create more diverse learning environments, strengthen urban schools, and support high school redesign in smaller districts. Targeted strategies include regional partnerships, urban magnet schools, and enrollment goals that promote integration in Boston and the Gateway Cities.
- Sustainable Early College expansion will require clear governance structures, accountability measures, and administrative capacity. Some necessary policy changes will need to be addressed through board decisions, legislation, and budget appropriations.
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School Centered Neighborhood Development
February 20, 2025
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The Massachusetts School Centered Neighborhood Development Playbook
Neighborhood vitality and public school performance are closely linked, yet education improvement efforts are generally siloed from planning, housing, and community development.
October 9, 2024
- Growing education reform movements and an influx of housing resources provide a window to embrace coordinated planning efforts at the neighborhood level
- The funding of backbone organizations and the implementation of the Community School model are both effective ways to work across silos and create mixed-income neighborhoods and schools
