Beginning this month, Massachusetts inaugurated a new state education structure - changing the name of the Department of Education to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and uniting it with the Department of Early Education and Care and the Department of Higher Education under the new Secretary of Education, Paul Reville. There have also been some organizational changes at MBAE as we welcome Kate Lamanna to our staff as Director of the Massachusetts State Scholars Initiative. We also are pleased to announce that the MBAE Board of Directors has elected Rob Richardson, East Coast Education Program Manager of Intel in Hudson, as its new Chairman. Rob takes over for Maura Banta who has begun her term as Chairman of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. MBAE also welcomes new members who have recently been elected to the Board - Donald Baldini of Liberty Mutual, Andrea Bruce of Suffolk Construction, Lawrence Coolidge of Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge, Cathleen Finn of IBM, Beth Gamse of Abt Associates, and Vicki Grisanti of EMC Corporation. We appreciate the support of these individuals and the employers they represent!
In this issue...
- Legislature Acts on Education Priorities as Session Concludes
- 21st Century Skills Task Force Seeking Comments
- Education Reports Issued
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Action on Education Bills as Session Ends |
Accountability, Drop Out Prevention and Early Childhood Education 
Accountability is one of the cornerstones of education reform and is critical to raising student achievement and improving schools. Senator Robert Antonioni and Representative Patricia Haddad, co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Education, have spearheaded a bill that is expected to receive final approval before the legislative session ends (H.4967). MBAE congratulates these legislative leaders and their staff for maintaining a commitment to evaluation of performance and establishing a clear connection to technical assistance for struggling schools and districts. Our opinion published in The Lowell Sun explains MBAE's support for an effective system to ensure that the substantial public investment in education is resulting in positive gains for children.
MBAE also supports Dropout Prevention legislation proposed by Senator Edward Augustus that is in the final stages of enactment (S.2766). According to estimates from the Alliance for Excellent Education, the lifetime costs for students who dropped out of Massachusetts high schools in 2007-08 will exceed $4 billion. The new law will address this problem for individuals and society by setting a goal and timeline for reducing the statewide dropout rate, implementing systems to identify and intervene with students at risk of leaving school, and engage other tools known to have an impact on raising graduation rates.
For the latest versions of these bills, use the bill numbers to search for Senate bills or House bills. Search here for the bill status.
MBAE also congratulates the Early Education for All Campaign for its success in passing an Act Relative to Early Education and Care which will be signed by Governor Patrick today! This law will formally establish the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program in Massachusetts and go a long way toward raising the quality and accessibility of early childhood education. With an increase of $12.9 million in the state budget this year for early childhood education, the Campaign is making great progress toward its goal of universal pre-kindergarten for all students, which MBAE endorses and supports. |
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Educating Students for the 21st Century |
Focus on Skills for an Interconnected World |
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 Last month, we reported that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education had convened a Task Force on 21st Century Skills to offer advice about how to integrate 21st century learning into the curriculum and instruction of the state's public schools. The group is seeking input that will help them develop their recommendations about how standards, assessments, accountability, curriculum, professional and teacher development can all be influenced to reflect and develop the critical skills that students need to succeed in a 21st century economy and society. The 21st Century Skills Task Force is holding a public forum on Wednesday, August 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Boston Foundation to give stakeholders the opportunity to offer comments, and suggestions. This is an opportunity for employers to share their experience and perspective about what needs to be done to ensure that students are successful in our rapidly changing world. If you have information that you would like included in MBAE's comments, please send these to us. If you would like to participate, please RSVP to Heidi Guarino by August 18.
Among the resources currently available to schools is a guidebook just issued by the Asia Society to assist secondary schools in developing students' international knowledge and skills. Examples from schools are featured in Going Global: Preparing U.S. Students for an Interconnected World and web resources will be posted here in August. |
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High School Reform |
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Topic of New Reports |
 Out of Many, One: Toward Rigorous Common Core Standards From the Ground Up will be released by Achieve, Inc. on July 31. The report shows that while 16 early adopter states individually set out to raise standards to ensure that their high school graduates were prepared for college, career and life, a byproduct of that work is a remarkable degree of consistency among the states around a common core of knowledge in English and mathematics. The findings will have great implications in the debate over national standards to ensure that all students will graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the real world.
Visit Achieve.org for a link to the report.
Lost in Transition: Building a Better Path from School to College and Careers , a new report by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) cites "a narrow perspective of the purpose of school and a failure to recognize the potential of all students - with the right support - to "do hard things" as a factor creating the shortage of "knowledgeable and skilled employees that states must have to sustain economic development". The report summarizes the conclusions of 15 state education forums, identifies key barriers and policy issues, and recommends a number of key actions for states to take to improve student transitions from high school to postsecondary studies and careers. Increasing collaboration among school districts and postsecondary education is identified as tlhe key strategy necessary to provide the learning experiences students need.
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| MBAE Thanks our Supporters |
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MBAE's work is made possible by the financial support of generous individuals and -
Abt Associates
AT&T Foundation
Braver
Citizens Bank
Comcast
The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation
Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation
EMC Corporation
IBM
Intel
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Pearson
Shields Healthcare Group
Slowey/McManus
TD Banknorth
Verizon | |
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