Education Reform at 20

June 18^th marked the 20^th anniversary of the Education Reform Act of 1993.  MBAE’s role in that landmark legislation is detailed in a report by Achieve about “Massachusetts’ Lessons for Sustaining the College and Career Ready Agenda”.   Our organization is very proud of this record and the work we’ve done to ensure that every child has access to a high quality education, but we are far from satisfied with our progress toward that goal.

While we celebrate the achievements of the past 20 years, we are also determined to focus on the work that remains to be done.  So, we were pleased to join the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Strategies for Children in hosting a discussion of Education Reform at 20:  What Lies Ahead.   Our panelists each brought perspective on critical issues that all three organizations believe will be priorities for future reforms – expanded access to early childhood education, closing opportunity gaps to prepare all children for college and career, growing the education technology sector in Massachusetts so our schools can benefit from these tools, and tackling the problem of what constitutes adequate funding.  In addition, all are actively involved as leading thinkers and innovators in these fields.

The Eye on Early Education blogger did a great job summarizing the comments that were shared with the 100+ people who attended.   As moderator of the discussion, I heard a lot of good ideas, provocative questions and points worth repeating.   Here are a few highlights that have stuck with me and deserve more attention and consideration as we look at what lies ahead:

John Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation suggested that closing the “achievement gap” is the wrong benchmark and urged us to focus on the “opportunity gap” revealed most dramatically by the disparities in educational outcomes for black and Latino males.  He also called for shifting from standards-based to supports-based reforms with individual opportunity plans for all students.

Education has to be reimagined.  Are we going to lead or let education policy be dictated by budget cuts?

Noah Berger, President of the Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center commented on the shared sense of urgency that was present in 1993 and the need for building consensus now that there is nothing is more important than improving public education.   He emphasized that this work involves making sure that all districts have the resources they need to meet every child’s need.

No state has figured out how to have a high wage economy with a poorly educated workforce.  What might Massachusetts look like if we went from 40% to 65% of our citizens attaining a college degree?

Eileen Rudden, Co-Founder of LearnLaunch (and an MBAE Board member) made the point that our education system isn’t taking advantage of technology to help drive efficiencies and improvements at comparable levels to what other industries are doing.  The contrast between industries spending $50 to $100 per employee on technology while education spends 43 cents was telling.

How can we encourage experimentation and take advantage of solutions produced by education technology companies here in Massachusetts to help children learn and assist teachers in their jobs?

John Bissell, Executive Vice President of Greylock Federal Credit Union and Co-Founder of the Pittsfield Promise addressed the need for early childhood education and meeting the benchmark of 3^rd grade reading proficiency as requisites for a better prepared workforce.  He called upon the business community to engage and to recapture a sense of community in order to create opportunities for young people to stay in Gateway Cities.

Our educational investments are not going where these dollars will have an impact – we have to invest in what matters.  The state is the one entity large enough to cause disruption in the poverty cycle. 

As State Representative Alice Peisch said when she opened the program, despite our ranking as the top performing state in the nation, we cannot rest on our laurels.  There is still more work to be done to achieve the goal we all share – that every student has access to a high quality education that will prepare them to succeed.