Education Reform

August 30, 2010

‘Surprises’ in Race to the Top

As the Deputy Director at MBAE, one of the main projects has been tracking, evaluating, and summarizing the education stimulus programs of which Race to the Top (RTTT) is, by far, the most high profile. As such, I’ve gotten quite […]
March 14, 2011

Boston Renaissance Inspires

MBAE Board Members and staff were treated to an inspiring tour of the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School recently that reminded me of why it is so critical to extend these unique educational opportunities to more students and their families. […]
March 18, 2011

Student Achievement is Key to Educator Evaluation

For the past seven months, a 40-member Task Force has been working to recommend a new teacher evaluation system to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).  MBAE’s executive director represented the business community in this effort but MBAE […]
October 12, 2011

Analysis of Teacher Policies in Springfield Public Schools

An analysis of Springfield Public Schools teacher policies and practices was conducted by the National Council on Teacher Quality for MBAE and Springfield Business Leaders for Education. The report found that improving the teacher evaluation system so that all teachers get feedback is critical, seniority rules are hurting new teacher recruitment, and the $127 million the district spends on compensation must be used more strategically.
November 16, 2011

Is Massachusetts on Track to Meet Race to the Top Goals?

One year ago, Massachusetts was awarded a $250 million Race to the Top grant that required implementation of far-reaching and some controversial policies with the goal of completing the unfinished work of education reform – closing achievement gaps and raising […]
February 14, 2012

Value of Evaluation: A Teacher’s Perspective

When Will started the school year in my ninth grade Math class at Chelsea High School he had significant gaps in his math skills. He is one of the 16 million children in our country growing up in poverty and, […]
March 9, 2012

New York State Website Tracks Educator Evaluation Progress

With the introduction this week of a new state-sponsored website that tracks each New York school districts progress on implementing teacher evaluation, Governor Andrew Cuomo once again puts the pressure on to get teacher evaluation implemented across the state. The […]
April 24, 2012

An Opposing View on Raising the Dropout Age

The Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) has been a leading business advocate for dropout prevention and recovery for many years.  MBAE is proud to have been an ally of the PIC on this and other issues and we have deep […]
June 27, 2012

Reports Spotlight Need to Better Prepare Students for Careers

Reports Spotlight Need to Better Prepare Students for Careers Education is an economic issue. Simply put, today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce. Two reports released yesterday offer compelling proof that despite strong academic gains over the past twenty years, too many […]
July 2, 2012

Key Drivers of Successful School Turnarounds

(The Boston Globe recently featured a story about the struggles of turning around a failing school.  We are pleased to give Scott Given, the CEO of nonprofit school turnaround organization Unlocking Potential, an opportunity to highlight a successful effort.) It […]
September 11, 2012

Readiness for Workforce a Shared Responsibility

In his opinion column in The New York Times, Tom Friedman wrote again about how the game has changed and how Americans have to be prepared for new jobs and new technologies. The broader theme he often touts is that the […]
October 2, 2012

Teacher Sets High Expectations For Students

This post is part of a series by Teach for America corps members teaching in Massachusetts schools. Throughout elementary and middle school, my dad often dropped me off in the carpool line.  And each morning, before he let me say […]
October 9, 2012

Finnish Culture’s Influence on Education System

This guest post by Massachusetts State Representative Jennifer Benson is another in a series by members of the Massachusetts Education Delegation as they tour Finland. After 2 days, 2 school visits and a meeting at the National Board of Education I have […]
October 11, 2012

Entering Teaching Profession in Finland a Rigorous Process

This guest post by Emily Parks, Assistant Superintendent in Westwood Public Schools, is another in a series by members of the Massachusetts Education Delegation touring Finland. During our time in Finland, again and again, we have heard from Finnish educators and […]
March 25, 2013

Technology Can Supercharge School Improvement

It has become a truism to say that schools are the only sector that citizens of 2013 could visit that would look like they did 150 years ago, when fewer students graduated from high school or college.  Yet today society […]
April 23, 2013

AIM Honors MBAE

Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) announced on April 12 that it will honor the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) with its Legacy of Leadership Award at the association’s 98th annual meeting on May 10th, in recognition of MBAE’s 25 […]