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Charter Cap Battle Boils Over

March 21, 2014 by

Tempers flared and fingers stabbed out vitriolic editorials at the news that the Joint Education Committee wanted time to hear from voters and think about proposed charter cap and school turnaround legislation.

First, Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz released a statement announcing the one-week extension. The statement was posted at the Blue Mass Group blog, prompting an interesting series of comments, including an excellent post by CPS member Shirley Kressel.
The Boston Herald then printed a vicious editorial attack on Senators Chang-Diaz and Jehlen, saying there should be “a special place in hell reserved for those who would deprive children of a way out of a failing school.”
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Filed Under: Charter Schools

What We Know: Opting Out of PARCC Pilot Tests

March 12, 2014 by

1)    The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted this fall to begin pilot testing PARCC exams to see if we should move from our current MCAS tests to these new exams. The plan is to include 15% of the state’s students in approximately 2/3 of state schools. (For more, see our PARCC test fact sheet, here.)

2)    Is opting out an option? More and more parents, teachers, school committee members and superintendents believe parents should be able to decide whether their children participate in these trials.   → Read More

Filed Under: Education, Education-Other Tagged With: ,

CPS Public Comment on Discipline Regulations

March 7, 2014 by

CPS submitted public comment on proposed regulations to implement the Chapter 222 law on student discipline. The law attempts to ensure students facing exclusion from school have access to alternative educational programming so they can continue to make academic progress. It also aims to increase fairness and reduce the number and length of student exclusions. CPS and other groups weighed in to ensure regulations from the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education support these goals. Here are our comments:

Elizabeth Harris
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
75 Pleasant St.
Malden, MA 02148
Re: Chapter 222 Proposed Regulations
Dear Ms. Harris:

For 32 years, Citizens for Public Schools (CPS) has worked to promote, preserve and protect public schools and public education.  Key to this mission is ensuring equal access and educational opportunities for every child, and making sure that every student has a well-rounded public education that meets the needs of the whole child.

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Filed Under: Education-Other

CPS Joins Testing Resistance & Reform Spring

February 20, 2014 by

Campaigns against the overuse and misuse of standardized testing are exploding across the nation. Many parents, teachers, students and activists agree that one-size-fits-all exams produce narrow, misleading snapshots of U.S. children and public schools. State and local policy makers are starting to heed their constituents’ message by reducing testing overkill.

Now, major groups seeking to overhaul assessment have allied to help win more policy changes. Today, they announced the launch of “Testing Resistance & Reform Spring.” Citizens for Public Schools is proud to be a partner in this important campaign.

Testing Resistance & Reform Spring (TRRS) seeks to ensure that assessment contributes to all students having access to a high-quality education. The core theme is, “Enough is Enough: Less Testing, More Learning.” The alliance unites grassroots boycotts, rallies, opt-out organizing, town hall forums, petition drives and legislative campaigns around three fundamental goals:

  • Stop high-stakes use of standardized tests;
  •  Reduce the number of standardized exams; and
  •   Replace multiple-choice tests with performance-based assessments.
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Filed Under: Education-Other

The Real Impact of Charters on Education Equity, Accountability

February 12, 2014 by

The crowd that filled Madison Park High School’s Cardinal Hall on January 25 heard a wide-ranging, rich presentation on the impact of charter schools in Massachusetts. Parents, educators and advocates provided a multifaceted presentation on the charter schools, with several unifying themes.

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Charters Foster Inequity – Winners and Losers

Keynote speaker Dr. Daniella Ann Cook, Assistant Professor in the Department of Instruction at the University of South Carolina, reported on her research into the transforming of the New Orleans Public Schools into, as of next year, the nation’s first all-charter system.

Cook said school reform is far more than a technical discussion of curriculum and instruction; it is always political, social and racial. She noted that charter proponents saw New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina as a “green field of opportunity,” a way to wipe away the existing system and put in place something entirely new. She noted that among those wiped away from this mostly black school system were black teachers (an issue that resonates in Boston).   → Read More

Filed Under: Charter Schools, Conference Tagged With: , ,
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