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Over the coming weeks, there will be votes taken on issues critical to education in Massachusetts. At the end of June, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will vote on regulations that will guide a new teacher evaluation system. And, the Legislature will be finalizing action on municipal health care reform after a conference committee resolves differences between the House and Senate budget proposals. On both issues, MBAE continues to advocate for meaningful reform that will greatly impact our education system.
In this issue:
- States Take Action on Teacher Policies - MBAE Executive Director and MTA President Videochat on Teacher Evaluation
- Municipal Health Reform Moves to Conference - How much could your community save?
- Human Capital Policies in Springfield Public Schools
- Forum: Defining & Assessing College and Career Readiness
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STATES TAKE AGGRESSIVE ACTION ON HUMAN CAPITAL POLICIES
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Massachusetts to Act Next Month on Teacher Evaluation
States across the country are advancing legislation that will dramatically change human capital policies in schools. The goal: attracting, developing and retaining highly effective teachers. For a summary of what other states are doing to change policies regarding tenure, educator evaluation, collective bargaining, seniority-based layoffs and pay-for-performance, check out our blog post.
Meanwhile, here in Massachusetts the June 10 deadline approaches for public comments on Commissioner Chester's proposed regulations for a new educator evaluation system. The BESE will vote on the final regulations at its meeting on June 28, 2011.
An effective evaluation system alone is not enough to address all of our human capital needs, but it is the critical lever of our dysfunctional human resource system that we have the opportunity and ability to fix at this point in time.
To hear more about what a new evaluation system might look like in Massachusetts, check out Commonwealth Magazine's videochat between MBAE Executive Director Linda Noonan and MTA President Paul Toner.
MBAE continues to stress that student achievement should be the primary yardstick by which a teacher's effectiveness should be measured. We have objected to proposals that prioritize process over results and will be urging the BESE to reject any regulations that don't emphasize outcomes in the attempt to balance these with practices. Look for MBAE's public comments on our website on the June 10 deadline.
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SENATE PASSES MUNICIPAL HEALTH REFORM MEASURE
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House and Senate Versions Go To Conference Committee
Last week the Massachusetts Senate passed a municipal health reform proposal, joining the House in enabling cities and towns to implement plan design changes or join the state's Group Insurance Commission (GIC) plan in order to achieve savings. Although the Senate version sets up a more structured process for negotiation and covering retirees, it gives labor a voice but not a veto over changes in plan co-pays and deductibles. Plans would offer no less than what state employees currently receive. The two versions now move to a joint House-Senate conference committee that will begin work on a final budget bill before the end of June.
As pointed out in a Boston Globe editorial, there are some good reasons to prefer the House plan, but MBAE commends the leadership and members of both Chambers for fair and decisive action on this issue. With our primary concern being the dramatic impact that health care costs are having on education funding, based on our report on school finance, we will continue to advocate for the strongest reform plan.
USE THIS TOOL to find out what your city or town could save in dollars and in jobs!
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EXAMINING HUMAN CAPITAL POLICIES IN SPRINGFIELD
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MBAE/Springfield Business Leaders for Education Partner on Study
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 Last year, MBAE commissioned an analysis by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) of "Human Capital in Boston Public Schools". Inspired by the impact of this report as a catalyst for discussion and change, Springfield Business Leaders for Education and MBAE retained NCTQ to conduct a study of human capital in the Springfield Public schools.
The goal is to understand how district policies can help attract, develop and retain effective teachers. In addition to reviewing district data, researchers are conducting focus groups with administrators, teachers, union leaders, parents, business leaders and others to gain perspective on how policies play out in practice. They will be discussing hiring and staffing, professional growth and support systems, evaluation, compensation and school culture.
Included in the final analysis will be comparisons of Springfield's policies with those of other similar school districts and recommendations for action that has been successful elsewhere. This analysis can serve as a crucial tool in strengthening human capital in the district. The Springfield report will be released in September.
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| Defining & Assessing College and Career Readiness | |
Final Common Core State Standards Forum | |
On June 14, MBAE and the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy will host  the last of the three-part series exploring the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Massachusetts. While the goal of the new standards is to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready, there has been no clear, statewide definition of college- and career-readiness. This forum will explore the questions: What does college- and career-ready mean? How will readiness be determined and what criteria will be used to assess readiness? What other initiatives and programs will complement the new standards and assessments to ensure a reduction in college remediation rates?
Only a few seats are left, so if you'd like to register act fast. If you missed the first two forums you can watch the webcast.
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| MBAE Thanks Our Supporters | |
MBAE's work is made possible by the financial support of generous individuals and -
Abt Associates
Associated Industries of Massachusetts
AT&T
Bank of America
Braver
The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation
Deloitte
Evaluation Systems Group of Pearson
EMC Corporation
Fidelity Investments
IBM
Intel
MassMutual Financial Group
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Noyce Foundation
PTC
SolidWorks
Suffolk Construction
Verizon
You can support MBAE every time you search the web or shop online. Just start at www.goodsearch.com for searches or www.goodshop.com for shopping and designate the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education as the charity you want to support. A percentage of advertising revenues and purchases will be donated to MBAE!
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MBAE is committed to a high quality public education system that will prepare all students to engage successfully in a global economy and society. We bring together business and education leaders to promote education policies and practices based on measurable standards of achievement, accountability for performance, and equitable educational opportunities for all students.
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Linda Noonan, Executive Director
MBAE
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