Mass EdForum - Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education

August 1, 2018

Legislature Fails to Reach Consensus on School Spending

There were high expectations that the legislature would act on findings of the 2015 Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC) to adjust the foundation budget for health insurance, special education, English Language Learners and low income students to increase funding by […]

July 23, 2018

MBAE Participates in Regional Effort to Identify High-Value Credentials

MBAE is pleased to participate in a recently launched initiative from the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) to identify high-value credentials in key growth industries and make this information more readily available to the public via the Credential […]

June 27, 2018

Increasing Access and Equity in Computer Science

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has taken long overdue action to expand access to computer science with a vote at its June 26 meeting letting districts count computer science courses for graduation. The courses must include rigorous […]

June 27, 2018

Ed Secretary Meets with MBAE Affiliates

MBAE affiliates met with Secretary of Education Jim Peyser on Wednesday to discuss affiliate priorities and the Baker Administration’s agenda, in a discussion that focused on empowering educators to drive school improvement, increasing student exposure to growing industries while still […]

June 25, 2018

Creating Opportunities for Students to Earn Industry Recognized Credentials in HS

In an opening presentation at work+EDU, a June 20th conference in Boston focused on bridging the gap between education and jobs, WorkingNation president Jane Oates showed how the demands of the workforce are changing at an unprecedented pace and remarked […]

June 20, 2018

Our position on proposals to increase school funding

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that the “Millionaires Tax” does NOT meet the requirements to appear on the November ballot eliminating the possibility of billions of new revenue for education and transportation. We don’t expect, however, that […]

May 30, 2018

A Model for School Funding Reforms

The Denver Public School’s recently released budget document, the Budget Transparency Guidebook, provides detailed information about how the district spends its money, breaking down how much goes directly to schools, how much is spent centrally and for what services, and […]

May 29, 2018

Closing the Skills Gap with Credentials

New Regional Labor Market Blueprints created for the Regional Workforce Skills Planning Initiative by teams of educators, workforce and labor market development professionals in seven regions across Massachusetts identify workforce trends and challenges as well as growth strategies for key […]

March 29, 2018

Federal law requires reporting of per pupil spending by school

Amidst the current debate about school funding in Massachusetts and growing calls for spending more, comes a potentially game-changing new federal requirement that will bring greater transparency to school spending. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed with bi-partisan support […]

March 1, 2018

Expanding Access to Career Vocational Technical Education

MBAE is a member of the Alliance for Vocational Technical Education (AVTE), a broad-based association of diverse partners from across Massachusetts that seeks to increase access to high quality vocational education for middle and high school students in the Commonwealth—a […]

December 20, 2017

MBAE Urges State to Take Action on Computer Science

Technology jobs are no longer relegated to the high tech industry. Jobs requiring computer science skills can be found across many industries including retail, healthcare and finance. Studies by Burning Glass Technologies on the digital skills employers demand for workers […]

September 12, 2017

Biz groups unite to oppose rollback of ed reforms

MBAE and its 22 Business Affiliates, along with Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable issued a statement today opposing bills that would place a three-year moratorium on statewide standardized testing and gut the […]

July 12, 2017

Job Opportunities Grow, Schools Must Respond

In Massachusetts, most new jobs between 2010 and 2020 will require more than a high school diploma. High school graduates should be well-prepared to pursue opportunities in our fastest growing fields. A Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation job trends report released […]

May 26, 2017

MBAE & Affiliates Take Action to Protect Reforms that Made MA #1

The MBAE Affiliate Network let Senators know this week why employers oppose Senate budget amendments that would dismantle education reforms that have made Massachusetts number one in the nation in student achievement. The Network urged the Senate to reject budget […]

January 31, 2017

Changes Would Weaken Teacher Evaluation

A proposed change to the state’s teacher evaluation regulations would substantially weaken them and make it harder to achieve the critical goal of ensuring every student in the Commonwealth is taught by a highly effective teacher every year. In written […]

November 17, 2016

Employer Survey: Trouble Finding Candidates, Deficiencies in New Hires

A new survey of employers on public education and workforce readiness found 75% of respondents are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions, up from 69% in 2013. The problem affected a wide range of positions across industries […]

October 24, 2016

Digital Literacy: An Essential Skill for the 21st Century

MBAE, through Future Ready Massachusetts, is committed to digital equity in our schools to make sure every student acquires the knowledge and skills to access and use technology, computers and the Internet. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary […]

July 1, 2016

SJC Overturns AG’s Certification of Common Core Ballot Question

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a ruling today in favor of the ten plaintiffs who appealed the Attorney General’s certification of the ballot measure that would repeal the common core education standards in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Business Alliance for […]

March 23, 2016

Harvard Study Shows Educator Support for Common Core

“I firmly believe that the Common Core State Standards provide a strong foundation for a high quality STEM education,” Revere High School math teacher Will Schwartz, also a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teaching Fellowship, told the […]

January 28, 2016

Common Core Ballot Question Threatens Student Progress

Flying mostly under the radar in recent months, the ballot measure that would repeal the Common Core has escaped the close examination it deserves. If passed, it would have a devastating impact on Massachusetts schools, upending every district in the […]