The City of Boston and the Boston Public Schools:

Mayor Thomas M. Menino’sThrive in 5“School Readiness Roadmap,”a 10-year movement launched in 2008 by the City of Boston with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and others, encompasses measurable goals, broad-based and expert participation and research findings. Thrive in 5 addresses all dimensions of children’s development and learning through collaboration among public health services, educators, city agencies and private and nonprofit sector institutions.

“Growth model” data to track student-level progress:  TheMassachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its first report on Growth Model data, which allows for the tracking of individual, student-level progress from grade to grade.

The City of Boston joined with BostNet and the Boston After-School & Beyond partnership launched BostonNavigator, an on-line unified database of after-school and out-of-school programs in the City of Boston (including programming that takes place before school, after school, summers, weekends and school vacations).

Dr. Carol Johnson, superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, established new reforms, goals and program, including:

• Pathways to Excellence: Expansion of 7 K-8 programs, 6 expanded Pilot Schools, Graduation for All with included the creation of a Newcomers Academy, 10 new Credit Recovery sites for non-traditional students and the merging of Noonan Business Academy and the Academy of Public Service High Schools, new Montessori and International Baccalaureate and expanded Two-Way Bilingual schools;
• Acceleration Agenda:Measurable goals for the year 2012 to boost outcomes through a focus on reading proficiency, enrichment of in- and out-of-school time, a streamlined K-12 curriculum with increased access to math and advanced curricula, and expanded services for the highest risk students;
• Parent University:  Launched  by the BPS Office of Family and Community Engagement in fall 2009, a training program for BPS parents to support their children, understand the curriculum and homework, talk to teachers and become more involved in their children’s schools as well as develop life skills such as resume writing and developing career goals;
• In 2009, Boston Public Schools began universal Kindergarten Assessment to measure school-readiness

Support for College Readiness and Success: 

• The Massachusetts Board of Education created the Massachusetts High School Program of Studies (MassCORE) in November 2007 as a college preparatory curriculum, The recommended program of studies includes: four years of English, four years of Math, three years of a lab-based Science, three years of history, two years of the same foreign language, one year of an arts program and five additional "core" courses such as business education, health, and/or technology. MassCore also includes additional learning opportunities: AP classes, dual enrollment, a senior project, online courses for high school or college credit, and service or work-based learning. 
• The Boston Public Schools (BPS) was chosen as one of 20 districts nationwide to receive $2.4 million in federal fund for theAdvanced Placement Initiative Programin 2009. The funding will support AP in 34 BPS High Schools and Pre-AP in 14 Middle/Elementary Schools to increase access and diversity of AP courses, increase the number of students who stay in AP courses and increase the number of students who score at least a 3 on AP exams.
• A joint partnership among the Boston Public Schools, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and The Boston Foundation established The College Success Initiative in 2008. It provides BPS graduates who are the first in their family to go to college with summer preparation, academic and instructional support, on-going financial aid advising and counseling, and year-long coaching and mentoring to ensure that more students “get in, get through and graduate from college.”

Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

In 2008, Governor Patrick established the Executive Office of Education and appointed Paul Reville as the first Secretary of Education overseeing the Departments of Early Education and Care, Elementary & Secondary Education, Higher Education and the University of Massachusetts System, and outlined major initiatives to strengthen Massachusetts’ education pipeline”

• Commonwealth Readiness Project:  In 2007, Governor Patrick announced the first major education reform plan since the landmark reform of 1993 aimed at keeping Massachusetts students competitive with their international peers, significantly reducing the achievement gap and providing post-secondary education for all Massachusetts youth.  The 10-year strategic plan to strengthen the K-16 pipeline would provide state-wide universal kindergarten, longer school days, establish semi-autonomous “Readiness Schools,” and make all community colleges tuition-free.
• Child and Youth Readiness Cabinet:As a part of the Readiness Project education reform plan, in 2008 Governor Patrick established the Child and Youth Readiness Cabinet jointly chaired by Paul Reville, Secretary of Education and Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, Secretary of Health and Human Services and includes the state secretaries of Administration and Finance, Housing and Economic Development, Labor and Workforce Development, Public Safety and the Child Advocate.  Initial key goals have been the establishment of the Urban Drop Out Early Warning and Intervention Pilot Program, establish a Readiness Passport tool for parents to track their children’s progress and to develop a program to increase the number of Student Support Coordinators.  
• The Dual Enrollment Program received$2 million from the Massachusetts Legislature in 2008. 
• In June 2009, Massachusetts joined 48 states and territories in signing onto the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which will establish shared, evidence-based, internationally-benchmarked academic standards and curriculum alignment in K-12 English Language Arts and Mathematics. 
• Education Reform Act of 2009:Passed by the Massachusetts Senate in December 2009, this reform legislation—if passed by the House—would lift the state-wide cap on Horace Mann Charter Schools, lift the cap on Commonwealth Charter Schools in the lowest-performing school districts, require increased standards for Charter Schools in reporting student attrition and outcomes as well as increased enrollment for “at-risk” students, including English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities.

Budget Cuts: In 2009, Governor Patrick announced a host of cuts to education in an effort to lose a $600 budget gap, including: $32 million from the University of Massachusetts, $31.5 million from elementary and secondary education, $16.5 million from the department of early education, $16 million from community colleges and  $14.4 million from other state colleges.

The Obama Administration and Congress used federal Stimulus funds to encourage innovation an reform in the nation’s schools

·        Race to the Top:Through the American Reinvestment and Recover Act (ARRA), the federal government is making available $4 billion in funding to states to: adopt student and school standards and assessments that support college-readiness; develop data systems that track progress at the student-level; recruit, develop, reward and retain top-performing teachers, and; turn around the lowest-performing schools.  Because of the many recent reforms and innovations implemented in Boston and Massachusetts, the Commonwealth stands to receive up to $100 million in federal funding for education through Race to the Top.

·        Federal Stimulus Funding for Massachusetts School Districts: In March 2009, Governor Patrick announced plans to use federal stimulus funds to provide $168 million to 166 school districts. By looking at how the original Chapter 70 formula and recent changes treat different types of communities, we can understand the rules that led to the Governor’s distribution of ARRA funding. It is important to consider whether all of those rules are appropriate in the current fiscal crisis.