Political Action
Tell Congress: Send NCLB Back to the Drawing Board—and Get it Right
NEA President Reg Weaver told the House Committee on Education and Labor on Monday that NEA could not support the draft of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB) released last week. It undermines educators' rights to bargain local contracts, includes a "pay-for-performance" plan that NEA cannot support, continues to define students and schools by high stakes standardized tests, and fails to ensure the tools and resources needed to provide great public schools for every child.
NEA believes that Congress should slow down, talk with educators about pressing needs, and commit to making the necessary changes. Getting ESEA/NCLB right this time will take more than just minor adjustments.
Send a Message to Congress Today!
Tell your Representatives in Congress to oppose imposing test-based pay programs on teachers without their agreement.
http://capwiz.com/nea/ma/state/main/?district=01&lvl=L&azip=01430&state=MA&view=myofficials
Fulfilling the Promise of Education Reform 
MTA and AFT Massachusetts release report and recommendations on closing achievement gaps.
Fulfilling the Promise of Education Reform makes dozens of recommendations aimed at narrowing the achievement gaps, closing the staffing gaps and reducing the funding gaps. The achievement gaps refer to the lower average academic achievement among low-income, African-American, Hispanic, special needs and English language learner students relative to white and Asian students.
Recommendations include:
Offering incentives for experienced teachers to work in high-poverty or hard-to-staff schools. Providing teachers with more opportunities for growth on the job (called career ladders), including more avenues for experienced, qualified teachers to perform mentoring and other educational leadership roles within a school or district. Providing better induction and mentoring programs for new teachers. Offering job-embedded professional development within the teacher work day and year, restoring the $125 per pupil that was formerly allocated for PD, and bargaining schedule changes to give teachers more time during the school day to collaborate and train. Increasing Chapter 70 state aid to local public schools by $610 million over the next three years and establishing an Education Reform Study Commission to determine how much state funding is needed in the long term. Establishing an Independent Professional Standards Board to run the educator licensure system, which is currently under the Department of Education. Creating an Education Reserve Fund so that public schools are protected from significant budget cuts during economic downturns. Expanding the Extended Learning Time grant program to support a combination of extended-day and after-school enrichment programs for students. Replacing the state's centralized school and district inspection system with regional technical assistance staff to help schools that are in need of improvement. Providing more state aid for early childhood education and full-day kindergarten."For our schools to move to new and higher levels of excellence and to narrow the achievement gaps, there must be greater collaboration among classroom educators, administrators and state officials," MTA President Anne Wass said. "For too long now, it has felt like ‘us' versus ‘them' in Massachusetts. We are hopeful that our new governor will bring a fresh atmosphere of optimism and openness to public education."
MTA president hails Patrick-Murray victory
"We are ready for a change. With Patrick and Murray in office, I am convinced we can turn a very good public education system into a great one."
Statement about Patrick-Murray Victory by MTA President Anne Wass
We are thrilled that Deval Patrick will be our next governor and Tim Murray our next lieutenant governor. Patrick's respect for public education, his optimistic attitude, and his willingness to listen are just what the students, parents and teachers in Massachusetts need right now. Murray's understanding of the needs of our cities and towns, and his firm commitment to public education, will be real assets for the Commonwealth as we move forward.
Everywhere I went across the state this fall, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation leading up to this election. Educators across the state were elated when it was confirmed that two leaders who really believe in public schools and colleges will finally be at the head of our Commonwealth. We are ready for a change. With Patrick and Murray in office, I am convinced we can turn a very good public education system into a great one.
Final state budget for FY07
MTA's analysis of the legislative session that ended July 31.
Before adjourning, the Legislature overrode nearly all of the governor’s vetoes of provisions in the FY07 budget. While the governor vetoed several hundred items in the Legislature’s budget, including a number of education items, the Legislature restored all of the funding for vetoed preK-graduate school education items, leaving the final budget for education the same as that passed by the Legislature on June 30.
The Legislature will now meet in informal sessions twice a week through December. Only matters that receive unanimous agreement of those present can be taken up during informal sessions. Therefore, any controversial bill that did not pass during formal sessions is not likely to move and will have to be re-filed next year.
K-12
Chapter 70
Funding for FY07 Chapter 70 aid to cities and towns totals $3.505 billion, which is a $216.6 million increase over FY 2006 and an increase over both the House and the Senate budgets. However, when adjusted for inflation and enrollment, Chapter 70 funding is still $479 million (12 percent) below the FY02 level. MTA lobbied the House and Senate to not only increase Chapter 70 but also to ensure that any changes to the formula that increased funding were done equitably and moved in the direction of providing adequate resources for all students.
In the winter, MTA helped draft legislation to increase the foundation budget in a manner that all districts would receive additional funding. This bill was filed by Representatives John Scibak (D-S. Hadley), David Linsky (D-Natick) and Bob Spellane (D-Worcester), along with many other legislators. MTA encouraged members to advocate for the "Funding Schools for Student Success" bill. The lobbying by MTA members and staff was important in helping to shape the Chapter 70 debate in the House and the Senate budget. In fact, several of the provisions of the bill were part of the final budget.
K-12 Education Grants
MTA was also successful in helping to increase funding for several important education programs, including:
Regional School Transportation: $55.5 million, an increase of $15.5 million over FY06 METCO: $19.6 million, an increase of $2 million over FY06 Kindergarten Development Grants: $27 million, an increase of $2 million over FY06 SPED "Circuit Breaker": $207 million, an increase of $6 million over FY06Other Legislation
MTA worked to help ensure passage of several pieces of important legislation this year that have now become law, including:
Allowing school nurses to be granted professional teacher status. [More] Creditable service for vocational teachers. The Early Education bill that is currently awaiting action by the governor requires the state to begin planning for universal, voluntary, quality early education programs for three and four year olds. Ensuring that ESPs continue to receive health insurance during the summer. Retiree COLA of 3 percent on the first $12,000 was included in the budget. (Lobbying continues to raise the COLA base.)Other bills were advanced through the legislative process. While not yet enacted, these bills will become easier to move in the next legislative session. For a comprehensive update- see the MTA’s Legislative Tracking Chart at www.massteacher.org
MTA was successful in working with other unions in stopping attempts to take away the right of municipal employees to be able to bargain over health insurance.
MTA prevented the Legislature from taking up the governor’s legislation to expand the power of the Finance Control Board in Springfield. However, MTA was not able during formal sessions to pass legislation to require final and binding arbitration for Springfield teachers.
Federal Law Mislabels Schools
Responding to the release of the state's latest list of schools labeled "in need of improvement" under federal education law, the state's largest teachers' union today criticized the law's accountability provisions as "rigid, bureaucratic and inaccurate."
"While some of the schools on this list may truly be struggling and in need of assistance from the state, many others are undoubtedly fine schools that were simply tripped up by the complicated and inflexible provisions of the so-called No Child Left Behind Act," said MTA President Catherine A. Boudreau.
"By labeling more and more schools in need of improvement each year," she added, "this law falsely implies we have a crisis in education and a rapid decline in the quality of public education. That couldn't be further from the truth."
MTA released data that show Massachusetts students rank first or near the top on virtually all major measures of achievement -- except NCLB.
"In 2003, Massachusetts was ranked ‘the smartest state' in the country based on the quality of our public schools, and it's easy to see why," said Boudreau.
On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test administered to a sampling of students across the country in grades 4 and 8, Massachusetts students ranked first in the country in reading and second in the nation in writing in both grades. Students in both grades ranked second in the nation in math and posted huge increases in math performance over the past decade. Grade 4 students were first and grade 8 students were second in the nation in science.
In addition, SAT results for 2004 show that Massachusetts students' scores have increased each year for more than a decade and were the highest in the country among states with a very high participation rate (85 percent or more).
"These data show that increased funding for our schools, the adoption of state standards and hard work by educators and students under the Massachusetts Education Reform Act are paying off," said Boudreau. "Unfortunately, the list of schools failing to meet arbitrary federal standards grows every year no matter how well we do according to other indicators. Mislabeling schools hurts morale and undermines support for public education. The confusion and burdensome paperwork also divert time and resources away from pursuing the goal that all educators share: to make sure we leave no child behind."
Boudreau said that despite these indicators of success, there is still a significant achievement gap in Massachusetts, and we have a long way to go to ensure that all children have an opportunity to succeed in our schools. "On average, our students do very well, but averages can mask the reality that many schools need more resources and help to provide students with the high-quality education to which they are entitled."
Boudreau criticized the federal government for failing to fully fund NCLB.
"President Bush has not sought, and Congress has not approved, the full amount of funding that Congress deemed necessary to adequately fund this law," said Boudreau. "As a result, districts are scrambling for scarce resources to pay for the new mandates. Adding insult to injury, when schools are labeled ‘in need of improvement' they are expected to divert federal Title I funds away from the classroom to transportation in order to fund the school-choice requirements or to after-school tutoring."
Boudreau further noted that the harshest sanctions under NCLB call for school restructuring, which could include turning public schools over to a for-profit management company or turning them into charter schools.
"There is absolutely no evidence that for-profit managers do a better job of teaching our children than do experienced educators," said Boudreau. "In addition, there is powerful new evidence based on federal test score data that, on average, public school students nationwide outperform their demographically similar charter school peers."
Boudreau said that MTA and the National Education Association are calling on Congress and the White House to fix the seriously flawed federal law. Remedies should include:
Approving the funding needed to ensure that all schools have the resources to provide students with an excellent and well-rounded education. Amending the law to end the destructive inflexibility of the ‘adequate yearly progress' provisions. Permitting districts and states to develop solutions that experienced educators believe will truly help struggling schools.