State News

Schools end blizzard bag program after state cancels initiative

Posted on Monday, July 15th, 2019 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Grace Bird, Greenfield Recorder
Date: 7/15/2019
Link: Complete Article

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education canceled the “blizzard bag” initiative late last month, citing concerns about equal access to the program. Blizzard bags are educational materials allocated to students to complete at home on snow days. Each bag counts as one day of attendance, meaning schools do not need to tack on an… [Read More]

New Bedford High School’s Takeru Nagayoshi is Mass. Teacher of the Year

Posted on Thursday, May 16th, 2019 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Aimee Chiavaroli, Providence Journal
Date: 5/15/2019
Link: Complete Article

NEW BEDFORD — Senior TaShawn Arabian will be attending Brown University in the fall just like his English teacher Takeru Nagayoshi did. Arabian said he’s looked up to Nagayoshi as a teacher and a role model, someone who’s pushed him to be the best he can be. Without him, Arabian said he doesn’t think he… [Read More]

Driving Through Mud: How Rural Mass. Schools Are Coping With Rising Transportation Costs

Posted on Friday, April 12th, 2019 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Carrie Jung, WBUR
Date: 3/12/2019
Link: Complete Article

It’s hard for rural schools in Massachusetts to get kids to and from class every day — especially now, in muddy season, when the snow has melted and the rain begins. “This is mud and ruts and a mess,” says bus driver Joanne Deady as she points to the narrow, unpaved road on her route… [Read More]

Voc-Tech investments pair needs of students, industry

Posted on Tuesday, March 19th, 2019 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Colin A. Young, Marblehead Reporter
Date: 3/19/2019
Link: Complete Article

BOSTON – Lawmakers, a former top Baker administration and city manager, and a one-time lieutenant governor joined advocates Monday to call for an increase in funding for vocational-technical education and passage of a bill to expand access to those programs. The Alliance for Vocational Technical Education said that 20 percent of Massachusetts high school students… [Read More]

Orange: state shortchanges its SPED funding by $3.5 million

Posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2019 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: David McLellan, Greenfield Recorder
Date: 2/27/2019
Link: Complete Article

ORANGE — It’s not just rural schools feeling left behind by the 25-year-old formula for state aid, it’s schools with a high number of special education students too. Unfortunately, Orange’s elementary schools are both, and the special education issue is costing Orange taxpayers about $3.5 million a year, town officials calculate. The town Finance Committee… [Read More]

Baker to file stand-alone education bill

Posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Matt Murphy, Worcester Telegram
Date: 1/7/2019
Link: Complete Article

BOSTON – Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he’s “optimistic” that the Legislature and his administration can reach a deal to reform public education funding by the summer, despite past attempts falling apart in recent years when talks between House and Senate Democrats broke down. Baker, in his inaugural address, said he would be filing a… [Read More]

Elementary School In Berkshires Revamps Culture With Trauma In Mind

Posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2018 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Karen Brown, www.nepr.net
Date: 12/14/2018
Link: Complete Article

Other than its bucolic setting in the Berkshire mountains, Lee Elementary seems like any other public school. Case in point: On a recent morning, as children were scuttling to classes, stuffing their backpacks in their lockers, the loudspeaker announced the day’s taco-salad lunch and reminded students to apply for the talent show. But around the building,… [Read More]

Rural School Aid awarded to local districts

Posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2018 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Diane Broncaccio, Greenfield Recorder
Date: 11/6/2018
Link: Complete Article

DALTON – State Sen. Adam G. Hinds and state education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley announced that 33 rural school districts will receive part of a new $1.5 million appropriation to help cash-strapped rural schools in sparsely populated communities. In Franklin County, the largest aid sums went to Ralph C. Mahar, Mohawk Trail and Pioneer Valley regional school… [Read More]

Afterschool and Out-of-School Programs Woefully Underfunded

Posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2018 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: State Senator Brendan Crighton, Date: 10/23/2018
Link: Complete Article

A release from the office of State Senator Brendan Crighton: The Legislature’s Afterschool and Out-of-School Time (ASOST) Coordinating Council has found that years of underfunding have left too many Massachusetts children without access to the afterschool and summer learning programs that would help them reach their fullest potential. In a comprehensive report, Recommendations of the… [Read More]

Rural School Aid in State Budget

Posted on Friday, July 27th, 2018 by Collaborative for Educational Services

Source: Bob Salsbert and Steve LeBlanc, Greenfield Recorder/Associated Press
Date: July 26, 2018
Link: Complete Article

BOSTON — Massachusetts’ new budget includes $1.5 million for a new “rural school aid” account championed by Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield. Nearly one month into the state’s new fiscal year, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed the $42 billion spending package into law Thursday, ending the state’s status as the only one in the nation without… [Read More]