BOSTON, MA (WWLP) – A new initiative called “Building on What Works” hopes to be a competitive way to increase funding for public schools. The new proposal would allow under-performing public schools to compete for additional state funding. The proposal is backed by mayors and leaders in business and education.

Cindy sits across from me in what is now called The Justice Center at Turners Falls High School in Montague, about 20 miles north of Amherst. The room is brightly decorated with student art, there is a coffee machine and some candy on a table, and behind me on the wall is a quote from… [Read More]

Massachusetts education officials say the state’s high school graduation rate is up to 86.1 percent, with some of the strongest gains among minority and low-income students. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday announced that the four-year graduation rate for students who entered as ninth-graders in 2010-11, or who transferred in, improved for… [Read More]