Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Education is the most effective tool investing in our economic growth and building our communities available to government. We need schools that prepare our students for our 21st century economy. The public schools are a critical part of Medford and Somerville and I am deeply committed to the education of all of our children. I am proud to have the endorsement of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Boston Teachers Union.

Charter Schools
I am opposed raising the cap on charter schools. Charter schools have become a second school district in many places. These schools do not serve all children in the community and drain funding from the public schools. Charter schools were initially embraced as 'laboratories' for new methods of teaching. However they have failed to serve that purpose by not serving all children and any data gathered by charter schools is skewed because their admission process is biased against children from single parent homes, children with special needs, and students from households that speak a language other than English. Finally, charter schools do not have any accountability to locally elected bodies like school committees.

Reforming School Funding
Public schooling must serve all the children of the community because every child deserves the best opportunity to succeed in Massachusetts. Regardless of race, economic status, or handicap, we should provide the best education possible. For that reason, we must reform the education funding process which does not take into account children with special needs which can become a major drain on the school's budget. State funding must take this into effect so as to ensure the work of public schools to teach every student. On Beacon hill I will fight to ensure our local schools in Medford and Somerville have the resources they need to thrive. I will advocate for increases in Chapter 70 education funding for our districts as well as funding program that support our highest need populations including 100 percent special education reimbursement from the state and homelessness assistance programs and transportation funding for our most at risk students.

Trust our Teachers
Standardized testing should be part, but only one part, of the assessment of student readiness and teacher performance. Testing does not provide an accurate measure of the whole student, ignores different learning styles, and does not take into account the effects of socioeconomic situation and a family support systems. The use of data produced from standardize testing should only be done when it is with recognition of the significant limitations.

When standardized testing is overused, as it often is in Massachusetts, it forces teaching to the test which has severe consequences for the quality of education provided at our public schools. We must trust our teachers to provide a great education to our students. I believe in supporting our teachers through teacher collaboration time and continuing training. We must have creative teaching methods that create critical thinking that goes beyond test preparation.

Early Childhood Education
Early education is an essential part of a child's learning and growth. There is substantial research and a strong consensus among educators that a child's readiness to learn on day one of school is a major factor in their long-term educational success. Medford and Somerville are leaders in this area, but there is more work to be done. Universal pre-K education is my goal for all of Massachusetts. Every child should have access to high quality preparation for school to ensure they have an opportunity to thrive.

Higher Education
By 2020, over 70 percent of all jobs in our state will require a post secondary degree. As a graduate of UMass Amherst, I am a strong supporter of public higher education. I would be a leader on funding for our public universities, and encourage greater partnerships between K-12 and higher education facilities to encourage children to set a goal of attending college.

The primary barrier to completion is the need to hold a paying job. Students who need to work more hours are less likely to finish school than students who need to work fewer hours. I would strongly support better funding for public higher education so more people can afford to stay in school.

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