Will Brownsberger — State Senator, Democrat, 2d Suffolk and Middlesex District

There is little to suggest that high school mathematics content is directly relevant to most jobs.

It is hardly clear that our economy is capable of offering everyone the opportunity to realize their full potential, but we at least want to get kids to the starting gate of adult working life with an education that maximizes their early potential.

Observations about where Massachusetts stands in the crisis, how the state is responding, and how the cuts affects our local communities.

March 12, 2009,  the House voted to match the local aid levels proposed in the Governor’s budget — relatively substantial overall increases in Chapter 70 and a protection of municipalities from a shortfall in the lottery fund. 

This page collects links on current challenges to our economy.

Online learning is exploding at the post-secondary level and as a result a number of post-secondary institutions are developing skills at delivering online products.  It seems inevitable that these institutions will begin to seek to break the artificial regulatory boundary between secondary and post-secondary education.

Inventory of emerging online learning products.

Inventory of resources about online learning products.

Inventory of decisions that school districts need to consider as they introduce online learning.

At a State House press conference today, the House leadership team announced the broad parameters of its approach to balancing the FY09 budget.

Letter to Bob Deleo, the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, outlining my state budget priorities.

The Readiness task force should take a strong position in support of self-guided online learning, which is expanding rapidly across the country.

The Massachusetts 2020 foundation released a report today showing that a group of schools experimenting with longer learning days had dramatically improved their MCAS scores.  

The Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to send the Wellington Elementary School and 48 other school proposals around the state to the “feasibility” stage. The Thompson school in Arlington was targeted for additional “planning”.

Patricia Haddad, the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education spoke to a crowd of over 75 at the Wellington School last Thursday night. She offered a broad and informed perspective on the challenges of educating children today.

Regional transportation planning, educational excellence, health care, environmental protection.