Sunday, April 10, 2016

Most Disadvantaged Districts in the U.S.--and Massachusetts has one

Well, Massachusetts we've waited and waited on the Foundation Budget, and we can now say that, we, too, have a district listed on the "most disadvantaged school districts"(see page 3) in the U.S.

Sorry, New Bedford.

It was hinted at when we turned up as high as we did (see Appendix B) in Bruce Baker's report in 2014 on school funding. It has repeatedly been called to our attention (despite DESE always ignoring it in their press releases) on the EdWeek "Quality Counts" report cards.

Bluntly, Massachusetts no longer has a progressive funding system. We. Do. Not. A child in a district that is poor DOES NOT have the same advantages WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT as a child in a more wealthy district, let alone the extra supports we know children from poverty need in order to succeed.

That's wrong, for sure.

In Massachusetts, it's also unconstitutional.

No comments: