Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Assessing Healey’s education challenges

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Assessing Healey’s education challenges

BY LISA KASHINSKY AND SOPHIE GARDNER

Presented by

POLL SHOWS PARENTS’ POV — Students’ mental health tumbled along with MCAS scores amid the pandemic. Educators are renewing their push to do away with the standardized tests. Yet a new poll shows a potential lack of pressure from parents for Gov. Maura Healey and the Legislature to act.

Less than half of Massachusetts K-12 parents think more kids are behind grade level now as compared to pre-pandemic, according to a new survey conducted by The MassINC Polling Group. The majority, 73 percent, think their child’s school has enough resources to help students catch up.

Yet the percentage of parents who say their child is behind grade level has nearly doubled since Covid’s onset — up to 24 percent from 13 percent, according to the poll of 1,519 parents conducted Nov. 17 to Dec. 4 and sponsored by Education Trust in Massachusetts and The Barr Foundation. Those numbers are higher for parents whose children are on individualized education plans and parents who make less than $50,000 annually.

MCAS scores, which plunged amid pandemic learning disruptions, are recovering unevenly . A new state plan setting targets for schools and districts to return to 2019 achievement levels has drawn criticism for potentially perpetuating achievement gaps.

“There’s a disconnect between the scope of the challenge and how parents are perceiving it,” MassINC Polling Group president Steve Koczela told Playbook.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association is renewing its push to end using MCAS as a graduation requirement and as a guide for putting districts into receivership. Top Democrats, as State House News Service’s Sam Drysdale reports , seem open to potentially reconsidering its use. Senate President Karen Spilka said on WCVB’s “On the Record” that “we should have more alternatives to testing than just the MCAS for certain students.” Healey’s campaign education platform expressed support for “reforms to our assessment and accountability system” to advance “excellence and equity.”

But the challenges in K-12 education took somewhat of a backseat to calls to make community college free and increase investments in early education and care in the Big Three’s speeches last week.

And the new poll shows most parents believe schools are doing at least “a fair amount” to help kids catch up from Covid.

“Parents aren’t there with pitchforks and torches,” Koczela said. And for Healey et al, that means “gathering the political will to do what needs to be done is more difficult because many parents don’t fully recognize the size and scope of the issue.”

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook will not publish on Monday, Jan. 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

TODAY — Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll get a winter and emergency preparedness briefing at 10:30 a.m. at the MEMA bunker in Framingham and visit the Framingham DPW at noon. Driscoll administers the oath of office for Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger at 6 p.m. at Lynn Classical High School.

Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

PROPAGANDA: A message from NextEra Energy:

Affordable, carbon-emissions free, reliable electricity from nuclear energy. Seabrook Station lowers consumer energy costs in Massachusetts and New England by providing a year-round, low-cost, baseload energy supply. And American-made nuclear energy supports hundreds of jobs across New England.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Maura Healey doubles down on offshore wind during first roundtable as governor,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Gov. Maura Healey elevated her sustainability agenda on Tuesday as she and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll ventured to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to probe students and professors about their innovative research endeavors as the new leaders map out a pathway for the commonwealth to be a global leader in combating the climate crisis.”

— “POST Commission plans to announce three more officer suspensions Thursday,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “The state’s police licensing agency plans to announce Thursday morning that three additional officers have had their licenses suspended because they have either been charged, indicted, or arrested on a felony, the head of the agency told MassLive Tuesday afternoon. That brings the total number of officers suspended in Massachusetts by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to 18 after the agency announced 15 suspensions last week.”

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today .

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “Special prosecutor says no one should face criminal charges in MBTA Transit Police coverup,” by Evan Allen and Andrew Ryan, Boston Globe: “A special prosecutor announced Tuesday that two MBTA transit police officers should not be criminally charged in connection with an alleged coverup, closing a long-fraught case that pitched Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden into open conflict with transit police leadership. Special prosecutor Glenn Cunha said he spent almost four months investigating the April 2021 incident, in which transit officer Jacob Green was accused of pulling a gun on a Hispanic Black man during a traffic spat. He then allegedly summoned other officers to pull the man over so he could issue him a citation, and conspired with officer Kevin Davis to write false reports about the incident. … Davis was fired over the incident and Green resigned, but the alleged victim, Jason Leonor, said on Tuesday that he was upset with Cunha’s decision not to pursue criminal charges.”

— “Report shows RTA ridership still lagging,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “Despite free fare programs, ridership on the state's 15 regional transit authorities is still down from pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report. The report, released by the state Department of Transportation, found that the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact RTA operations in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022 with the average systemwide ridership 35% below 2019 pre-pandemic levels.”

— “MBTA vaccine mandate was ‘foolish’ in light of hiring difficulties, Quincy mayor says,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, who sits on the MBTA Board of Directors, said he was pleased with the T’s decision to lift its vaccine mandate, which he felt was contributing to the agency’s hiring difficulties. Koch said there was evidence that people getting vaccinated were still becoming infected with COVID-19, and is hopeful that the T’s decision to reverse its mandate will help it ‘get to a full roster’ of employees ‘in the future.’”

— “MBTA may reinstate some old Orange Line cars as it works on new trains,” by Morgan Rousseau, Boston.com.

PROPAGANDA: A message from NextEra Energy:

DAY IN COURT

— “‘Sometimes an accident is just an accident:’ MBTA operator stands trial for 2021 Green Line crash that injured 27,” by Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald: “Over a year and one federal investigation after the Green Line collision that injured 27 riders in 2021, the train’s operator stood on trial in Brighton District Court for his allegedly negligent role in the crash.”

— “Tainted drug evidence victims still waiting for settlement payments,” by Zack Huffman, Dig Boston/Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism: “It may be a new year, but tens of thousands of individuals wrongfully convicted on drug charges in Massachusetts with tampered evidence are still waiting for payments from the state as part of a court settlement approved two months ago.”

DATELINE D.C.

— “Representative Katie Porter and Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren have close ties,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “California Congresswoman Katie Porter on Tuesday announced her candidacy for the Senate seat currently held by US Senator Dianne Feinstein, a fellow Democrat and the oldest member of the upper chamber. Porter, a Harvard Law School graduate, studied under former Harvard Law professor and current US Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Cambridge Democrat and 2020 presidential candidate. But the ties between Porter, a 49-year-old first elected to Congress in 2018, and Warren run even deeper.”

JOIN NEXT TUESDAY TO HEAR FROM MAYORS AROUND AMERICA: 2022 brought in a new class of mayors leading “majority minority” cities, reshaping who is at the nation’s power tables and what their priorities are. Join POLITICO to hear from local leaders on how they’re responding to being tested by unequal Covid-19 outcomes, upticks in hate crimes, homelessness, lack of affordable housing, inflation and a potential recession. REGISTER HERE.

FROM THE 413

— RAIL DEAL FALLOUT: The Biden administration, including Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, still has work to do to repair its relationships with unions after signing legislation last month to avert a rail workers’ strike that lacked paid sick leave. The Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation voted unanimously at its January members’ meeting to “condemn in the strongest possible terms” the administration’s move. “The most ‘pro-union’ president since FDR has shown his true colors, and where his allegiances lie,” Ian Rhodewalt, who helped draft the resolution members voted on, said in a statement.

— “Federal EPA agents conduct surprise inspection at Northampton BI-QEM chemical plant,” by Jim Russell, Springfield Republican: “Agents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal investigation division conducted what city officials describe as a 'surprise inspection' Tuesday morning at the BI-QEM chemical company, related to ongoing concerns about regulatory compliance.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Bay State College students demand answers from struggling for-profit school,” by Hilary Burns, Boston Globe: “Some students worry that Bay State College will close abruptly and hamper their career progress. Others paint a picture of a short-staffed college with disorganized leadership that passes students from one employee to the next when problems arise. … This week, college officials are expected to appear before its accreditor, the New England Commission of Higher Education, after being placed on probation last spring. US Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the commission ahead of the meeting urging its members to ‘carefully scrutinize’ Bay State’s accreditation. US Representative Ayanna Pressley also signed the letter.”

PROPAGANDA: A message from NextEra Energy:

Seabrook Station has provided Massachusetts with low-cost, clean, reliable energy for over 30 years, reducing carbon emissions regionally by approximately 4 million tons per year. Nuclear energy is Massachusetts’ most cost-effective and essential tool to combat climate change.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Ben Affleck — yes, really — working a Dunkin’ drive-thru in Medford .

TRANSITIONS — Cain Hayes, president and CEO of Point32Health, has been elected Massachusetts Association of Health Plans board chair.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former GOP Senate candidate Kevin O’Connor and Ben Finkenbinder.

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