Author: Sophia Spiegel

  • Framingham MA officials decry bill seeking change in teacher layoff policy

    (Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an attribution error.)

    With several Massachusetts school districts anticipating having to make staffing reductions next year, a state bill under consideration could reshape how those decisions get made.

    The proposal aims to keep high-performing and bilingual educators in classrooms by prioritizing performance over seniority, but officials in Framingham and elsewhere argue the bill takes a backward approach. They say it focuses on who leaves the profession, rather than expanding the pathways that allow new educators to enter it.

    “It doesn’t address the core barriers,” said Christine Mulroney, president of the Framingham Teachers Association. “It doesn’t address the student debt crisis, the challenge of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) subject matter proficiency requirements or the lack of district-based teacher pathways.”

    The bill, filed by state Sen. John Cronin, D-Fitchburg, is backed by the national nonprofit Educators for Excellence, which argues the state’s current seniority-first layoff rules weaken districts’ ability to retain strong early-career educators. The bill would allow districts to keep teachers who hold required certifications and have attained higher performance ratings, with local student needs and collective bargaining criteria factored into those decisions.

    Framingham school official: ‘Very ageist and misguided perception’

    Supporters point to research tying teacher diversity to improved student outcomes, and say Massachusetts’ system — the state is one of just six nationally that requires early-career teachers to be let go first — disproportionately affects bilingual educators and educators of color, according to Educators for Excellence Executive Director Lisa Lazare.

    But in Framingham, where bilingual and early-career educators are concentrated in district-grown pathways — structured routes that guide educators through the stages of professional growth — officials say the bill rests on a flawed assumption.

    “The idea that people with high seniority are not good teachers,” said Inna London, Framingham Public Schools’ assistant superintendent for human resources, “is a very ageist and misguided perception.”

    Framingham Public Schools poised for cuts after enrollment decline

    The proposal would represent a significant shift from Framingham’s seniority-first layoff system. After losing more than 600 students this past year — and facing an $8 million budget deficit, as Chapter 70 state aid drops accordingly — layoffs are expected under current rules, leaving district leaders to assess how a state-mandated, performance-based model would function in practice.

    “We know we will be looking at staffing cuts,” London said, leaving early-career educators (many bilingual or trained through district-grown pathways) in a vulnerable position.

    Those pathways are central to Framingham’s hiring strategy. The district partners with Framingham State University on a teacher residency program and works with Lesley University in Cambridge to help paraprofessionals earn licensure while working in schools.

    “It would be really unfortunate if individuals who benefited from the pathways we’ve provided — many of whom speak multiple languages — are the first to go,” London said. “Many are educators of color.”

    School officials: Bill ignores structural barriers to becoming a teacher

    London and Mulroney also said the proposal overlooks the structural barriers that limit who can enter the profession in the first place: the cost of educator preparation programs, the difficulty and expense of MTEL licensure exams, and the lack of statewide support for alternative routes.

    They further questioned how performance evaluations, a central feature of the bill, could be applied fairly in high-stakes layoff decisions.

    “Performance evaluation is very subjective,” Mulroney said. “I’ve seen evaluations over the years that clearly take into account an administrator’s personal opinion. It’s hard to get that out of the equation.”

    Framingham’s evaluation practices also vary across schools, London said, and a performance-based layoff system would require substantial implementation work: retraining administrators, aligning evaluation practices and defining what rating categories (“exemplary,” “proficient,” etc.) mean in practice.

    “There is a level of subjectivity that cannot be eradicated,” she said. “We would need to retrain administrators to ensure consistency of evaluations.”

    How would such a law change the teaching profession itself?

    Any shift in law, London added, would also require impact bargaining with the Framingham Teachers Association to determine how evaluations would be standardized and applied.

    Framingham officials also raised broader concerns about how the proposal would reshape the structure of the teaching profession itself.

    “Reducing the more veteran educators would take away a lot of the historical knowledge, particularly in our language programs,” Mulroney said. “Often, they are mentors to new educators.”

    Weakening seniority protections, London added, could discourage prospective teachers from entering a profession already facing declining interest and erode the long-term commitment that keeps educators in the classroom.

    “The bill undermines the concept of tenure that’s so embedded in the way the profession has been conceived and running for decades,” she said.

    While Mulroney and London both support efforts to diversify the educator workforce, they say the bill’s approach does not match the district’s needs.

    “Anything we can do to encourage a more diverse group to enter education would be great,” London said. “But there has to be ongoing support from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to ensure people stay.”

    The bill, proposed as a pilot from 2026 to 2032, would require DESE to assess whether the policy increases the number of teachers of color statewide. Framingham education officials say meaningful diversification depends on expanding entry pathways and providing sustained support — areas they say the proposal does not address. And with the Massachusetts Teachers Association opposing the measure, its prospects on Beacon Hill remain uncertain.

    “Having a deep workforce… newer educators, diverse educators and the more senior educators… makes this a much more enriching community,” Mulroney said.

  • MA schools must balance own temporary, state’s new graduation standard

    When voters opted to remove the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test as a high school graduation requirement in November 2024, local school districts were instructed to create temporary standards.

    Now, as those interim policies come due on Dec. 31, the Healey-Driscoll administration has released a new statewide graduation framework that won’t be finalized until 2026 — leaving schools navigating two major transitions at once.

    “There’s a lot coming at the schools right now,” said Anne Ludes, assistant superintendent for preK-12 education of Framingham Public Schools. “These are drastic changes that affect entire schools.”

    Developed by Gov. Maura Healey’s Statewide K-12 Graduation Council and shaped by thousands of survey responses, eight statewide listening sessions and extensive stakeholder feedback, the state’s new framework outlines what the administration calls the “Vision of a Massachusetts Graduate.”

    Anne Ludes is assistant superintendent for preK-12 education of Framingham Public Schools.

    The plan would make MassCore (the state’s recommended set of high school courses) the required academic program for all students. It would also replace the MCAS graduation requirement with a hybrid “demonstration of mastery” model, using state-designed end-of-course assessments and a district-designed capstone or portfolio.

    A second pillar of the state’s recommendations, “Prepared for What’s Next,” would require MyCAP (the state’s postsecondary planning tool), financial literacy and completion of the FAFSA or state aid form.

    What will happen with school districts’ interim policies?

    As local school districts set interim policies for this school year, many educators are unsure whether their programs will eventually be replaced — or layered on top of — by what the state has now proposed.

    “Will (competency determination) go away and be replaced by these graduation requirements?” Ludes asked, “or will we be living with both?”

    District leaders are still parsing the 108-page document released on Dec. 1, offering early reactions to what could become the state’s most far-reaching graduation overhaul in decades.

    For both Framingham and Milford schools, the most immediate challenges stem from the new mastery-based components. The state’s proposal requires every student to complete a capstone or portfolio, and neither district currently has a system that could support all students. Superintendents say implementation will require significant time, staffing and planning.

    “The capstone or portfolio is probably going to be the biggest hurdle for us,” Ludes said. “That’s going to be something brand-new for everybody.”

    Milford has a portfolio element in grade 10 English but no schoolwide model. Interim Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Kerry Taylor noted that in the state’s review of 120 districts, only 19 require a capstone or portfolio — eight of which are charter schools and another four being regional vocational schools.

    “I’d want to see what the other seven are doing,” Taylor said.

    End-of-course assessments ‘sound like MCAS again’

    The state-designed end-of-course assessments — the other major mastery component — also raised questions. Local school officials noted the state has yet to determine which courses would require an EOC, how the tests would factor into graduation decisions, and whether they could ultimately replace the current high school MCAS — a change that would require federal approval.

    “They sound like MCAS to me again,” said Milford Superintendent of Schools Craig Consigli, adding that teacher involvement will be essential. “(The state) will need a lot of teacher voices to ensure success.”

    Those concerns are also being raised at the state level. The Massachusetts Teachers Association (which funded the ballot campaign to end the MCAS graduation requirement) wrote in a statement Dec. 1 that adding new state-developed, state-scored end-of-course exams “defies the will of voters who made clear their wishes in the 2024 Question 2 referendum.” The union said the proposal “poisons a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to rethink high school learning.
    Beyond the mastery model, superintendents said the rest of the framework will play out very differently from community to community, with each starting at its own level of readiness.

    MyCAP is one area of relative strength for Framingham and Milford. Framingham already embeds the tool across all four years of high school through its counseling program. Milford is close behind; with a state grant awarded earlier this fall, the district plans to launch MyCAP in January, beginning with students in grade 6.

    “Students will be able to start to think about college, career and civic readiness as early as grade 6, and keep all their work in one place,” Taylor said.

    How does financial literacy fit with new graduation requirements?

    Financial literacy, however, will require more guidance. Both districts offer personal finance as an elective but do not require it, and superintendents said the state will need to clarify what qualifies as financial literacy and how the requirements should be delivered.

    As a former math department head, Ludes said she supports the addition but noted the scheduling and design challenges it creates.

    “We have to be creative in how we implement that,” she said. “Is it a one-term course? A full semester? Is it embedded in something all students already take?”

    MassCore would have uneven impacts as well. Milford already aligns with the state’s recommended course sequence. Framingham is close, but would need to add a fourth year of math — a change Ludes supports, though it would require scheduling flexibility.


    Despite the uncertainties, district leaders said the broader direction of the proposal — expanding pathways for students to demonstrate readiness — is something they support. But they cautioned that such a sweeping transition will take time, especially as schools build temporary systems now while planning for a long-term model that’s still under development.

    “In order to do it right,” Consigli said, “it’s going to take at least three to five years once we have the parameters of what we are trying to accomplish.”

    Still, he said, the shift toward multiple pathways is the right one.

    “All kids learn in different ways and have different strengths,” Consigli said. “It’s important we provide multiple opportunities and pathways to demonstrate mastery — not just one test.”


  • Marlborough MA schools show how state reading policy meets classroom

    As Massachusetts pushes toward a statewide shift to phonics-based, state-approved reading instruction, Marlborough Public Schools is showing how policy ambitions meet classroom realities.

    Marlborough educators embraced structured literacy ahead of the state, but they still face the task of improving standardized test results in a community where most students are learning English alongside grade-level material.

    The statewide effort advanced in late October, when the House unanimously approved an early literacy reform bill requiring districts to use the state’s definition of “evidence-based” reading curricula — programs that explicitly teach phonics, or the sound-letter relationships students use to decode words. The bill would also ban “three-cueing,” an approach that encourages students to guess at unfamiliar words.

    The Senate is expected to take up the measure when formal sessions resume in January, potentially positioning schools for significant changes as soon as next fall.

    Marlborough, however, has been moving in that direction for several years. Interim Superintendent of Schools Jason DeFalco said the district does not expect “significant changes” under the legislation, noting it began its elementary literacy overhaul well before the state signaled it would do the same.

    “MPS was far ahead of this mandate,” DeFalco said. “We are in our third year of high-quality instructional material and for years had a phonics program supplement.”

    Marlborough implements structured literacy program

    At the elementary level, the district uses HMH Into Reading as its core English language arts curriculum. The program covers reading comprehension, vocabulary and writing — the “reading to learn” side of literacy.

    This year, Marlborough replaced its longtime phonics supplement, Fundations, with HMH’s structured literacy component, which provides systematic instruction in early reading skills such as phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds), decoding and the sound-letter patterns. These skills form the “learning to read” foundation before students move on to comprehension.

    “We were using Fundations for quite some time,” DeFalco said. “The idea was to find a better complement to HMH.”

    He added that many commercial core literacy programs “are not strong enough with the phonics (and) phonemic awareness piece,” prompting many districts to adopt a separate foundational-skills program to ensure students receive systematic, explicit instruction in decoding.

    The district is still early in its implementation of both programs and DeFalco noted that new instructional models often come with an “implementation dip,” where performance may stagnate or decline in the first few years as teachers and students adjust.

    “It really does take between three to five years to start seeing results,” he said.

    District has ground to make up in standardized testing results

    The latest MCAS results from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education underscore the district’s challenge.

    This year, 26% of Marlborough students in grades 3-8 met expectations in English Language Arts, compared with 42% statewide. Math performance tracked a similar gap, with 23% meeting expectations versus 41% statewide.

    Student growth percentiles — 48 in ELA and 50 in math — were around the state average, indicating steady progress, but not the accelerated gains needed to narrow achievement gaps.

    MCAS offers one snapshot of student achievement, though its usefulness is limited by timing — results arrive months after students have already advanced to the next grade. Once scores are released, Marlborough educators review them for broad patterns and for individual learning gaps, working with receiving-grade teachers to determine what support students will need in the year ahead.

    The makeup of Marlborough’s student population also shapes its literacy landscape. Sixty percent of Marlborough Public Schools students speak a first language other than English, and about 35% are enrolled in the district’s English learner program. Reaching English proficiency typically takes six years or more, according to DeFalco — a timeline that complicates how quickly improvements in foundational reading skills appear on standardized tests.

    “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” the superintendent said. “Students aren’t going to meet grade-level expectations in literacy unless they’re also advancing in their language acquisition.”

    Students show progress in language proficiency, biliteracy

    For that reason, the district relies heavily on WIDA ACCESS tests, the state’s annual English-language proficiency exam. Lynne Medaille, director of English language education, recently reported that all grade bands improved in making progress on ACCESS, and most maintained or improved their proficiency levels.

    Marlborough also saw its highest number of students earn the State Seal of Biliteracy last year, a recognition of high-level proficiency in two languages.

    For DeFalco, those results provide critical context as the district continues to implement its literacy programs.

    “We are staying the course with the good work we have already begun,” he said. “We know that children learn literacy best when there is a strong balance between phonics, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, fluency, writing and vocabulary. Our daily literacy structure provides MPS’ youngest learners just that.”

    Final compliance will depend on the DESE’s interpretation of the bill. Even so, Marlborough educators believe their layered approach — explicit phonics instruction delivered alongside a core ELA curriculum — already tracks with the state’s anticipated direction.

  • SNAP benefits were frozen. How Mass. food pantries are trying to fill the gap

    With the federal shutdown creating uncertainty for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, food pantries throughout MetroWest are trying to fill the gap for the more than 1 million Massachusetts residents who rely on the program to buy groceries.

    Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined those from 22 other states on Tuesday, Oct. 28, in a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Brooke Rollins of unlawfully suspending the food assistance program that serves more than 40 million Americans.

    State Rep. James Arena-DeRosa, D-Holliston, who led the USDA’s Northeast Food and Nutrition Service during a 2013 government shutdown, said the agency has previously used emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits and could do so again. Sure enough, two federal judges ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to fund SNAP using contingency funds during the government shutdown.

    “SNAP is a lifeline to over 1,800 residents in the towns (Holliston, Hopkinton, Sherborn and Millis) I serve,” Arena-DeRosa wrote in an email. “President Trump says this situation is ‘not an emergency’ — tell that to the people whose benefits will run out and will be stressed trying to feed their families.”’The well has run dry’: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture says SNAP benefits won’t go out on Nov. 1

    The lawsuit comes as Gov. Maura Healey faces pressure from advocates like the Make Hunger History Coalition to tap the state’s $8 billion rainy day fund to offset potential losses. Instead, her administration and the United Way of Massachusetts launched the United Response Fund last week to support local food providers and other community-based organizations.

    Greater Boston Food Bank revives direct distribution strategy

    But with federal benefits at risk, local food banks are becoming the backbone for hunger relief.

    “We’ve been averaging about 200 new families a month, but in the past few weeks we’ve seen an additional 20 to 30 new families every single day,” said Joe Mina, program director at the Pearl Street Cupboard & Café for the United Way of Tri-County.

    Based in Framingham, the pantry serves as a regional hub for food distribution, supplying nearly 30 smaller pantries through its cross-dock network. The operation distributes roughly a quarter-million pounds of food each month, receiving donations from more than 250 supermarkets, restaurants and food producers through its partnership with Feeding America.’Creating needless fear’: Campbell, other AGs sue Trump administration over SNAP benefit suspension

    To meet rising demand, the Greater Boston Food Bank is reviving its direct distribution strategy, first launched during the pandemic to send pallets of food directly to partners like the United Way of Tri-County. The effort, a GBFB spokesperson said, will help food reach communities faster as SNAP funding remains uncertain.

    “The number of clients keeps going up while the resources available to us keep going down,” Mina explained. “Leaders have to think about their constituency and the people they represent — you want to make sure families are taken care of, not make it part of a political backlog.”

    Local programs can’t replace sustained federal support

    State leaders acknowledged that even strong local programs can’t replace sustained federal support.

    “Feeding children, families and individuals has consistently been one of the Legislature’s top priorities,” a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, wrote in an email. “That said, no state can permanently sustain the hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term SNAP funding that the federal government is deliberately withholding.”

    That challenge is already playing out in Hopkinton, where Project Just Because founder President Cherylann Walsh said her pantry, which serves about 900 families a week, has been inundated with calls from residents who say their benefits were cut or delayed.

    “I had 19 emails this morning alone,” Walsh said Wednesday, Oct. 29. “One mother told me she skips meals so that what she gets can stretch far enough to feed her children.”Fees waived: DoorDash, Gopuff launch emergency food responses for SNAP recipients

    The pantry receives about 16,000 pounds of food each week from GBFB, supplemented by donations from Trader Joe’s, Stop & Shop and other grocers. Still, Walsh said her seven-person team is struggling to keep up as demand spikes and suppliers face the same squeeze.

    “Before, what they received from SNAP could carry them through the week, and we were simply a supplement,” said Ashley Dasilva, Project Just Because’s warehouse manager and multilingual interpreter. “Now, we’re their primary source of food.”

    Food insecurity is at ‘the forefront of public conversation’

    In Franklin, Tina Powderly, executive director of the Franklin Food Pantry, said she registered as many new clients in a single day this week as she typically does in a month.

    “The threat to SNAP benefits has brought food insecurity to the forefront of public conversation,” Powderly said. “But the reality is that the demand has been rising sharply for months. People are losing their jobs, housing costs are at historic highs, and health insurance premiums are skyrocketing.”EBT cards will still work: Unused SNAP money is expected to roll over into November

    To meet that need, the Franklin pantry is purchasing food directly from wholesalers and extending hours to help new clients with registration and assistance programs. Powderly said financial donations are the most effective support because the pantry can purchase food tax-free and at steep discounts.

    In Maynard, Open Table, a pantry serving 21 communities, has added 40 new households in the past four days, roughly four times its usual pace. Executive Director Alexandra DePalo said the organization serves nearly 10,000 households a year, many of whom visit weekly for groceries or prepared meals.

    “Even with SNAP, people already rely on us,” she said. “The food pantries are equipped to provide additional support for families and community members. We’re not equipped to be the sole provider of food benefit dollars.”

    Even with the lawsuit pending, gaps in food assistance remain likely if the shutdown persists. Other states, including New York and California, have already committed emergency funds to cover missing SNAP benefits. For now, MetroWest pantries are counting on community donations.

    “For every call there’s been asking for help,” DePalo said, “there’s been another asking how they can help.”

  • Report warns of ‘perfect storm’ pressuring local budgets throughout Mass.

    A new Massachusetts Municipal Association report warns that inflation, shrinking state aid and the limits of Proposition 2½ are creating a “perfect storm” for local budgets, one that towns like Franklin and Natick are already weathering through staff reductions, stopgap revenues and tax overrides.

    “We’ve had to be extraordinarily creative in how we approach growth and business development,” said Franklin Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, who also serves as president of the MMA. “But any superintendent or city manager will tell you that you can only pull so many rabbits out of the hat. At some point, you reach in, and there’s not a rabbit left.”

    Hellen said Franklin’s experience reflects a broader trend now documented in the MMA’s analysis, produced in partnership with Tufts University’s Center for State Policy Analysis. The study found that real municipal spending has grown just 0.6% a year since 2010, while Unrestricted General Government Aid, the flexible state funding cities and towns rely on for core services, has dropped 25% since 2002.

    At the same time, Massachusetts’ 1980 law known as Proposition 2½ limits property-tax growth to 2.5% a year, and with no local income or broad sales taxes allowed, municipalities have little flexibility to meet rising costs.

    “It’s really those three pressures swirling together,” said MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine. “Inflation, the constraints of Proposition 2½ and state aid that hasn’t kept up — that’s what’s creating this tight pinch for cities and towns.”

    ‘A slow erosion of local government services’

    Some wealthier communities have found short-term relief through tax overrides — voter-approved overrides to Proposition 2½’s cap on property-tax growth — to maintain services. But for many towns, that option isn’t viable.

    “A lot of communities simply don’t have the property wealth or median income to support an override,” Chapdelaine said. “So we’re seeing a slow erosion of local government services — fewer public works employees, fewer health inspectors, fewer library hours — and we’re worried that without action, that slow erosion could turn into something much more rapid.”

    That erosion is already visible in Franklin, which has operated at its maximum levy limit for the past 25 years and has failed twice by about 1% to pass tax overrides in the past two years. Despite a commercial base accounting for about 21% of its tax revenue, the town of about 36,000 residents has cut about a dozen municipal staff, including teachers, police officers, paramedics, and a part-time nurse at the senior center, while also raising fees for school programs, sports and facility rentals.

    “The problem really hasn’t been our local receipts,” Hellen said. “Like the report shows, the challenge is that state aid to cities and towns has flatlined. UGGA (unrestricted general government aid) has flatlined over the last decade. UGGA is like our blood. It’s our lifeline. It’s our oxygen. It gives communities the flexibility to spend money where it’s needed most.”

    To close gaps, Franklin has leaned on smaller, less stable revenue sources, including about $500,000 a year from cannabis sales taxes and a local hotel room tax. But Hellen said those efforts can only go so far.

    “If we don’t fix the local aid issue, we’re going to see cuts that are going to be very dramatic and they’re going to be felt,” he said. “I know for a fact everyone on Beacon Hill knows that. The challenge is how we can work collaboratively with them to make sure we get our slice of the pie.”

    Natick voters approve $7M override after years of structural deficits

    Hellen’s call for collaboration has been echoed on Beacon Hill. In a recent interview on CBS Boston’s Keller @ Large, Senate President Karen Spilka said she’s not currently considering new taxes but is focused on “working with (her) partners in government” to “protect Massachusetts” amid tightening budgets.

    As state leaders weigh broader fiscal solutions, towns like Natick are taking matters into their own hands. In March, voters approved a $7 million tax override, giving Natick some breathing room after years of structural deficits and the loss of American Rescue Plan Act funds, the federal pandemic aid that temporarily balanced local budgets. The measure, which passed 65% to 35%, reset Natick’s tax base, sustaining existing services but leaving little room to grow.

    “It helped us in the short term,” Town Administrator Jamie Errickson said. “But the long-term issue remains. We’re not adding new programs or positions that would increase costs.”

    Instead, Natick is focused on government efficiency. The town of about 37,000 residents has reorganized departments through staff turnover, implemented new software and expanded online services that began during the pandemic. Its OpenGov platform, first used for building permits, now processes liquor, health and inspectional permits, allowing three employees to handle more than 5,000 applications a year.

    Errickson said Natick also uses Munis, a financial management system common across Massachusetts, and is exploring the use of artificial intelligence to automate routine administrative work.

    “We’re looking for places where technology can improve service quality without adding cost,” he said.

    Regional dispatch center expected to improve efficiency

    Addressing the crisis, Errickson said, will require both local innovation and state-level flexibility. One example, he noted, is regionalization — combining municipal services across communities to save money and improve efficiency.

    Natick is already working with Framingham and Wayland to develop a shared emergency dispatch center, a state-incentivized effort expected to improve efficiency and reduce costs once construction is complete next year.

    “There could be other opportunities for regionalization in local government that are not just encouraged but incentivized by the state,” Errickson said. “That can lead to a more efficient use of resources, higher-quality services, or even some cost savings for communities.”

    Still, he said, local innovation can only go so far without structural reform.

    “I think there’s a way to consider everything from adjusting Proposition 2½ to providing more flexibility to town governments to increase revenue, whether through special fees or expanded enterprise funds that could help other services become self-funded,” he said.

    The MMA is developing a series of policy recommendations, including renewed commitments to local aid, added flexibility under Proposition 2½, and new local revenue options. Those proposals, expected later this fall, will aim to give cities and towns greater stability before the next fiscal storm hits.

  • From Wayland ‘future leader’ to Senate candidate: Why Alex Rikleen is challenging Ed Markey

    When Alex Rikleen was a Wayland High School student in 2005, the MetroWest Daily News recognized him as a “future leader” for spearheading a campaign for later school start times. Two decades later (and with those later start times since adopted), the 38-year-old father of two is testing that title on a statewide stage, mounting an insurgent challenge to U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in the 2026 Democratic primary.

    “The reason I’m running is because Democrats in Washington are playing it safe,” Rikleen told the Daily News in a recent interview. “We are in the midst of a crisis and the United States Senate is where individuals have the most ability to push back and fight back and defend against this crisis, and Sen. Markey is not doing all of the things that he can be doing.”

    Massachusetts hasn’t unseated a sitting Democratic senator in decades, and Markey — seeking a third term after serving nearly 40 years in the House of Representatives — comes armed with experience, money and plenty of progressive goodwill earned through his promotion of the 2019 Green New Deal climate proposal with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York.

    But Rikleen insists the moment demands more.

    “People are really fed up with the Democratic establishment, and Sen. Markey is a core part of that,” Rikleen said. “He is the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and he continues to stand by (Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer’s — what I would argue is — disastrous leadership.”

    Lessons from the government shutdown

    Rikleen says the recent government shutdown only underscores his critique, arguing that while Democrats finally showed a willingness to resist, he wonders whether it was for the right cause.

    “I am glad they picked something to hold the line on,” he says. “Tactically, I don’t think they picked wisely. Trump’s a dictator. Now let’s debate health care nuance? A much cleaner argument would have been to pick a line related to Trump’s overreach.”

    As a former history teacher, Rikleen looks to the textbooks. Authoritarian takeovers, he says, can be overcome when opposition parties use every tool available to delay: unanimous consent, committee holds, filibusters — procedural tactics he believes Democrats have been too timid to deploy.

    “Senator Markey, ask yourself: Is the Democratic Party in America today acting as strongly as opposition parties in Norway or in Portugal, where their authoritarian past is now so far behind them that we almost forget they happened?” Rikleen saids. “I think that you will come away profoundly disappointed.”

    He uses Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s confirmation as an example of a missed opportunity. Confirmed six weeks after Inauguration Day, she immediately began pushing major cuts.

    “If Democrats had delayed her appointment even a month, that’s money in towns across the state, helping families with disabled students get services for another couple weeks,” Rikleen said.

    Rikleen stresses priorities, not a platform

    On his website, Rikleen describes his agenda not as a “platform” but as “priorities” — policies he says will be dead on arrival unless structural reforms come first. He points to likely Supreme Court roadblocks on Medicare for All, AI regulation or climate action. His strategy, he says, divides into two phases: obstruct and delay during Trump’s presidency to minimize harm, then rebuild democratic guardrails afterward.

    “When you combine the power of the office with the power of your platform, they amplify each other,” he said. “At the moment, Democrats are not using their power in the Senate and not using their voices to amplify a narrative. That cedes the ground to Trump and the Republicans.”

    Establishment vs. insurgent

    Rikleen is framing the race as establishment vs. outsider. With U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., also weighing a Senate bid, some see the anti-Markey vote splintering.

    Rikleen disagrees.

    “People are mad at D.C. Democrats, and where has Seth Moulton been for the last 10 years? In Washington,” Rikleen said. “He’s part of the establishment that’s not doing enough.”

    He also said signals from Moulton’s centrist leanings misread the current mood.

    “We are in a moment where the difference between the center and the left politically doesn’t even matter, because the government is so broken that neither of our policies can get passed,” Rikleen said.

    Markey knows something about insurgent challenges. In 2020, he fended off then-U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III in a nationally watched Senate primary, winning 55.4% of the vote and carrying Boston, the suburbs and college towns with the backing of the Sunrise Movement, an organization that advocates for action on climate change.

    That race was widely seen as establishment vs. progressive energy — a dynamic Rikleen now hopes to flip. He cites Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, where turnout among voters aged 25-35 exceeded that of those aged 55-65.

    “People are upset and showing it and they want change,” Rikleen said. “I think there is a large appetite for a challenge like mine.”

    A race about urgency and accountability

    For Rikleen, the race is less about policy differences than urgency.

    “I think Sen. Markey and I are aligned on a lot of issues. I’m not running because of his age,” Rikleen said. “I’m running because there are things he can and should be doing that he’s not.”

    Markey, first elected to Congress in 1976, will be 80 by Election Day and 86 at the end of another Senate term. It’s a reality, Rikleen says, that carries its own risks.

    “Any serious telling of the last 20 years of American political history has to reckon with the fact that an important factor is particularly people on the left damaging their own legacy by staying on too long,” he said.

    Deploying a grassroots strategy

    Rikleen, who lives in Acton and manages the PTO at his children’s preschool, leans heavily on community-level organizing. He has served as a delegate to the Massachusetts Democratic Convention and worked on campaigns before, experience he says shapes his grassroots approach — from town committee appearances and protests to community service events.

    He has stops scheduled in Holliston, Wayland, Westborough and Northborough.

    “Of course, the primary goal is to win,” Rikleen said. “But … getting Sen. Markey to start using these tactics is (also) a win. If my campaign can make our senator be a better senator, then that’s worth it.”

    That message is embodied in the campaign’s bright pink branding — chosen for Rikleen’s son, who was bullied for liking the color.

    “This campaign is, in a lot of ways, about standing up to bullies,” Rikleen said. “Having pink was a nice way to show support for my son and keep both of my children with me while I’m out and about.”