Author: Sophia Spiegel
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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),…