Blog

Rethinking Education

April 13, 2023
Our education system is at a crossroads. After years of disruption from the pandemic, there’s an instinct by some to return to “normal." But we can’t go back. The old way wasn’t working. As a state, we have never fulfilled our promise to educate all students. And, for students facing systemic racism or economic hardship, or who are neurodiverse learners, putting back the old system often simply means rebuilding the same barriers that have denied them opportunities. It’s time we acknowledge the shortcomings of our education system and begin to build approaches to learning that match the ways our children and youth understand and navigate their daily lives. It’s time to truly rethink education. And we see this as the new focus of our Condition of Education project. Over the coming year and beyond we will be asking bigger questions about how we rethink when, where, and how students learn.
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Educator Diversity Act: What You Need to Know

March 30, 2023
Young people of color make up nearly 50 percent of the student body in Massachusetts. Yet, less than 8 percent of Massachusetts teachers identify as non-white. Efforts to increase students’ access to diverse educators have run up against a host of barriers. A bill currently being considered in the state legislature takes aim at this issue. What would this legislation mean for Massachusetts? Our team takes a closer look at H.549: An Act Relative to Educator Diversity in our latest bill summary.
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Simone Ngongi-Lukula: What is Needed to Support Young People of Color to Achieve a Career in Education

March 30, 2023

Three research fellows from Rennie’s Future Education Leaders Network reflect on ways to support young people of color interested in working in the education space. Their blog posts focus on the push and pull young people of color face in their pathways to education, highlighting research on financial, social, and emotional barriers to educators entering and remaining in the field. The fellows also shed light on their own personal experiences and share their reflections from having gone through the education workforce pipeline themselves.

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Andrew Pablo: What is Needed to Support Young People of Color to Achieve a Career in Education

March 30, 2023

Three research fellows from Rennie’s Future Education Leaders Network reflect on ways to support young people of color interested in working in the education space. Their blog posts focus on the push and pull young people of color face in their pathways to education, highlighting research on financial, social, and emotional barriers to educators entering and remaining in the field. The fellows also shed light on their own personal experiences and share their reflections from having gone through the education workforce pipeline themselves.

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Emily Su Ni Thoman: What is Needed to Support Young People of Color to Achieve a Career in Education

March 30, 2023

Three research fellows from Rennie’s Future Education Leaders Network reflect on ways to support young people of color interested in working in the education space. Their blog posts focus on the push and pull young people of color face in their pathways to education, highlighting research on financial, social, and emotional barriers to educators entering and remaining in the field. The fellows also shed light on their own personal experiences and share their reflections from having gone through the education workforce pipeline themselves.

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What is Needed to Support Young People of Color to Achieve a Career in Education

March 30, 2023
Three research fellows from Rennie’s Future Education Leaders Network reflect on ways to support young people of color interested in working in the education space. Their blog posts focus on the push and pull young people of color face in their pathways to education, highlighting research on financial, social, and emotional barriers to educators entering and remaining in the field. The fellows also shed light on their own personal experiences and share their reflections from having gone through the education workforce pipeline themselves.
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Promoting Teacher Retention & Addressing Teacher Burnout

March 29, 2023
Since the start of the pandemic, challenges like staffing shortages, increased workload, and insufficient resources to address students' needs have resulted in heightened K-12 teacher burnout and major staffing shortages, with more than half of public schools being understaffed at the start of this school year. So what can school leaders do to combat teacher demoralization and burnout? Leal Carter of the CERES Institute at Boston University Wheelock shares actionable steps school leaders can take.
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Bill Analysis: An Act to expand access to high-quality, affordable early education and care

February 28, 2023
A bill up for consideration in the Massachusetts Senate and House, would have wide reaching effects on early education and care. Our team dug into the bill to find out just how it would impact families, educators, providers, and policy makers. Among other changes, the bill would make subsidies for high-quality early education and care available to more families, establish operational grants for providers, and create scholarship and loan forgiveness programs for early educators.
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Rennie Testifies on Beacon Hill about the Impact of COVID on Education

December 05, 2022
On November 22, members of our team testified to the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Education during an informational hearing on the impact of the pandemic on education. Read the remarks from Rennie Center Executive Director Chad d'Entremont and Director of Policy Alexis Lian. 
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How the Commonwealth's New Mental Health Act Impacts Schools

October 02, 2022
The Mental Health ABC Act: Addressing Barriers to Care was signed into law by Governor Baker in August, setting off a number of new actions to increase accessibility to care. While the bill addresses mental health at large, there are a number of sections that specifically impact the education system. Our team combed through the bill to dig into exactly how it will affect schools. Read our section-by-section breakdown of the new law.
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