Dramatic reforms, new policies, and more resources urgently needed to turn around the nation’s lowest-performing schools, says new Mass Insight report — (November 2007) The bottom five percent of the nation’s schools present daunting challenges, but they also represent our best opportunity to dramatically improve student achievement. That’s the counter-intuitive conclusion of a two-year national study (The Turnaround Challenge: Why America’s best opportunity to dramatically improve student achievement lies in our worst-performing schools) from the Mass Insight Education & Research Institute. The study and the resulting report are the first elements of a multi-phase project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Go to School Turnaround for more information.

RFP Opportunity for High Schools — (October 2007) Massachusetts is one of seven states that have been awarded a $13.2 million, six-year grant from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to implement an Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program in our schools. We have been selected to replicate a program that has successfully trained mathematics, science and English teachers to improve their skills and better prepare students to earn qualifying scores on college-level Advanced Placement® (AP) examinations. For more information on this new program, contact Morton Orlov at 617-778-1528 or via email, or click here to download the RFP.