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Kerry Healey on Education |
HEALEY: It's not all about funding, it's about standards. I'm a strong supporter of the MCAS. Over the last 10 years we've brought our schools from being below the national average to way above the national average in terms of the SAT scores We have over 90% of our kids who past that test every year and it tells our employers that they are qualified to do the jobs they're going to be asked to do. Standards are important.
HEALEY: I have two proposals around merit pay. I'd like to test our kids in the beginning of the year and the end of the year to help identify who really are our best teachers and I'd love to give them merit pay. The other thing I'd like to do is give incentives of additional pay to our best teachers to go and teach in the schools where they're needed most, in our schools that have been identified as under-performing.
A: I would propose to raise the mandatory age of school attendance to 18, and in conjunction with that, a number of changes would have to be made to accommodate the fully 20% of kids who drop out state-wide, so it's school attendance or graduation until 18. And, in order to do that, we would have to put a much greater focus on alternative education. Perhaps schools that operate at night, for those kids who need to work during the day to help support their families. Schools that provide day-care as well, for those young people who are young parents, who are taking care of their kids. We're going to have to provide different vocational education for kids who don't really like the academic curriculum and are not looking to go on and go to higher education. So, together, we're simply raising the age. There are a number of other steps that you need to take to hold the interest of those kids who would otherwise drop out.
A: I'd like to be spending more of our dollars in the classroom. I would like to see 70% of our Chapter 70 dollars spent in the classroom. Right now, we spend about 64% of our education dollars in the classroom.
Q: When you say used in the classroom, is that for teacher raises?
A: That could be teacher salaries, but it could also be for books and equipment, and technology. Anything that enhances the experience in the classroom.