Onward!

Forum on Career Technical Education in Essex County, 10 am – 1pm, Saturday, May 4 at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School (ENSATS), 565 Maple Street, Hathorne, MA. Sponsored by the Education Working Group of Progressive Democrats of Massachusettes. How can Massachusetts educate the workforce required to fill the jobs of the future?  How can we provide educational opportunities that meet the needs, interests, and aptitudes of all our high school-aged students?  Is it acceptable for there to be thousands of young people languishing on wait-lists to get into the public schools that meet their needs?”  To learn more about these questions, please join us for a forum about the needs and opportunities for Career and Technical Education (CTE), (vocational education), sponsored by the Education Working Group of Progressive…

This particular agenda was developed on the basis of the input received from an open poll of our entire membership and a conference call of interested sustaining members. Ultimately,  the agenda was endorsed by at least two-thirds of the sustaining members who voted on the question. As you will note, we've identified several specific pieces of legislation to support, as well as a number of issues where we plan to work, through our own Working Groups and/or in coordination with allied organizations, to develop specific legislative priorities. PDM endorses the following legislative campaigns for 2019-2020: Placing the Fair Share Amendment on the November 2022 state ballot (S.16) Enactment of the Promise Act to reform the state's foundation budget system for K-12 education (S.238) Passage of the Safe Communities Act (S.1401 and HD.1520) Passage of…

Some educator friends of mine asked me to moderate two forums organized in Cambridge and Lexington for the Fund Our Future campaign. Fund Our Future is a campaign to see public education in Massachusetts, from PreK-12 and higher education, funded at appropriate levels. Attendees are asked: What if all public schools and districts had all of the Chapter 70 dollars they deserved? How do we access those dollars? The growing coalition seeks equity and fairness for every student and to end the systemic underfunding in Massachusetts gateway cities, urban districts, and communities of color. Forums are being held in communities across the Commonwealth. Each is an opportunity to understand the state of funding public education in Massachusetts and to learn about options for revenue, plus two legislative proposals that attempt to fix the problem: PROMISE and…

Environmental and Energy Justice advocates were in good company at the Massachusetts State House today for Mass Power Forward's (MPF) lobby day. Focus of the lobby day was threefold: Share our vision Get co-sponsorships, especially from House Reps Show solidarity with Weymouth You'll recall that the MPF coalition, of which PDM is a part, succeeded in advocating for powerful energy and environmental policy changes last legislative session. All were unanimously supported in the State Senate. Those bills have been "refreshed" for a second round this legislative session, strengthened by a commitment to environmental justice and against racism. Leaders of MPF note that many of our communities, especially those with a majority of people of color and low incomes, have had to bear the brunt of decades of fossil fuel pollution and are most at risk…