Citizens for Public Schools

CPS Executive Director Lisa Guisbond’s public comments, delivered at the April 23, 2019 Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Meeting.

An MCAS question on the 10^th grade ELA exam caused enough consternation and trauma to students of color (and other students) that some students and teachers courageously spoke up, despite a gag rule put in place to protect the tests, not the students.

Commissioner Riley, to his credit, withdrew the question when it came to light (again, thanks to the students), but more needs to be done.

After all, research shows that when faced with a racially biased question, students of color are likely to be thrown off and do worse on the whole test than they would otherwise have done.

According to the American Psychological Association, researchers Steele, Aronson, and Spencer, found that even passing reminders that someone belongs to one group or another, such as a group stereotyped as inferior in academics, can wreak havoc with test performance.   → Read More

Congratulations to our honorees! Champions for Education Justice: Rev. Willie Bodrick II, Catari Giglio, Barbara Madeloni. And thanks to all the CPS members and friends who joined us last night at the 2019 CPS Annual Meeting to help us honor them. It was truly an inspiring and energizing night to fuel our spirits for the Fund Our Future fight ahead!   → Read More

Thank you to all who attended our Legislative Breakfast at the State House on March 6th in support of equitable access to quality public education and to learn about CPS’s legislative agenda.

Special thanks to Rep. Tommy Vitolo for sponsoring the event complete with delicious bagels from Kupel’s. We’d like to give special thanks to all who spoke (and thanks to everyone who came):

• Senator Jason Lewis
• Representative Vitolo
• Representative Keefe
• Representative Vega
• Representative Decker
• MTA Merrie Najimy
• AFT Beth Kontos
• Jack Schneider

We look forward to working with all of you as we advance opportunities for Massachusetts children and stand up for public education!

Stay tuned for our next State House Action — the PROMISE Act Hearing on March 22 at 10am. Plan to come and bring your stories of why funding our future is important to you!

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I was thrilled to join students, parents, educators and civil rights leaders to officially launch the campaign to #FundOurFuture on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at the Massachusetts State House. 

CPS is part of a new and growing coalition with a simple, clear message: It’s time for Governor Baker and the legislature to make it their top priority to reinvest $1.5 billion a year in public education, from pre-K through higher education. We expect this coalition to expand; founding members include American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, Boston Teachers Union, Citizens for Public Schools, FairTest, Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, Massachusetts Jobs With Justice, Massachusetts Teachers Association, NAACP New England Area Conference, and PHENOM (Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts).

As I told Masslive, “We’re basically just calling on legislators to keep their promise to cherish our public schools and fund them adequately.”

Click here to read summaries of the two Fund Our Future-backed bills, one for K-12 and the other for higher education.   → Read More