Massachusetts Board of Education - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Massachusetts Board of Education (BOE) is the state education agency

State education agency

A state education agency , or state department of education, is a formal governmental label for the state-level government agencies within each U.S...

responsible for interpreting and implementing laws relevant to public education

Public education

State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. Public education in the Commonwealth is organized according to the regulations adopted by the BOE, which are good faith

Good faith

In philosophy, the concept of Good faith—Latin bona fides “good faith”, bona fide “in good faith”—denotes sincere, honest intention or belief, regardless of the outcome of an action; the opposed concepts are bad faith, mala fides and perfidy...

interpretations of Massachusetts state

State law

In the United States, state law is the law of each separate U.S. state, as passed by the state legislature and adjudicated by state courts. It exists in parallel, and sometimes in conflict with, United States federal law. These disputes are often resolved by the federal courts.-See also:*List of U.S...

and federal law. The BOE's responsibilities include granting and renewing charter school

Charter school

Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...

applications, developing and implementing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, commonly shortened to MCAS , is the Commonwealth's statewide standards-based assessment program developed in 1993, in response to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of the same year...

(MCAS), submitting yearly budget proposals for public education to the Massachusetts General Court

Massachusetts General Court

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...

, setting the standards for and certifying teachers, principals, and superintendents, and monitoring — as well as intervening to ameliorate — the achievement of underperforming districts in the Commonwealth.

History

The BOE was established in 1837 and is the oldest state board of education in the United States. Governor

Governor of Massachusetts

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...

Edward Everett

Edward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...

had recommended the establishment of a board of education in his address to the 1837 legislature's opening session. His brief argument ran as follows:

While nothing can be further from my purpose, than to disparage the common school
Common school
A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....

s as they are, and while a deep sense of personal obligation to them will ever be cherished by me, it must yet be candidly admitted that they are susceptible of great improvements. The school houses might, in many cases, be rendered more commodious. Provision ought to be made for affording the advantages of education, throughout the whole year, to all of a proper age to receive it. Teachers well qualified to give elementary instruction in all the branches of useful knowledge, should be employed; and small school libraries, maps, globes, and requisite scientific apparatus should be furnished. I submit to the Legislature, whether the creation of a board of commissioners of schools, to serve without salary, with authority to appoint a secreatry, on a reasonable compensation, to be paid from the school fund, would not be of great utility.

The legislature's Committee on Education, led by Senate chairman Josiah Quincy, Jr.

Josiah Quincy, Jr.

Josiah Quincy, Jr. was mayor of Boston , as was his father Josiah Quincy III and grandson Josiah Quincy . He was the author of Figures in the Past . As a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1837, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Massachusetts Board of Education...

and House chairman James G. Carter

James G. Carter

James Gordon Carter , born James Carter, Jr., was a Massachusetts State Legislator and education reformer.He wrote “Influence of an Early Education” in 1826 , and in 1837, as House Chairman of the Committee on Education, contributed to the establishment of the Massachusetts Board of Education, the...

, sponsored a bill which was initially soundly defeated in the House. Largely as a result of efforts by Mr. Carter, the bill was eventually passed. Horace Mann

Horace Mann

Horace Mann was an American education reformer, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1834 to 1837. In 1848, after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education since its creation, he was...

, President of the Massachusetts State Senate at the time, was appointed the board's first Secretary.

Composition

The BOE is composed of eleven members. Ten are appointed by the governor, including his Secretary of Education, who serves ex officio, and one is a public school student elected by his or her peers. The eleven voting members are: "the chairman of the student advisory council established under this section; 1 representative of a labor organization selected by the governor from a list of 3 nominees provided by the Massachusetts State Labor Council, AFL-CIO; 1 representative of business or industry selected by the governor with a demonstrated commitment to education; 1 representative of parents of school children selected by the governor from a list of 3 nominees provided by the Massachusetts Parent Teachers Association; and 6 members selected by the governor." http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/15-1e.htm The Chairperson of the BOE is appointed by the governor. The secretary of the BOE must be approved by a two thirds vote and serves at the Board's pleasure as the chief executive officer

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

, the Chief State School Officer for Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner attends BOE meetings, but does not vote. He is responsible for managing the Massachusetts Department of Education and receives a salary which is determined by the Board. http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/15-1f.htm

Prior to legislation introduced by Governor Patrick in 2008, the Board was composed of nine voting members.

Advisory Councils

Massachusetts State Student Advisory Council

The Massachusetts State Student Advisory Council is a democratic student organization, whose statewide Chairperson serves as a voting member on the Massachusetts Board of Education...

Technology/Engineering Education http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/sac/tech/

Violence Prevention

Vocational-Technical Education

Student Membership

The Massachusetts BOE is unique in that one of its nine members is a Massachusetts public school student. Legislation was filed in 1971 by Governor Francis W. Sargent which created the position. By this same legislation, the Massachusetts State Student Advisory Council

Massachusetts State Student Advisory Council

The Massachusetts State Student Advisory Council is a democratic student organization, whose statewide Chairperson serves as a voting member on the Massachusetts Board of Education...

was established. The Chairperson of this Council sits as a full voting member on the Massachusetts BOE. Governor Sargent said at the filing of the bill, "If we are to replace confrontation with deliberation and shouting with dialogue, youth must be invited in, not shut out. We have ... a climate where young and old can sit together, talk, and listen."http://www.doe.mass.edu/sac/history.html?section=start

Current members

Maura Banta, Chair, Melrose

Harneen Chernow, Vice Chair, Jamaica Plain

Gerald Chertavian, Cambridge

Matthew Gifford, Chair, Student Advisory Council, Brookline

Thomas E. Fortmann, Lexington

Beverly Holmes, Springfield

Jeff Howard, Reading

Ruth Kaplan, Brookline

Paul Reville, Secretary of Education, Worcester

Sandra L. Stotsky, Brookline

Dana Mohler-Faria, Bridgewater

Mitchell D. Chester, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Secretary to the Board

Former members

Horace Mann

- First secretary of the board (1837)

George S. Boutwell

George S. Boutwell

George Sewall Boutwell was an American statesman who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S...

Abigail Thernstrom

Abigail Thernstrom, a conservative political scientist, is a former Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute in New York, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, and vice chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She received her Ph.D...

John Silber

John Robert Silber is an American academician and former candidate for public office. From 1971 to 1996 he was President of Boston University and from 1996 to 2003 Chancellor of the University. Since 2003 he has been its President Emeritus. In 1990, Silber took a leave of absence from the...

Michael D'Ortenzio Jr., Chair Emeritus, State Student Advisory Council

Jody Kelman

Jeff DeFlavio, Chair Emeritus, State Student Advisory Council

Andrew "AJ" Fajnzylber, Chair Emeritus, State Student Advisory Council

Charles D. Baker, Jr.

Charles D. Baker, Jr.

Charles Duane "Charlie" Baker, Jr. , is an American businessman and politician from Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and was the Republican candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial...

http://www.academyhealth.org/about/baker.htm

Dr. Stanley Z. Koplik

James Madden

James A. Peyser http://www.nctq.org/nctq/about/peyser.html

Emily Levine

Dr. Judith Gill

Henry M. Thomas, III

Trevor Frederick

Jonathan Urbach

External links

http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/edboard.html
http://www.doe.mass.edu/

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