MASSACHUSETTS FINDS ITSELF in the eye of a storm. As municipal leaders, we have grown increasingly concerned as we see COVID-19 cases spiking across the state. In some communities we are already seeing the rising prevalence of this virus cause week-long turnaround times for COVID tests as contact tracers are unable to keep up with the sheer volume […]
Testing
Posted inHealth Care
Out-of-pocket COVID-19 test costs piling up
OVER THE LAST two months, Aaron Zannini has faced a COVID crunch – waiting hours in line for four precautionary coronavirus tests at Carewell Urgent Care centers in Cambridge and Somerville that ended up costing him a total of $640. Zannini is part of a growing group of people who aren’t symptomatic but want a […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
As reopening begins, we worry about a second surge
AS THE COVID-19 pandemic begins to plateau, the population wants a reprieve from the continued stress, isolation and suffering. Massachusetts was particularly hard hit and our effective response required collaboration across all segments of our community, including government, businesses, health care and the public. Optimistically, the Reopening Advisory Board just released new guidelines for phase 1 reductions of social distancing across […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge orders COVID-19 testing for ICE detainees
DECLARING THAT A lawsuit filed on behalf of immigration detainees was likely to succeed in demonstrating “deliberate indifference” to their risk of contracting COVID-19, a federal judge ordered coronavirus testing for all federal detainees being housed at the Bristol County Jail. “I require everyone be tested, from the sheriff on down,” said US District Court […]
Posted inEducation
Putting standardized testing to the test
WITH SPRING COMES the annual ritual of MCAS testing in Massachusetts schools. It’s how we gauge the performance of individual students as well as schools and districts. The assessment of basic skills in math, English, and, more recently, science offers a snapshot of academic achievement levels, and it is the central measure used in the […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Replacing No Child Left Behind an inadequate step in right direction
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge –Albert Einstein DURING MY PROFESSIONAL career in education, I spent a short time (a year and a half) as an elementary school principal, […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
CW video: Opting out
Fordham Institute’s Robert Pondiscio and Massachusetts education blogger Jennifer Berkshire talk with CommonWealth magazine’s Michael Jonas about the opt-out movement in which students are refusing to take standardized tests.