From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin:
"MCAS exams coming in spring, education officials say"
"TOP MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION officials on Tuesday insisted MCAS exams will be held next spring and urged districts to conduct in-person learning even if they are located in communities at high risk for COVID-19 – as long as there is no evidence the transmission is occurring in schools.
Testifying virtually before the Legislature’s Education Committee, state Education Secretary Jim Peyser and education Commissioner Jeff Riley said their guidance to school districts has been updated to reflect that districts are encouraged to remain open even if their community is red on the Baker administration’s color-coded map.
School districts had been asked to review at least three weeks of community COVID-19 data before adjusting learning models. Now the Baker administration officials say three weeks in red is not enough to move to remote learning.
“We are not seeing the spread take place, clustering take place in the schools as initially feared,” said Riley."
Continue reading article online https://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/mcas-exams-coming-in-spring-education-officials-say/
"Baker calls ranked-choice voting too complicated"
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he opposes ranked-choice voting because it’s too complicated for both voters and election officials to carry out.
The governor said voting is already complicated enough. “From our point of view, this thing [ranked-choice voting] is too complicated to have on top of that,” he said at a State House press conference. “The counting process alone could get unbelievably difficult.”
Jesse Mermell, an honorary co-chair and senior advisor to the ranked choice campaign, said ranked choice was implemented in Maine with no problems and has been in use in Cambridge since 1941.
“I think that’s insulting to Massachusetts voters,” she said of the governor’s comments.
