Educator Effectiveness

Teachers' Top Three from ESE — May 25, 2017

1. New Resource: Equity Plan Update
   The Department recently released an update to our 2015 equity plan. The 2017 Massachusetts State Plan to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators includes data the state must report under federal law and is designed to address gaps in students' access to strong educators, particularly students who are economically disadvantaged, students of color, English learners and students with disabilities.

   Data included in the plan shows that:

   • High-poverty and high-minority schools employ first-year teachers at more than twice the rate of low-poverty and low-minority schools (11.4 percent and 11.1 percent compared to 5.3 percent and 5.0 percent) and
   • Hispanic/Latino and African-American/black students are more than three times as likely as white students to be assigned to an out-of-field teacher (Over the past three years, 7.9 percent of Hispanic/Latino students' teacher assignments were to out-of-field teachers, 8.6 percent of African-American/black students' teacher assignments were to out-of-field teachers, and 2.4 percent of white students' teacher assignments were to out-of-field teachers).

   Our Equity Playbook II includes numerous links to resources and additional information. Strategies include prioritizing teacher leadership roles for educators who are effective in working with students with diverse needs, and links include our guidebook for inclusive practice.

2. Get Involved: Join Our Teacher Advisory Cabinets
   Members of our Teacher and Principal Advisory Cabinets share their insights, suggestions, and feedback to help us refine current policies and inform the development of new policies and resources.

   To ensure a wide range of input, we convene East and Central/West branches of each cabinet and seek input from a diverse group of teachers and principals representing urban, suburban, and rural districts that reflect the demographics of Massachusetts' students.

   The Teacher Advisory Cabinets are open to all educators who work with students across grade levels and content areas. That includes specialists, coaches, and specialized instructional support personnel.

   Applications for the 2017-2018 cabinets are due June 21. Each cabinet will meet five times over the course of the school year, and the application includes logistical details and other important information.

3. In the News: Budgets
   As government officials at the municipal, state, and federal levels continue work on their budgets and unveil budget priorities, there has been renewed curiosity in how education funding works in Massachusetts. The majority of education spending in Massachusetts (61 percent) comes from cities and towns. State money is about 34 percent of the total, and federal funding makes up a relatively small 5 percent.

   Education spending in Massachusetts has been growing for years and reached $16.3 billion in fiscal 2016. More information about school spending is available on our finance page, including information on Chapter 70 state education aid to cities and towns.

   FY16 Massachusetts public school revenue sources ($16.3 billion)

   Revenue Source	Percentage
   Local	61%
   State	34%
   Federal	5%