Barbara Madeloni's Battle Against Charter Schools

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October 19, 2015

Barbara Madeloni has been president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association since May 2015. (Courtesy Barbara Madeloni/Vimeo)

Last week, Gov. Baker introduced his bill to expand charter schools in the state. While the charter school debate is nothing new in Massachusetts, longtime charter school advocates like John Connolly, co-founder of the education startup 1647, say it's different this year. In fact, he attributes it to one person.

"Barbara Madeloni. She's really made it clear she's going to draw a line in the sand and the MTA is going to put their full effort into this," he told Radio Boston. Barbara Madeloni has been president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association for just one year, after she won in an upset election last May.

We've held conversations with charter school advocates over the past two weeks, so we now turn to the other side of the debate.

Guest

Barbara Madeloni, president of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association. She tweets @BMadeloni.

Radio Boston: Governor’s Bill Proposes More Charter Schools, Outside Cap

"Standing at Brooke Mattapan Charter School, Gov. Baker announced his 'Act To Improve And Expand Educational Opportunity' Thursday."

Radio Boston: Week In Review: DraftKings, Charter Schools, Wynn Casino Fight And Hands-Free Driving

"John Carroll and Tom Keane go behind the headlines in our week in review."

The Boston Globe: Baker Seeks Expanded Charter Schools

"The bill would also allow charter schools — publicly funded schools that often operate independently of local districts — to give preference in their lotteries to applicants who come from low-income families, live in specific areas, have special needs, or are learning English. Critics have contended that charter schools do not do enough to serve special education students and non-native-English speakers."

The Boston Globe: Governor, Mayor Differ On Charter School Plans

"In testimony before the committee Tuesday, Walsh laid out a plan that would expand charter schools at a slower pace than in Baker’s proposal. The Walsh proposal would allow the creation of charter school seats in the lowest-performing districts at a rate of half of 1 percent of the local school district budget each year for a decade."

This segment aired on October 19, 2015.