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Advice

Educators Are Calling for Full Funding of Public Education and High Standards, Not High-Stakes Standardized Tests

Hear from educators on issues that are having a major impact on their students and classrooms.
By: MTA
Published: May 15, 2026 Last Updated: May 29, 2026

Maureen Morelli, Everett middle school educator

In our country we have a democracy, voters have overwhelmingly decided that they do not want high stakes testing.

Betsy Preval, Cambridge educator

There is no reason why one single exam should derail an entire student's future.

Maureen Morelli, Everett middle school educator

Bureaucrats can't know students the way teachers and parents do. To them, students just represent data on a report.

Dayshawn Simmons, Somerville Educators Association president and middle school educator

Massachusetts has some of the best schools in the country, because we trust our educators to teach not just test.

Ashley Mallard, Bridgewater-Raynham educator and parent

Bridgewater-Raynham educator and parent Ashley Mallard is calling on state legislators to fix the state funding formula before it is too late. In her district, there are 29 five- and six-year-olds in a kindergarten classroom and 42 students in a high school math class. We can do better. Let’s fund our schools to meet the needs of all of our students.

Dr. Angelina Avedano, Massasoit Community College

Faculty and staff at our community colleges devote themselves to making a difference in their students' lives every day. We are urging our state legislators to show that same commitment to our public schools and colleges, by investing in them.

James Lincoln, Quinsigamond Community College

James Lincoln of Quinsigamond Community College and the Massachusetts Community College Council is urging state legislators to pay a livingwage to faculty and staff so they can afford to stay in their jobs and support and teach our students.

Meaghan Casey, Middleborough

Meaghan Casey is calling on state legislators to invest in public education so that she and educators across the state can do their jobs most effectively. Without appropriate staffing and financial support, we are going to fail our future generation. Let’s fund our schools to meet the needs of all of our students.

Devastating Cuts to Schools Proposed

“1,400 educators will not be in the classroom or in schools supporting our kids," MTA President Max Page told the Boston Herald. Brockton, Framingham, Methuen, Mendon-Upton and Marshfield are among the many school districts proposing cuts to school positions.

Hear from Local Presidents on the Fiscal Crisis

Kim Gibson, president of the Brockton Education Association

Christine Mulroney, president of the Framingham Education Association

Stacy MacDonald, president of the Brockton Education Support Professional Association

Paid for by the Massachusetts Teachers Association

Join a Fiscal Crisis Action Team

Join MTA members, parents, students, community activists and municipal leaders to win legislative and budgetary fixes to the growing fiscal crisis impacting our public schools and colleges.

Fiscal Crisis Campaign

Public school districts across the Commonwealth are facing severe fiscal challenges that threaten to undermine their capacity to deliver a high-quality public education to all students.
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