Andrea Smardon  

 

Topics by Andrea Smardon

Education

Among Teachers, Qualified Support For Use Of MCAS In Evaluations


NEW TEACHER EVALUATIONS INCLUDE MCAS SCORES
By Andrea Smardon
The state's Education Board has approved new regulations that use students' MCAS scores as one of criteria to evaluate teachers. It's a change many teachers welcome — but they want to make sure it's implemented alongside a series of other changes.
Education

Among Teachers, Qualified Support For Use Of MCAS In Evaluations

By Andrea Smardon
The state's Education Board has approved new regulations that use students' MCAS scores as one of criteria to evaluate teachers. It's a change many teachers welcome — but they want to make sure it's implemented alongside a series of other changes. NEW TEACHER EVALUATIONS INCLUDE MCAS SCORES
Education

Total Immersion: Teaching English With English


WEIGH IN: YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ENGLISH IMMERSION
By Andrea Smardon
Massachusetts voters decided in 2002 that public school teachers should speak mostly English in their classrooms. WGBH's Andrea Smardon visits Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Framingham, where the entire school is focused on the needs of English Language Learners.
Education

Total Immersion: Students Team Up For Dual Immersion


PT. 1: TOTAL IMMERSION
WEIGH IN: YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ENGLISH IMMERSION
By Andrea Smardon
Massachusetts’ voters decided in 2002 that public school teachers should speak only English in their classrooms. But at the Dever-McCormack K-8 School in Dorchester, teachers are bringing Spanish back into the classroom.
Education

Total Immersion: Assessing English-Only Education In Massachusetts


WEIGH IN: YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ENGLISH IMMERSION
By Andrea Smardon
Massachusetts voters decided in 2002 that public school teachers should speak only English in their classrooms. This week, WGBH’s Andrea Smardon investigates the impact of the ballot measure known as Question 2. I
Business

Former State Environmental Chief Gets Into Business


EARLIER: BOWLES STEPS DOWN
By Andrea Smardon
Former Massachusetts Energy & Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles is heading into the private sector. He left his post as the state's top environmental official at the beginning of this year, and is now starting a new consulting firm with three other colleagues from the state.
Boston

Activists Call For New Boston Precinct Map


By Andrea Smardon
Voting rights advocates are asking the City of Boston to draw a new precinct map for the city. Boston is the only city in Massachusetts not required to redraw precincts once every 10 years. 
Education

Questions Linger As State Moves Forward With Teacher Evaluation Overhaul

By Andrea Smardon
The State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is moving forward with plans to overhaul its method for evaluating teachers, including the use of student test scores as a measure of teacher performance.
Education

At Dorchester School, Inclusion Through Art


By Andrea Smardon
An international education conference is highlighting the work of Dorchester's William Henderson Inclusion Elementary School for its pioneering work incorporating the arts into its classrooms. WGBH's Andrea Smardon visits the school.

BPS Officials Unveil New School Choice Plan

By Andrea Smardon
Boston school officials are presenting a new plan that would change the way students are assigned to schools. They say the proposed overhaul, announced at a school committee meeting on Wednesday, is intended to simplify the process for parents and to save money on busing.
Education

Lawrence Teacher Firings Ignite Debate


MORE EDUCATION: 16 NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS APPROVED FOR MASS.
By Andrea Smardon
Lawrence teachers are responding to the news that one third of their corps will not be returning to their jobs in the fall, one year after the school was termed underperforming by the state.
WHERE WE LIVE

Devens Makes Plans Far Beyond Evergreen Solar


WGBH SERIES: WHERE WE LIVE
By Andrea Smardon
The former army base Devens has been thrust into the spotlight as the place where alternative energy company Evergreen Solar built a manufacturing plant, then abruptly closed it, moving its operations to China. But Evergreen is only part of a larger story of rapid economic change in Devens.
Boston

BPS School Closures Spark Civil Rights Complaint


EARLIER: BPS VOTES TO CLOSE 9 SCHOOLS
By Andrea Smardon
A coalition of lawyers and educators have filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Boston Public Schools, alleging a recent school closure plan discriminates against the city’s Black and Latino students and parents.
Education

16 New Charter Schools Approved For Mass.


INSIDE A LYNN CHARTER SCHOOL
By Andrea Smardon
State education officials approved plans for 16 new charter schools Monday, significantly expanding the number of charter schools in some of the state’s lowest-performing districts.
Education

High Scores, Participation Draw Attention To Lynn Charter School


By Andrea Smardon
On Monday, the Massachusetts Board of Education will announce its picks for the state's newest charter schools. One of them could be a KIPP school -- part of a national network of charter schools that says its already seeing results at its existing school in Lynn.
Technology

At MIT, The Jeopardy Machine Is Personal


NOVA: THE SMARTEST MACHINE ON EARTH
By Andrea Smardon
Wednesday night is the much-anticipated final round of the quiz show Jeopardy, in which Watson, a computer, competes against the two greatest champions in the show's history.  The contest has generated a special kind of excitement at MIT.
Energy

In Lexington, Solar Is Coming


By Andrea Smardon
One of the state’s largest alternative energy companies, Evergreen Solar, is in the process of closing its manufacturing plant in Devens. But the landscape for solar manufacturing in Massachusetts isn’t all bleak. A solar startup in Lexington, 1366 Technologies, is looking to open a new plant in Massachusetts.
Education

New UMass President Brings Years Of Public University Experience

By Andrea Smardon
The University of Massachusetts has a new leader. The board of trustees has selected Robert Caret, the current president of Towson University, to replace departing UMass president Jack Wilson. FINANCIAL CRISIS: CARET'S FIRST TASK
Education

UMass Officials Hope To Pick New President Thursday


By Andrea Smardon
Officials at the University of Massachusetts are optimistic that they'll select a new president by the end of the day Thursday. They say they're looking at several serious candidates with academic backgrounds -- but they want to make sure their pick can think creatively about the budget crisis facing the university.
WGBH Local News

MBTA GM: No Fare Hikes This Year


By Andrea Smardon
MBTA officials have started the process of trying to close a more than $120 million budget deficit they’re facing in the next fiscal year. General Manager Richard Davey is assuring riders that there are no immediate plans to raise fares -- but the T is considering other proposals.
Education

Teachers' Union Would Link Evaluations With MCAS Scores

By Andrea Smardon
The Massachusetts Teachers' Union, the largest such union in the state, is endorsing the use of student test scores to assess teachers' performance. They unveiled their plan for the new evaluation system at a state Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. READ THE PROPOSAL
Education

BPS Votes To Close 9 Schools


MAP: AFFECTED SCHOOLS
By Andrea Smardon
Amid jeering and booing from angry parents, teachers and students, the Boston School Committee voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve superintendent Carol Johnson’s proposal to consolidate school resources through closures and mergers.
Boston

School Closures Up For Vote; Parents Wait


MAP: HOW THE PROPOSAL WOULD AFFECT BOSTON
By Andrea Smardon
The Boston Public School Committee votes Wednesday proposal to shutter nine of Boston's schools could save up to $10 million -- but some parents and teachers say the disruption to the students wouldn't be worth the savings.
Environment

Scientists: Climate Change Not Sweet For Sugar Maples


By Andrea Smardon
Scientists at UNH say some of New England's maple leaves are less brilliant in color, and the sap is less sweet. They think these things are related -- and that climate change is the cause.
Mass Decision 2010

Cahill Wraps Up Beleaguered Run For Office


PATRICK WINS SECOND TERM
FULL ELECTION RESULTS
By Andrea Smardon
State treasurer and independent candidate for governor Timothy Cahill came in a distant third in poll results on Tuesday's election night, getting just 8 percent of the vote.
Health Care

Immigrants Bring Discrimination Case Over Insurance Experiment


MORE NEWS FROM WGBH
By Andrea Smardon
A stopgap experiment in health insurance for legal immigrants may be a preview into the future of state-subsidized health care.
Mass Decision 2010

With Question 2, Affordable Housing Funds On The Line


MORE MASS DECISION 2010
By Andrea Smardon
On Nov. 2, Massachusetts voters will consider Question 2, which would repeal a law designed to increase the supply of affordable housing in Massachusetts.

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