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Massachusetts

Massachusetts is a national leader in public education—but beyond the accolades lie deep, persistent disparities. We’re working with communities statewide to change this.
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About Us

Massachusetts is widely known for its place in U.S. history, its reputation as the ultimate “college town,” and for being home to some of the very best education our nation has to offer. Yet despite these assets, the Bay State is fraught with inequity—home to some of the largest educational attainment gaps in the country, as well as some of the very largest gaps in earnings and wealth. Despite the state’s beautiful landscapes and unique cultural offerings, social inequity is pervasive.

However, many here believe that if true educational equity at scale is going to happen anywhere, it will happen in Massachusetts. Our state enjoys a unique combination of resources—a rich tradition of prioritizing public education, a strong pipeline of talent, numerous colleges and universities, a forward-thinking state Department of Education, a rich nonprofit sector, and a generous philanthropic community. Massachusetts also is home to innovative and promising approaches to lasting improvements within traditional districts, such as school and district turnaround and transformation efforts, alongside arguably the strongest charter public school sector in the US.

We no longer question if it can be done. In Massachusetts, the question is: How can we accelerate the student success that we know is possible?

Central to our efforts is the belief that no social movement, in the past or today, can be successful unless communities are themselves at the forefront leading the work. Our state attracts great talent from around the country and around the world—and also has tremendous assets in the brilliant, inspiring, and dynamic students we are fortunate to work with. Our hope is that our students and families will be the teachers, principals, advocates, and policy makers that continue this work into the future.

There is much work to be done in Massachusetts—but there is also incredible potential.

What role will you play?

Our Corps Members

The Massachusetts region provides an unparalleled context for working toward educational equity. Here, you will be immersed in both the depth and pervasiveness of educational inequity and an unrivaled opportunity to make lasting change.

Massachusetts corps members teach in traditional and charter public schools in the Greater Boston communities of Boston, Lawrence, Chelsea, in Fall River in the South Coast, and in Springfield in Western Massachusetts. Wherever possible, we work to cluster multiple corps members in schools to maximize their impact on students and the community. Read on for more on each of these three sub-regions. 

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Changemakers Wanted

Check your eligibility to join the Massachusetts corps today.
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Our Alumni

Our more than 2,500 include leaders throughout the K-12 education space, including veteran educators and principals, superintendents and district-level leaders, and state education officials. Our local alumni educators have founded innovative schools such as Unidos at Lawrence High School, and share their voice as advocates in many venues, including the White House. Alum Jeff Riley (Baltimore ’93) led a ground-breaking district-level turnaround in Lawrence, Massachusetts, that could be a model for sustained, systemic change in a traditional school district; he now leverages that perspective as the state’s Commissioner of Education. To increase access to post-secondary education, alumni leaders like Amanda Seider (Atlanta ‘02) and Chessye Moseley (Colorado ‘12) lead organizations and initiatives to support early college programs and matriculation to and graduation from college

Alumni like physician Avik Chatterjee (New Jersey ’02) provide much-needed health care to deeply underserved communities, while others like Shenkiat Lim (Mississippi Delta ’00) leverage their passion and MBA to deepen the impact of community-focused organizations like City Year.

 

“It is important for me as a man of color to be a force in the education movement because many of the decisions made that impact students in under resourced communities are not made by people who reflect the backgrounds and experiences of those in the communities the policies most directly affect.”

Kwame Adams

Massachusetts Corps Member 2014

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