Commonwealth Readiness Project

This is mind-boggling. I got an email through a homeschooling group about a forum to ask questions about the Commonwealth Readiness Project, which I'm embarassed to admit I knew nothing about. So I looked it up. Here are some quotes from a press release.

The opportunity to attend a pre-K class makes a child 40 percent less likely to need special education services, 40 percent less likely to repeat a grade and twice as likely to attend college.

A 10 percent increase in the graduation rate for boys would reduce the arrest rate for murder by 20 percent, for car theft by 13 percent, and for arson by eight percent.

So.. mandatory preschool would reduce the arrest rate for murder (wait, but not the actual number of murders?) by 20 percent. Wow. Send your kids to preschool to keep them from being murderers.

A five percent increase in high school graduation rates would produce $115 million in annual benefits to the state

This sounds more like the 'real' reason behind this project, doesn't it?

Let's take a peek at who's working on this project.

Jackie Jenkins-Scott, President Wheelock College

Tom Payzant, Former Superintendent of the Boston and Oklahoma City Public Schools.

Joe Tucci, Chairman, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board EMC Corporation

Senator Robert Antonioni, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Education

Dan Asquino, President of Mount Wachusett Community College

Eduardo Carballo, Superintendent Holyoke Public Schools

Patricia H. Crosby, Executive Director, Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board

Ed Dugger, UNC Partners, Inc.

Grace Fey, Executive VP and Director of Frontier Capital Management Company

Chris Gabrieli, Founder Mass2020

Representative Patricia Haddad, House Chair, Joint Committee on Education

Clare Higgins, Mayor, Northampton Massachusetts

Kathy Kelly, Former President American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts

Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director, Museum of Science Boston

Dana Mohler-Faria, Governor’s Special Advisor for Education, President, Bridgewater

Janet Palmer-Owens, Acting Assistant Superintendent, Triad A, Boston Public Schools

Paul Reville, Executive Director, Rennie Center for Education Policy and Research

Paul Sagan, CEO Akamai Technologies

Andrea Silbert, CEO, EOS Foundation

Harry Spence

Henry Thomas, President, Urban League of Springfield

Of those 21 people, only six people are credentialed as working with public schools and colleges. Four are politicians and one works for one. One works for a foundation that addresses urban poverty, and two work for technology companies. One works for a tourist attraction, and another works for an independent policy and research organization. Two work for investment management firms, one provides resources to local businesses. One doesn't have any credentials listed at all.

So I'm kind of wondering how that mishmash of people has any authority to make decisions on how our children should be schooled.