Mass. schools require dramatic change, report says

More than two thirds of the state’s employers report difficulty hiring employees with the appropriate skills, underscoring the need for major changes in how Massachusetts educates its children, according to a report and survey set for release Monday by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education.

Bolstering the state’s public school systems is viewed as a critical step in producing more workers with the right skills to succeed in a more technologically driven economy, according to “The New Opportunity to Lead: A Vision for Education in Massachusetts in the Next 20 Years.”

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“You read and hear stories about how Massachusetts is the best in the nation, but we have a dismaying situation that not only do we have young people unemployed but a lot of jobs that are unfilled — good jobs, high-tech jobs,” said Henry Dinger, chairman of the business alliance’s board of directors and a partner at Goodwin Procter LLC. “There are a bunch of other countries that are doing better and other countries are gaining on us fast.”

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Business leaders may have a tough time selling their agenda to school leaders, teachers, and parents who resent corporate interests influencing the direction of public education. They fear schools will evolve into factories focused solely on producing workers and the joy of learning will be lost — a situation they say is already unfolding at many schools trying to boost test scores to avoid government sanctions.

full: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/03/23/mass-schools-require-quick-dramatic-change-report-says/TBTiAvjnvkk38Jk2tHch1K/story.html