Op-Ed: Leading the Way in Education & Opportunity
By Rep. Alan Silvia, 7th Bristol
Massachusetts leads the way in education. For decades, our schools have turned out the best and the brightest in the country and those students go on to some of the most elite universities in the world – many of which are here in the Bay State. Our state university system has become one of the most competitive in the country, producing excellent graduates who make substantial contributions to the world as well as their communities at home.
The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship truly separates Massachusetts public colleges from the fray. By offering tuition waivers to top students in the commonwealth, college education becomes a reality for students whose financial situation may impede their ability to attend a university. The Adams Scholarship is about equal opportunity. It is about leveling the playing field so that higher education might be available based not on the size of one’s purse but on the strength of one’s merits. If there is a key word that characterizes education, it is opportunity.
As enlightened as the Abigail Adams Scholarship is, it overlooks Catholic, Christian and private school students. There are 140,000 such students in Massachusetts who are enrolled in these schools at the choice of their parents, who are, nevertheless, taxpayers. Because of them we, the taxpayers, save over a Billion dollars in educational funding. This is nothing short of an opportunity gap. Almost one third of all students in Massachusetts are educated at private schools and many of them choose to attend one of many outstanding public universities whether it be UMass or a state or community college. I am proud to have filed legislation this week to expand the opportunity the Adams Scholarship offers.
I hope to bridge this opportunity gap that, at present, exists. My legislation would allow private school students to opt-in and take the MCAS test in their school district allowing them an equal opportunity at this substantial award. Many would dismiss private school students. Those who do, have a picture of a snooty prep school student in a crested blazer, the son or daughter of a well-to-do couple. The reality is starkly different. Today’s Catholic, Christian and private school students are like many of those in my city, Fall River at Bishop Connolly High School or nearby Bishop Stang, middle class kids whose parents wanted a spiritual aspect to their children’s education. There are students who eschew the plaid for the leotard and attend performing arts schools like that in Franklin and South Hadley. The theatre and music programs at UMass Amherst are among the best, yet these students’ dreams may be dashed because it’s too costly.
This legislation is not about helping the elite. This bill is about helping young people achieve. Higher education keeps going up in price – public schools included. Equality is about offering the same opportunity no matter who you are or where you attend school in this Commonwealth. I am proud to be bridging the opportunity gap by encouraging the best to attend Massachusetts public colleges no matter their financial status and to graduate with limited or no debt. Education means opportunity. Let’s continue to lead the way and think big….
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