Michael Macchi teaches third grade at the Phineas Bates, a public school in Boston. He writes here that he will vote NO on Question 2 and explains why.

His bottom line is that as a matter of public policy, it makes more sense to improve and strengthen the public schools we have than to fund a raft of new and unproven schools that might be worse than what we have and that will certainly weaken the ones we have.

He asks, “Why can’t we work together on a common vision” and end the competition that is counterproductive? He would like to see close collaboration between public schools and charter schools, instead of a competition for resources.

He writes:

John, an eight-year-old third grader in my classroom at the Phineas Bates, a Boston Public School in Roslindale, is an English Language Learner and has an intellectual impairment. On any given day, John gets small group instruction from me in math, 1:1 reading intervention from our special education teacher, and a socially-rich physical education. The supports that John and other kids like him receive are in tremendous jeopardy come November 8 unless Massachusetts votes no on question two, and opposes the proposal to authorize up to 12 new charter schools every year…

Imagine the well-rounded the education that students like John would receive if we shift our focus from creating unproven schools at the expense of public school students to finding ways to work together to improve the schools in Massachusetts that already exist. Let’s vote no on question two. Instead of lifting the cap, let’s refine our vision of what an excellent education looks like by adopting best practices from both public schools and the charter school system. This is something that I and my colleagues can get truly excited about.