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2011 Better Government Competition Awards Dinner: Texas Governor Rick Perry, Keynote Speaker

On September 13th, 2011, Pioneer welcomed presidential candidate and Texas Governor, Rick Perry, as Keynote Speaker at the 20th annual Better Government Awards Dinner. Governor Perry's speech followed introductory remarks by Ambassador Christopher Egan, Carruth Capital, LLC, and addresses by State Representative Will Brownsberger, winner of this year's Better Government Competition, former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, and 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Charles Baker. Over 350 guests were in attendance, including leaders among the private sector, non-profit, and media communities.

2011 Better Government Competition Awards Dinner: Past Winners

This brief video clip features brief summaries of winning submissions to the Better Government Competition. Interviewees describe the problem they addressed, the proposal they submitted, and the impact of their solution.

Jim Peyser: The Importance of High Academic Standards

This week's video attesting to the strength of Massachusetts' academic standards, the final one in the series, comes from Jim Peyser, former chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education who oversaw the implementation of the state's academic standards and MCAS testing.

Michael Sentance: The Importance of High Academic Standards

This week's video attesting to the strength of Massachusetts' academic standards comes from Michael Sentance, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education and former New England administrator for the United States Department of Education, who wrote significant elements of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act.

David Driscoll: The Importance of High Academic Standards

This week's video attesting to the strength of Massachusetts' academic standards comes from David Driscoll, the Commonwealth's former, longtime Commissioner of Education, who was largely responsible for implementing the measures outlined in the original Education Reform Act.

Mark Roosevelt: The Importance of High Academic Standards

This week's video attesting to the strength of Massachusetts' academic standards comes from Mark Roosevelt, former Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

Tom Birmingham: The Importance of High Academic Standards

Today, Massachusetts and the nation are engaged in a substantive policy debate about the future of rigorous academic standards, softer, so-called 21st century skills, and revisions to curriculum frameworks. Pioneer believes it is vitally important to consult the founders of the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) for their views on the centrality of high academic standards and objective assessments in school reform.

Every week in June, we will be sending out a video from some of the chief architects of MERA on safeguarding our state’s content standards and testing requirements. Here are comments from former State Senate President Tom Birmingham.

Jim Stergios: Teacher Compensation

During a public forum led by State Representative Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont) discussing public employee compensation issues in the state on January 13, 2009, Jim Stergios, the executive director of the Pioneer Institute (a public policy think tank) explains how compensation for teachers needs to be changed to attract better teachers to public schools.