Below is a copy of a speech Senator Pat Jehlen gave tying together the struggle to raise the minimum wage to the struggle to close the achievement gaps. There is terrific, thoughtful information here. Her speech ought to be mandatory PD for all Massachusetts educators!

“Last month, the Senate voted to restore the minimum wage to its 1968 value, raising it to $11. This is not just good economics; it’s also one of the best ways to close the achievement gap, by reducing poverty. We know that the scores on standardized tests correlate most highly with parents’ income and education. Massachusetts ranks high in both income and education. So it’s not surprising that we not only lead the nation but are at or near the very top in math scores world wide. In the 2011 TIMSS, Massachusetts students scored higher than every European country in 8th grade math, and second only to Singapore in 8th grade science…”

Read the rest of Senator Jehlen’s writing on this topic on her website.