Join us for our first volunteer day event of the year at Haley House, where we’ll be preparing and serving home-cooked meals to guests from the South End and Roxbury communities.
03/13/2025
6:00am - 11:00am
Haley House
This Women's Network event will offer an insightful conversation with Joanna Geraghty, the first woman to lead a major U.S. airline.
03/19/2025
11:30am - 1:00pm
The Westin Boston Seaport
Join us for our Government Affairs Forum featuring the 45th Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Andrea Campbell.
03/20/2025
9:45am - 11:00am
Sheraton Boston Hotel
Go deeper than basic DEI training to achieve higher productivity, satisfaction, and revenue growth with our new corporate workshop.
This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
This event offers buyers and diverse businesses an opportunity to explore the challenges MBEs face and the benefits of partnering with them.
03/24/2025
4:00pm - 5:30pm
The Urban Grape
Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
The Chamber submitted testimony to Representative Alice Peisch and Senator Jason Lewis, the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Education and lead negotiators on the conference committee tasked with reconciling House (H.4145) and Senate (S.2365) versions of the Student Opportunity Act (SOA). The Chamber strongly urges the conference committee to retain the accountability measures included in the bill reported out by the Joint Committee on Education and passed by the House. The Chamber believes strong and transparent accountability measures like those included in the final House bill are necessary to close achievements gaps.
The Chamber’s guiding principles throughout Chapter 70 reform discussions have been the need to close persistent achievement gaps and guarantee that any investment will include the proven changes necessary to ensure results. With $1.5 billion in new spending it is imperative that the SOA is results-oriented and has discernible impacts on Massachusetts’ students. The Commonwealth’s residents and our overall economic health rely on a public education system that effectively prepares every student for future success and the workforce.
The accountability measures included in H.4145 are much stronger than those in S.2365. Under the House version of the SOA, districts are required to set targets to close achievement gaps that align with state targets. While the Senate version requires state and district targets, it omits the requirement that district targets align with state targets. Without this requirement, districts may not set aggressive targets for which they will be held accountable. Additionally, H.4145 allows the Commissioner to review the quality of three-year district plans and to require districts to amend plans that are not in compliance with the SOA. The Senate version only allows the Commissioner to recommend amendments to district plans. Finally, H.4145 requires district plans to address several evidence-based best practices listed in the SOA and outline the decision-making process for choosing which practices to implement or not in order to close achievement gaps. S.2365 does not require districts to address the list of best practices in the SOA.
Adequate spending to educate students is important. However, robust accountability measures also are essential to supporting underperforming schools and closing achievement gaps. Pairing new investments with accountability measures will ensure increases in spending result in higher graduation rates, greater student achievement, and better opportunities for all students. Without guideposts and accountability measures for districts and the state, there is no assurance that the new spending included in the SOA will close achievement gaps.
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