Massachusetts will take over 4 underperforming schools

The state of Massachusetts will take over four underperforming schools in an effort to bolster student achievement. The Boston Globe says he move comes more than three years after the state designated the schools as “underperforming” -- an action that enabled the school leaders to gain sweeping powers, such as the ability to hire or terminate teachers, extend the school day, and to adopt their own academic programs. The schools: Dever and Holland elementary schools in Boston; Morgan Full Service Community School in Holyoke; and John Avery Parker Elementary School in New Bedford.