Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Meeting on Level 4 Schools and federal School Turnaround Grants

With my apologies for the names that I missed or misspelled.

Cheryl Delsignore, EAW:
teachers chose to be in the schools that they are in "believe in the students, believe in the students' families"
tough time for them, rotten place to be
Mtel survey: teachers spoke: what got them to go to most needy schools? Not money. Leadership, resources, human capital
oversized kindergarten classes w/o aide
best standards in the country, #1 in the country for the third time in a row
(Mayor comments that people with small children will get to go first)
when do they get the money? Don't know, maybe September
will there be money for planning groups? Yes
recommendations of group--decision made by superintendent
"Hope that superintendent will consider very seriously the recommendations of these groups"
DoEd support capacity be in the schools? Not sure what that will be
"what are the ways in which the department can provide value?"
ongoing
could schools get out before three years?
will there be continual replacement of the number of schools in the Level 4?
no decision made

Nicole Hazard from Worcester
parent of Chandler Elementary students (two kids started in December)
her six year old child has done a 100% turnaround
sad to lose principal
brainstorming with community partners and Senator Chandler: "a very hard decision for all of us to make"
"most passionate about support and involve parents..train parents to support teachers...for their own and other children"
plan to be at community meeting
need resources to move forward: "ask to move forward with implement those funds"
asks how she can be a party of the stakeholder group (which has 13 members and meets over 45 days in public)
willing to volunteer to support teachers in the classroom
the Mayor asks if those are public meetings
(Baehr) membership is very specific by state law: the parent group elects a member to serve
redesign team--school based implementation team of redesign--in school (heavily made up by parents, teachers, and others from school)
the Mayor stresses that these will be public meetings

Jabian Gutierrez from Worcester
legal guardian of his nephew who attends Claremont Academy
250 signatures that support voting in favor
be more engaged and be at the table
"it's about those kids"
"these conditions are tough, but I know we can get through it"

Sarai Rivera
vote in favor of these funds
"may be hot topic now"
"failure is never final...can we move out of the desert land...promised land of success...we care, we're here, we vote"
"what is the real motive of saying no tonight?"
"what if it was yours? ...the decision is not an easy one...not just one but all children...not about one or two people, but 600 children...great city and great school...great education is the right of the few...no longer stand by for the injustice...they matter to us...they matter...for the children, and for the future of this community"
"a lot has been said about where the community responsibility should lie"
"as voters we ask you to do this today"

parent of 5 children in the WPS
member of the Latino clergy
understand responsibility members of their community
parental responsibility should not be held solely responsible for decade of underperformance
only ones that can truly claim exemption from this are the children
only ones that matter, that can claim a valid need are the children
"how do we decide to turn our backs on a genuine and valid need of children to give face to demands of adults? matter more than the security of adults?"
Educationally every child in this city does matter
"what would be a better plan than the money that's out there for these two schools?"

pastor in the city of the Worcester, across from City Hall
thinks the vote should be yes
co-chair of Latino minister alliance
wants to talk about solutions: willing to get involved in WPS
"are here to walk forward and help"
"get that money and get people involved"

Tanya Davis
"a lot of members were talking about losing jobs, have degrees and can get other jobs"
"underperforming for 15 years...give them some credit for that"
"they can go to Shrewsbury or Westboro...need to start new from scratch with these kids"
"what are you saying that they stayed in an underperforming school? The paycheck is why they stay" (said to catcalls)

Mr. Scott (a regular attender of our meetings)
went to Elizabeth Street school, graduated from North High on Salisbury Street
"you'll never get a quality of education that you'll get in the city of Worcester"
follow-up teachers, follow-up parents, working with Black Legacy
concern that the criteria that we are trying to meet is the University Park level
advance at any level
"I'm an old school model. Once you apply the basics, ABCD, you can learn everything else"
"I'm waiting to see how advanced kids are in June"
education is a real concern
"I think after 15 years if someone is failing at that point, need to sit down and say at that point to get someone new in, and get that education standard up to where it needs to be"

Theona Lawrence
parent of two children at other schools
"my question is what is the problem with letting them go so we can have change in the school"
the Mayor explains how this works again
If they don't do that

woman who lives in Southbridge, daughter is a North High grad
models throughout the country: inner city black youth doing phenomenal
"a little disturbed that children who are growing up in the inner city are not doing as well as children who are white and growing up in the suburbs"
"expectation that all children will do well no matter where they live"

Mother of three: one at West Tatnuck...
school choice parents--"if it has to change a lot of the teachers, it might not be good for the children"
for these schools, what are their routines?
"what do they have to do besides changing the principal?"
comprehensive turnaround plan, is the answer of the deputy commissioner
"we have the Youth Center that haven't been used for years"
grasp this help from the community, so they can pass and succeed for the school itself

the Mayor points out that the budget proposes to cut tutors and assistant principals that do some of this work

John Olivera
student at Claremont Academy, president of student council
one of the concerns is keeping teachers
"problem with saying teachers are the problem...teachers are vital...teachers are everything to me..shouldn't immediately say that...prefer that we be a little bit more respectful...they work hard every day"

Melanie Gallagher, teacher of Union Hill
thanks the previous speaker
"as a teacher, I know you have to take the money...I'm the one without the glue sticks...my principal gave us money for glue sticks...I understand the need for the money...I want to know what is going to change in my classroom next year."
has 25 five year olds with an aide half the day
"no one has come to say that"
"I have to spread them out"
"we have the STEP program in our classroom...we need help...are they really going to come to my classroom? We don't need new curriculum, we need help."
"I really would like smaller classes"
Boone says she will speak with the faculty soon about what is working well and what will be improved
data system is being improved by state
Baehr: "the challenge is to use the grant in a way that funds immediate needs, as well as long term change"
"and now we're gonna get money to do exactly the same thing again..I hope that it does not go away again"
Baehr: "I want to be clear the federal dollars go away in three years."
the Mayor: "I think that I speak for the committee that those dollars will be put into the classroom."

greatest teachers in the whole country here in Worcester
"the federal government is out of control on this...in the meantime, we need to take the money, we can't go without taking the money"
we have Level 3 schools and they need support, too
city puts in minimal money
"as a city, we have to come up with the money to support everyone"
"more resources for our schools"

teacher at Union Hill
"a lot of blame is being placed on staff...money will raise MCAS...if the resources will raise MCAS scores, how can the blame be put on the staff when there aren't the resources there yet? And how can next year's MCAS scores count if the money doens't kick in until the fall?"
Baehr: school in Lowell that is Level 4, near school that's doing much better: looking at what's going on ten blocks away, and not just pure MCAS scores
some schools are outperforming their demographics
challenge to Level 4 schools: if we're going to help solve this problem, we can't be the same department
"really important challenge"

Latino Education Institute: one observation
"I think that what's happening...4 out of 10 kids will not graduate from high school" (that would be Latino kids)
"when we talk about the issue of states' rights, for our ears...when schools are not working for a key part of the population for a long time, it's time for the feds to step in"
monitoring this law...first real tool that state has, for monitoring school board
"that Worcester unite, not level of anger, status quo has not worked for far too long"
"reform is reform for all...don't ask the community to come after it's done"
maybe the partners can be higher ed or higher ed plus

Rosemary Ford
chose to stay at Union Hill School
"welcome...I have seen no alliance with Union Hill School...have one parent volunteer...we cannot do it alone"
"when are we going to stop with the MCAS? "
she has her growth map
"don't tell me that we aren't working hard at Union Hill School"
"we have had choices to move"
"we care about those children, they are our children"
"let's get rid of this MCAS...my children went elsewhere...I lived in fear that they could not do the MCAS...shame on people who hold these children to that standard"
"we have to fight together!"

Councilor Toomey
"Worcester is an engaged community...has the possibility to work within.."
asks that Baehr consider bringing back communities working together
"what is going to happen with all of our other schools?"
urban communities are suffering because of the way the tax structure is set up
"have exemplary educators here...and phenomenal parents"


Cecilia Courtney
parent, citizen...following on the heels of the Level 4 schools are priority schools (Level 3)
"take these funds and leverage them throughout the city"
"those schools are just okay...compared to our neighboring towns, they're just okay...Worcester just pales"
"homebuyers are opting out of Worcester...hard to compete with this"
"so many of you have been here for so many years"
"city needs to be more independent and less dependent on state funds"

one of the pastor gets up with one more question: asks if we can use money for more than three years
working on Level 3 to prevent falling to Level 4
Boone: improvement strategy based on years of data to align instructional practice
focus on the lower end of Level 3
discouraging to children and teachers to go to a school without chalk and gluesticks

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