Board of Ed: public comment

updating as we go
Charter school org on charter school changes
to talk about charter school decision for next six months "and the context in which they're going to be received"
charter schools in Boston asking for more seats than are available
"momentium building for lifting the cap"
"demand there in Boston" 14,000 students on wait lists here we go again
668 seats in Boston to award
New coalition to be launched today: Great Schools Massachusetts (to push for cap lift)
it appears their hashtag is #GreatSchoolsMA...do with that what you will

autism endorsement regs: issue of general educators to receive endorsement
recommend including a requirement that general educators have specific coursework prior to receiving endorsement
possible confusion around what can be done with teachers with endorsement? Assignment must reflect teacher's licensure
field work needed for all candidates; requesting 150 hours for all receiving endorsement
recommend two years of prior experience on top of their underlying license
Sagan asks if there is science on the hours
one year may not be sufficient for full range of students and full levels of cooperation
skills and knowledge that are required for endorsement has full range of knowledge and endorsement

civic engagement and learning
appreciate work and responsibilities at the same time
"wish to simply address the urgency that I and others recognize must be addressed that all students must understand our government and have opportunities for participation"
student advisory has have civics as their focus
"if I were a cynical man--and I try not to be--I would say that [this report] keeps the status quo"
doesn't combat demagoguery
will testify before Legislature
hope that "I do not have to inform them that DESE prefers to take the tactic of benign neglect"
community groups that are willing and interested in working with Department on civics
hope to get started with this THIS year
hoping to see curriculum frameworks be revised: "would be nice to see a date and a commitment"
work in the existing development world
"can we take some first steps so we don't feel that the momentum has stopped"

a non-PARCC comment
Mass has a earned a good reputation
assessment system that will mark the next twenty years
"both incentives and the actionable data"
need more than just marginal improvement to an old system
how would MCAS 2.0 would be an improvement on the PARCC?
"isn't an argument to keep it"
don't believe it's a binary decision
believe MCAS 2.0 and PARCC would be roughly equivalent
need an assessment that projects out to 2035
"already anacronistic"
"assessment system that is not adaptive"
"high ceiling and low floor"
generate data on every student, so we know where every student is
no longer need proxy student
information for every student and what every student has achieved