"If Not You, Who Else?": a year end post of thanks

I'll do my usual year end "most read" wrap-up in the next few days, but given the year it has been--and it has been a year!--I wanted to do a post of thanks.

Sixth floor (you read that right!) windows of the
Durkin Administration Building, 20 Irving Street.
This is the top of the tower.

First, on a personal note, the support I got from the educational community, both here in Worcester and across the state, when my mom died in February was something I still keenly appreciate. Thank you for that.

Worcester got a 50% turnover in their school committee this year, and gosh, what a change! We're ensuring public process happens; we changed our rules to ensure it (and thanks to the Research Bureau for noting the rules change and the focus). We're sticking to actual district governance (and filing items that stray offline!). When something is already in subcommittee, we don't file it again! When we don't agree--and we don't, always--it's much more often over principle. Subcommittees are sticking to their work and getting their work done.
I cannot tell you of what a night and day difference working with this committee has been (and this is to give due respect to some good colleagues have had in the past). Trusting that work is going to get done, that discussion is going to stay on topic, that disagreement isn't going to be because of who brought something up, that we're going to focus on goals and policy and budget and the superintendent...it's an enormous, enormous change. I am profoundly, both as a member and as someone who lives in Worcester, grateful for that.

...which brings me to the other big change, which is the superintendent. Let me first back up and say again, though, what I said in May: the superintendent search--a thorough, national, thoughtful, professional, standards-based search--was the work of many, many people. The prior committee committed to the national search and hired the firm. The new committee kept that commitment. The community committed, as well. The search committee was thorough, thoughtful, professional, and stringent. The full committee did their due diligence--including those district visits!--and carried through a careful process. Worcester wanted this, at bottom, and, as someone who runs searches as part of my job, having my hometown want a real search that did a thorough job is still something for which I am so very grateful. And still a little amazed. And Bill Shaner is right: it felt a little miraculous, but really, it was about people insisting on a culture of professional excellence.
And we can have that! I'm really thankful that this carried through.

And so to Dr. Monárrez. In re-reading what I said that night in April (eight months ago today, in fact!), and I have only seen confirmed what I brought back. She's gone out and listened (and listened and listened) to people across the district (and the city) as her very first priority. She's also set up systems to keep that going forward. And they're doing real work (ask the student advisory!)! She's reorganized the administration to ensure the actual work of the district--students learning--is supported appropriately. She's also cleaned up outstanding issues--the MOU with the police department, the strange situation of the grants department not having fiscal oversight, the backlog of questions from the committee, the lacks of relationships with the unions and with community agencies, and on and on--that were left by those who went before. And in many cases, there are systems and processes being put into place, so things that come up have places to go, which they absolutely did not before. 
In short, we're acknowledging what's broken and we're working to fix it, in ways that building on strengths and bring in new supports where we're weak. 
And I want to note: that includes acknowledging strengths we have had right along in some administrative spots, and her recognition of that only makes me more confident in her leadership.
From a committee member perspective, I know who to ask questions of. I know I'll get answers back (and quickly! And accurately!). I know when we go into a meeting, the report of the superintendent is going to be relevant to the work of the district, that our questions will be answered or followed up on, and it will be productive. I'm also so many times better informed as to what is going on in the district now.
I am so profoundly grateful for all of these changes.
Also, if you haven't yet met her, she's genuinely great. We're very lucky.

Let me also note that the changes above have left plenty of people clearing up issues, recreating systems, working to give support and oversight that has been lacking, and was a lack not of their own making. We also have acting principals and assistant principals and others stepping up into leadership to help right the ship. I'm grateful for those doing that. 

Did you hear we took on district transportation fully in house?
Did you?
Did you?
(ok, I'll stop) This is a BIG DEAL about which we've been talking for YEARS, and gosh, so much work but also heart and soul has gone into it! I stopped by district Transportation before the break, and I wish I could bottle how much "making things work" is in that building. I've said before: this is another one that was taken on as a community project, and families came alongside those working for the district in understanding that we were making a new thing fly. We've had so much good will this school year in this project, and I'm profoundly grateful for that, as well as for everyone who is making it work.
(And if you have nice things to say about your bus drivers and monitors, send it along! They share it!)

And yes, I'm chairing Finance and Operations this term, and I'm really grateful for that. 

I never wrote a separate blog post about how profoundly grateful I felt walking out of the public hearing for the proposed Worcester Cultural Academy Charter School, so let me say now, how grateful that made me. First, there was an incredibly high level of organization in the administration and with the Committee in the responses, ensuring that the various weaknesses of the proposal were covered, often by those speaking in their own area of expertise. That is absolutely not something we have experienced in quite some time. There was also a high level of coordination with the EAW (more relationship building!) on what topics were being covered, what work was being done ahead, and more. And finally, but most importantly, the outpouring of community comment--from parents, from educators, from community members--noting not only that they didn't have a need for this school, but that they did not want their district harmed was really incredible. And again, much like what we're seeing with district administration: it is not that WPS is perfect, but that it recognizes the needs to be met and is working to improve, and it's doing so with the community. As much as I would have liked to have spent all that time and energy differently, I am grateful for the community response.

And there are so many more people and areas I could talk about locally, but I tried to cover all of that in my post from Thanksgiving!

On a state level, we are going to have a new Secretary of Education, and he's been a Gateway city superintendent. And Jim Peyser, will, we hope, never cast another vote at the Board of Education. 

We're no longer going to have Governor Baker's "I underbudgeted and didn't meet basic needs, but now there is a supplemental budget, and look! One time funding!" method of funding education. And we won't have his strange implicit hostility to public education, and his lack of wanting to understand anything about city or rural or regional or anything-outside-his-personal-experience schools. 

We're moving into what I think is going to be a third year phase in of the Student Opportunity Act, which is the most profound change to the funding of Massachusetts education in a generation. 

As some of us have been saying over and over, ESSER spending, at the halfway mark, is right on time. Those who are still talking about districts "sitting on cash" don't know how federal reimbursement works and aren't keeping up with district spending. Those in districts have known this was the case; I am grateful to see the national press is SLOWLY catching up! 

The federal budget that passed last week was not a disaster for public education. Keeping grant increases up with inflation is the underlying challenge, so that's useful. 

This is absolutely one of those posts that could go on forever, but I'm going to close. Thanks.

________________________________________________ 

The post title is from Terry Pratchett's  novel Only You Can Save Mankind (and if you haven't read Pratchett, what are you waiting for?)

on the emergency response to Uvalde

While the police response to the shootings at Robb Elementary School have rightly received significant attention, this devastating report that was released last week (coordinated work between the Texas Tribune and The Washington Post) is, for anyone whose job it is to worry about such things, a must read. 

The flawed coordination among police and medical crews echoes missteps during other mass shootings, despite the development of recommended practices after the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School. In several of those cases, the communication problems resulted in delays in getting medical care for victims.

There seems a good question as to if several of those who died would have survived given better organized response.

What I find personally most appalling is that we practice and practice responses with children that have limited substantiation in making them safe, while the adults whose job it actually is to plan and coordinate...haven't, it appears. At least there.  

Late December updates on the Worcester Public Schools

 ...largely drawn from the Worcester School Committee's weekly update from Dr. Monárrez...

First, did you see Dr. Monárrez's holiday update?

Also, congratulations to Dr. Monárrez on being one of Worcester Magazine's "20 Women to Watch" for 2023! January 1 will of course be sixth months of her being in the position.

On a much less happy note, the Mass School Building Authority has again not accepted Burncoat High School into their core program for a major renovation or rebuild. Earlier this month, the district was notified by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges that the school will remain on warning status with regard to Learning Resources (which is the building), with NEASC requesting a progress report on that by October 2023. Given the discussion at MSBA's Board meeting on Wednesday's meeting, and the Board's vote to raise the reimbursement rate for buildings from October acceptance forward, the state's capped resources for school building are being strained beyond what currently is provided for. While I've no doubt we'll apply again by the April 2023 deadline, this is going to take more than reapplications. Stay tuned.

On a brighter facilities note, all the ESSER contracts for facilities work are now in place; expect that update on the January 23 Finance and Operation meeting agenda.
(That's not only HVAC and repairs; it's bottle filling stations!)

A few admin notes:
As was announced at our later November meeting, Annie Azarloza is the new Chief Academic Support Officer; this is the position that was created to oversee (as it says) all the academic supports (special education, nursing, athletics, all of the social emotional supports, and the alternative programs), while Marie Morse oversees all academics.
As she's been evaluating, the district has found some urgent attention needed for our homeless students, so Maura Morrison, who has been the Manager of Social Emotional Learning, is going to be working directly on that. 
Also, Jennifer Boulais, who was the Human Resources Director, has stepped down from that position, and Yeu Kue, who most recently was the principal at Quinsigamond Elementary, is in the position as Acting Director. 
I'm adding a link to the WPS org chart to "Helpful Links" on the left margin for anyone like me wanting to be sure they're clear on where the lines are.

And finally, congratulations to our Adult Learning Center for being awarded $731,719 for their programming! One of my favorite places in the district! 

Board of Ed for December: Southbridge

 It has been a very long time since any of the receivers reported to the Board. Since this is literally the only public body to which they have any smidge of accountability at all, we're overdue. Southbridge has been in receivership since 2016.
This is Jeff Villar who has been in the position since 2018

"building capacity in Southbridge"
Bringing achievement levels to what students deserve
"has taught me some lessons"
"every year we go back to the drawing board"
"much like an elaborate sand castle" by November know if the plans are working
"building systems that will outlast all of us" will stand the test of time like the medieval castle
fill gaps in capacity with outside resources
multitiered systems of supports for children
schools are ecosystems; levels that have the greatest impact on ecosystem
improve systems around climate and culture
impact of what adults are doing differently
UConn supporting climate and culture work using PBIS across all schools
"use this work as an example of a scaffolding"
collection of classroom data
Hill for Literacy
Instruction Partners
Looney Math
Building data systems to inform what's going on with the district
"various dashboards that we now have for decision making in the district"
"I've had many meetings about how people feel and what people think...asking people 'well how do you know?' is a really important question"
Johnston praises him for having elementary schools open
"our teachers were amazing coming in to work every day, taking care of our kids"
"it's pretty difficult, because you have to set conditions where people are forced to go to work, essentially, because it's right for kids, and in our district, they did, and they did a great job"
"impact was tremendous"
this is your reminder that there so far has been no correlation found between in person instruction and student achievement
"it's amazing what you saw and what you dealt with"
90% high needs, huge instances of trauma in our young kids, and fighting in older kids
...which would also be trauma and it's troubling that he doesn't frame it that way?
added social workers, deans, assistant principals, after and before school programming
didn't have digital technology for three or four months at the beginning of the pandemic 
"staffing turnover has been dramatic since this"
"very difficult for teachers to go in every day...has made our hiring very difficult"
doing signing bonuses
thankful for funding
74% high needs to 90% high needs
"We have also seen the minority population shift dramatically"...it's essentially flipped
"particularly at the high school where our data are really bad"
student advocates: supporting student needs; advocating for students, helping solve school related issues; "jury's out" on this endeavor, not inexpensive
shift in grades over two quarters
"clearly the gold standard assessment are the MCAS results"
"I try to create an environment where we don't teach directly to a test but we teach quality curriculum that are standard based and aligned with state expectations"
cites some MCAS results
Middle school was considered biggest challenge across the district
"middle school can be a difficult time for children"
dramatic changes in climate and culture
says in 2018-19 school was "pretty chaotic" with 443 days of out of school suspension 
21-22 had 42 out of school suspensions, which he says is still too high, but says the school is "quiet and orderly"
this is my note that this only tells you specifically what it tells you, which is out of school suspensions; it does not tell you how the school feels or operates
teaching expectations around behavior; "suspension as a punishment is ineffectual"
cites as a challenge "declining local investment in the schools" as it has gone down every year since FY21
their school district used to be funded over net school spending and now they're "bumping up against the minimal."
I believe that I am in the position to say: yeah, it's tough, isn't it? 
"what we've got is increases in state funding but there isn't a local match"
need at least $28M in school renovations pre-pandemic
have an RFP out for an update "and hopefully seek some state funding for some major building repairs"
nope, sorry, there isn't state funding for that, just rebuilding or renovating
"that is an obstacle that is looming for us for sure"
"never before in my career have I faced a struggle like this to attract individuals to come and work in a district"
"what frustrates me is I have the ability to create a lot of positions and do things differently in a receivership model, but it is all about talent"
peaked at 77.8% retention, now have dropped off again to 65.8
that is really not good
it was 57.9% in 2019
bright spot to work with many local people; "19% of staff are Hispanic, more than doubling that rate"
have created different recognitions for staff
advancing coursework for staff
every Wednesday have professional development
Elevate K-12 "which is remote instruction into our high schools" as they don't have algebra and chemistry teachers; facilitator in the building, teacher is remote
"it is technically working" but not what students would have asked for

Moriarty: "we are in a way your school board, in a way"
seeing what looms large "exactly what I would have expected to see"
"incumbent on us to reflect on"

Lombos: what's the end game? What's success?
she says "after four years" though he hasn't been there for four years
"My job is to work myself out of a job"
people asked how long he'd be there "they'd had nine different people prior to me" of which at least three were the receivers or filling in as for the state
have moved to a discussion of "when will we end"
specific language about engaging with community leaders
say "we need to show on dramatic improvement on all the indicators"
except the state has shown no ability to do that
"not only to accomplish that...but to get some roots in there"
"our system has to be designed to meet their needs"

Hills: what are examples of things that are either easier or different as a receivership district?
Villar: not a job I would have taken as a superintendent
"I would have been fired twice maybe three times lately if I was just a local"
he talks about implementing curriculum
claims that not everyone believes as he does that kids can achieve
"some really complicated structures in place"
very real worry as superintendent worry over losing job
but it also means he doesn't have to take the district or community with him, and he isn't
Hills: early literacy
What resources might be needed? 
MCAS goals?
Villar: using local assessments; Dibels
takes teacher training in moving them forward on top of Dibels
MCAS is "a long term project"
"gold standard"
"need to grow that faster"
larger measure
need talent: "we need to be able to attract people, retain people"
I wonder if it occurs to anyone that the lack of retention might be due to the lack of working to bring community with him 

Plankey: my first full year of high school
perservance of district is really really admirable
student support: thought peer mentoring; thoughts on that?

Hills notes losing quorum shortly

Villar: not to the extent that we should
"we candidly need more student voice in our system"

Stewart: "you are the right person in the right time in the right place in Southbridge"
superintendents educating in the pandemic "said the same things"
they didn't, though
Stewart: this isn't the work of the schools alone

Hills gives Peyser the last word and invites him to gavel the meeting to a close
Peyser says a really important message to hear
And asks for a motion to adjourn

Board of Ed: gifted and talented education

 the backup is here

I'm coming back here after a bit of this to say: we are not operating from a common understanding of what gifted and talented even is, and this presentation is a very clear demonstration of that. It's all over the place. 

Riley: maximize potential for all of our students
Department is hiring for this, but he suggests that this should perhaps be part of a larger conversation about meeting the needs of all students

and now the Lawrence High School theater troupe is performing

Regina Robinson, Deputy Commissioner presenting
"centering equity"
whose voice is heard, who's going to benefit, who is going to be most burdened
Thomas Zorich, center for strategic initiatives
will be turning to school level presenters
continuum K-12

Stacey Ciprich, Abbott Lawrence Academy
Lawrence High School had 6 separate high schools when entered receivership
receivership changed that model
Abbott is is an accelerated studies program
priority: rigorous academic instruction, robust enrichment, partnership with families
Cambre Santos-Tavares: now a Spanish teacher, graduate of Abbott in its first year
graduated with a year and a half of college credit
tools for being successful in life
junior class vice president Maya Salazar
wanted to be challenged while still doing things like theater
build really close relationships with teachers; teachers not interrupted 
talent in our school
"has made me believe in myself in many ways"
students are required to do 25 hours of community service by the time they graduate; and must participate in at least one sport or extracurricular
early college partnership with Merrimack College
put students in a college-level biology class "when they had never even been in a high school biology class"
Ciara Sem, junior at Abbott, speaking about early college
preparing us for the future in keeping up with pace and balancing requirements
"have learned so much and have done so much"

MCAS and AP results

Craven says this is a great example of how receivership works and that the Lawrence School Committee never would have created this
Q on admission: a committee that considers admissions
entrance exam, essay, short answers, recommendations from middle schools
average of about 1 in 3 admissions (250 to 300 applications a year for a class of 100)

Research Questions:
What are current practices and policies
What is known about academic practices
looking at available data: "MCAS is not an assessment of gifted students"
biggest dropoff is between third and fourth grade
top 10 or so percent over fifth and sixth
West notes that the norm is that not all would stay, in any case (good point!)
Hills: percentage of students at end point? (to West who agrees)
"excellence gap" is differences between subgroups performing at the highest levels
Massachusetts has some of the highest excellence gaps for low income students

Social emotional well being of advanced and gifted students via survey
Black and Hispanic students reported less positive school climates, less support
students with disabilities reported less positive climates, lower engagement, less support
which I would think is universally true

and now we have a remote presentation from Center for Talent Development
"implementation of evidence-based practices"
"a continuum of services"
Talent development happens over time and student needs vary 
each child receives "a challenging and enriching education"
we now have a crosswalk that these out of state remote presenters have created of the Massachusetts MTSS model with their "continuum of services" model
This is a mesmerizing waste of time of a presentation.
some students we don't know are gifted until they have things that make them interested

Eric Plankey sees overlap with student interest in vocational educational: students with high interest are those who should be getting in
Moriarty: MTSS, early literacy; concept can transfer to gifted and talented
Stewart: family engagement

so all of that took two hours. Then they took a half hour plus break. Then they came back.

Then they did this for another hour. I do not have the will to summarize another hour here. 

Board of Ed for December: opening comments

 The agenda is here. The livestream is here. 
This is the final Board of Ed meeting of the Baker administration, and thus the final meeting for Secretary Peyser.

updating as we go

Let me say up front: I'm not here for nice words about Baker or Peyser and public education. You'll have to go find that somewhere else. If you fought off privatization efforts (remember Baker's question 2 ad?) and got the SOA signed, cheers. We made it.

Public comment: 
gifted and talented education
MCAS very inept at identifying where students are
Aversion to acceleration in this state
"I see a structural policy failure in this Department in this topic"

sophomore at Revere High School who participated in the Biggest Winner Math Challenge
"in those kids I could see a pleasure in seeking more knowledge"
"I could see the changes in the students that came" in every passing week
changed her perspective on school
teachers put in school "to help and guide me"
sophomore at Easton High School
was in Brockton gifted and talented program
Biggest Winner Math Challenge provides opportunity for those without such a program
helped learn teaching and leadership skills
sophomore at Brockton High
use math in the real world; changed the way I viewed math
worked in the video series
junior at Foxborough Regional Charter School
took over parts of the schedule after the first week 
making connections through humor
junior at Philips Academy Andover
strong interest in STEM; team leader of the Biggest Winner Math challenge
worked collaboratively to make things more engaging for the students 
sophomore at Revere High, who serves on Board of Ed's gifted and talented council
starts by recognizing Eric Plankey, student member of the Board
in then team leader in Biggest Winner Math challenge
was empowered to take on leadership roles in community
"discovered an interest in teaching I didn't know I had"
"teens need to have the opportunity to work for more programs that work for them"
Shashoy Bailey, chemistry teacher at Discovery High School in Springfield
instructor in Biggest Winner Math challenge
emigration from Jamaica
Attended school in Springfield and chose to go back to Springfield to teach
often one of the only or only Black student in classes in engineering program
systematic lack of access to resources for Black and brown children
need more programs that schools can easily access and provide for their students
seen development in program over time

Senator Nick Collins
speaking for concerns about school safety in Boston
which is not the correct place to raise at all
flagging school safety concerns to the state board (?)
likens medal detectors to library check outs
raises Sandy Hook Elementary
"I appreciate the role this Board has been playing the city of Boston"
has little confidence in Boston School Committee

Max Page, president, Mass Teachers Association
congratulations to all of us for having passed the Fair Share Amendment 

call for lifting "artificially low" inflation cap in the Student Opportunity Act
Right to strike
retirement 
end high stakes testing and receivership
poses some questions to pose to the Southbridge receiver
"how much evidence do we need" of the catastrophe of this experiment?

Hills: Commissioner's assessment subcommittee
set out a structure; and he's talking about a memo that we do not have
"student achievement how we weigh our success or failure as a Board" weighed at fifty percent
Moriarty on pandemic recovery and literacy, because he has this hobbyhorse committee that isn't under purview
"good meaningful robust discussions"

Craven turns it to Peyser
Peyser who is home sick; he's been on the Board for eighteen years
and his list of things they did that I don't think are the things are important at all
welcomes Pat Tutwiler

Commissioner: Boston Public Schools latest
equity analysis for transformational schools as compared to non
literacy focus: getting some traction
transportation: still concerned
concerned about bathroom renovations: "timelines blown early in the process"
"still have ongoing leadership challenges"
"I guess I'm disappointed that we've had elected officials come to the chamber numerous times" and it feels like balls are being dropped
early indications that Superintendent Skipper will be excellent
safety audit coming
Craven: bullying and special education
Riley: special education concerns; bullying
Hills: transportation: why did people think it positive in June?
how do you go from over 30 people interested to one bidder?

vo-tech admissions: policies being reviewed
following up with some districts that may still be impeding equitable admissions
Moriarty: what is being done to expand programs?

Riley opines off the cuff that he disagrees with the MTA prioritizing the right to strike

list of grants in learning loss, and now they're talking about a grant that I don't know what the conversation is about

This decision matters

 In the matter of Foote et al v. Ludlow School Committee et al:

while parents have the option to send their children to public schools, they do not have constitutional rights to dictate how those schools educate children

Covered here in MassLive, which further notes:

 “Since July 1, 2012, Massachusetts law has provided that ‘no person shall be excluded from or discriminated against . . . in obtaining the advantages, privileges and courses of study of [a] public school on account of . . . gender identity,’” his ruling quoted.

Sharing some mid-December updates from Dr. Monárrez

 Drawn from the weekly School Committee update as well as Thursday's School Committee meeting:

First, as you may have seen on Twitter:

The Worcester Public Schools have been awarded the Meritorious Budget award for the TENTH consecutive year for the district's FY23 budget document. The national award recognizes excellence in budget presentation. 
I could go on at length about how incredibly valuable this is to me as a member of the Worcester School Committee, and maybe at some point I will, but for now, let me put this way: I had my budget book open again this morning, six months after we passed the budget. It's a reference I use all the time, and it makes me better at my job. I'm grateful that this continues to be the standard Worcester strives for.

Second, as was discussed at Thursday's meeting, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Worcester Public Schools and the Worcester Police Department is now signed; you can find it in the backup to the agenda here. Though it is in effect immediately, Dr. Monárrez noted at the meeting that part of what will be happening now is putting together protocols for implementation with district staff.
As it was a year ago yesterday that the school safety task force report was taken up by the Worcester School Committee, I am glad to have this done. I know that it was a great deal of difficult work.

On Thursday's meeting, Dr. Monárrez reported out on the information she's gathered at this point on her listening and learning sessions (that link is to my Dropbox with a color edition of the report). Note that what we're doing at this point is gathering information for her goals as superintendent, on which the School Committee will evaluate her as required by the state, and also the beginnings of the new strategic plan. You can watch that part of the meeting starting here.

I also do want to note that there are a host of things of interest to students and families--dress code, provision of menstrual supplies, transportation, and more--that are work in subcommittees, which get reported out at our meetings. Those reports started Thursday about an hour and twenty minutes in. 

as always, more as I have it!

A Friday news drop that isn't terrible: Healey announces Secretary of Education pick

There was a truism in Massachusetts education circles during the height of the pandemic that all the bad policy updates dropped on Fridays. Perhaps the Healey administration is planning to reverse this trend!

Governor-elect Healey announced this morning that she has chosen Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, former superintendent of the Lynn Public Schools, as her Secretary of Education. 

I would feel that I am not doing my job as a blog on public education in Worcester if I didn't open with this:

Although his mother taught for 22 years, Tutwiler said he found a passion for teaching on his own.

"I started school thinking I wanted to get into business, but I realized that wasn’t me," said Tutwiler. "As I was reflecting on what to do with my life at Holy Cross, I got involved with a program called Raynor’s Readers, in which members of the (Crusaders basketball) team would read to students at Worcester public schools.

"In that program, while just sitting and reading with students, I realized the meaning and value of literacy, how powerful it could be and how it could open doors," said Tutwiler. "I guess, as they say, teaching was in my blood."

...from here, anywhere?

Given who the Governor is, I feel I should also mention that he was a forward on the Holy Cross basketball team while in college (he's class of 1997, and if someone doesn't work in that he's number 9 in career blocks at Holy Cross, someone isn't doing their background research!).
He has a master's degree from Harvard Graduation School of Education, his doctorate is from the Lynch School at BC. His dissertation is here; this recent Globe article shows the timeliness.

He taught history (and coached basketball) at Brighton High School in Boston; he then was dean at Westford Academy (which is the public high school for Westford; don't let the name fool you); then principal of Wayland High School. He was there for five years before he went back to Brighton High as headmaster (which is what Boston was calling principals). 
He then went to Lynn as Deputy Superintendent, which he served as for three years before the Lynn School Committee unanimously appointed him superintendent in 2018 after the retirement of Cathy Latham.

You most recently probably saw him testifying before the Board of Ed in April as part of the panel the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents put together to talk about; the full testimony is here. I want to note two things about his testimony:

1. He started by talking about this year being the most challenging year he's ever faced as an educator. If you are around educators at all, that is the common sentiment; you'll hear it from teachers, from principals, from anyone in schools, as well as from administration. That's channeling the actual feelings of the ground level straight to the Board. That's powerful.
   
   
2. What does he lead with? Mental health, and not just for students, but for staff.

And this, overall, is my sense--let me note that I do not know him personally--of Dr. Tutwiler. He gets it. He's an educator at heart. 

And he has decades of creditability from working in public districts, largely URBAN districts, in Massachusetts. 

The Lynn Public Schools he became superintendent of, for example, looked like this (this is before he became superintendent; without a change in the foundation budget, it only got worse):

and this:

This isn't someone under illusions under what running a school district without budgetary reform has been like. And Lynn even earlier this year had to scramble to meet net school spending.

I am absolutely certain we're going to hear "but the Barr Foundation!" as an objection. First, maybe I'm getting old, but the concerns I've seen on Barr don't seem to be borne out by much beyond "it's a foundation." I'd rather not have private foundations determining research, experimentation, and good thinking, too, but in the meantime, let's judge on what they're actually doing, please? Tutwiler has been there since August, which means (and I don't say this disparagingly), there hasn't really been much in terms of that.

And on the other hand, we have decades of, for example, this:

Just the mere fact that the superintendent of the state’s fifth-largest school district was in the building affirmed the hands-on, be-there approach he has brought to Lynn’s top administrative position in his first year.

That isn't about the ties: it's about the relationship with staff and students.

I'm hopeful today. 

yes, I'm in

I, as usual, don't intend to do a lot here with actual campaign stuff--it isn't why I blog--but I did want to note that I announced this morning that I'll be running for one of the two at-large Worcester School Committee seats in November 2023.

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All of that will always be over at tracynovick.org (where, yes, you can donate!).

A post on Sonia Chang-Díaz

 ...in this world of ours none of us can afford to be lookers-on, the critics standing on the sidelines.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, of his brother President John F. Kennedy, in his foreword to Profiles in Courage

 The danger of writing laudatory pieces of people who are ending one portion of their professional lives but still have many more years of good work ahead of them is that it ends of sounding like an eulogy. So let me start this by saying that I am unswervingly confident that Sonia Chang-Díaz will be making good trouble in new ways, and I am looking forward to seeing what those are.

However, she does close her time in the State Senate this month--her closing remarks from the Senate are here, about 44 minutes in, and if you're around education in Massachusetts, do watch--and I feel as if this blog wouldn't be doing its job if I didn't pause to talk a bit about that. If you search her name here, after all, there are literally pages of results, which start with her being appointed Senate chair of Education. She has shaped education policy in Massachusetts for the past decade (at least), and she's reshaped education funding for decades to come.

...and that WILL be in her eulogy!

And I know that this blog post won't come close to doing her justice.

People run for public office--indeed, get involved in government at all--for many reasons; to know that people's lives can be improved (or not) by public policy is one. One thing I have ongoingly appreciated in working with the Senator's office over the years is they (and in Senate offices, it is 'they') get that the details of a bill MATTER.

If that meant that they needed to know charter reimbursement, the foundation budget, or any other aspect of a thing backwards, forwards, and upside down, they'd do so, because without a doubt they got knowing that level of detail, then knowing what needed to be changed, was what actually changes people's lives. 

And of course, it has. 

In holding public hearings across the state, and then in hammering out the details of what became the Foundation Budget Review Commission's report, something I always appreciated (beyond the fact that the summer of "how many items are going to be in the final report," she was expecting a child; never let anyone tell you that you can't do things pregnant!) was how often in chairing, she'd stop to respond to testimony or to a comment, to make it clear that she heard the person. Because, again, it's always been about people for Sonia. 

And that, of course, is why she chose as she did (quoted by WBZ):

I don't regret giving the speech that I gave at the Boston MLK breakfast in 2017, saying that our communities were tired of hearing excuses year after year about why they should wait longer for real criminal justice reform. I don't regret kicking off the campaign for the Student Opportunity Act in 2019 by making it clear that my first loyalty was to students and not to Senate leadership. 

I know what these things cost: political safety, a committee chairmanship, my position in leadership, probably many thousands of dollars in pension benefits. 

But I also know what they helped win. I know there are kids in our state whose schools have been able to hire social workers that they never had the budget for before. I know that there are kids who have access to diversion programs instead of incarceration. And I know that I would make those trades again, every time.

It is also why she ran for Governor. Because policy matters, because people matter.
That is a brave thing to do. And we don't have enough people like that in politics. 

We are losing one, at least from the state Senate, this month, and I am sadder than I can tell you to see that. 

But the picture above, I think, tells the story: it may have been the Governor who signed his name, but the win was Sonia's, and the victory was all of ours, most of all our children's. 

I didn't recognize the final quote with which Senator Eldridge lauded her yesterday, so I looked it up; it's from Cesar Chavez, as he closed a hunger strike in 1972 in support of farmworkers. I agree it's a fitting close:

It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice in we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on this earth.

It is an awesome opportunity.

I'll miss you in the Senate, Sonia, but I'll be looking forward to what you do next. 

Updated FAQ on ESSER

 ...was released last Wednesday. Looking for shorter things to read?

K-12 Dive notes the FAQ "provides more details on allowances and restrictions for outlays, but doesn’t give any more information on extensions for investment of the final two aid allocations."

Future Ed (in their ongoingly updated blog post) notes the significant focus on facilities: 

• Confirms that districts can use ESSER money for construction projects, but provides a series of requirements for such projects and repeats its cautions that facilities work may run up against the deadlines for spending the federal money.
• Clarifies that districts cannot use the federal money for athletic facilities--such as stadiums, playing fields and swimming pools--"unless there is a connection between the expenditure and preventing, preparing for, or responding to Covid."
• Offers recommendations for state approval processes of district construction projects, including a checklist for local education agencies and provisions for historic preservation and protecting tribal lands. The projects do not require an environment impact assessment under federal law. If a state is pursuing capital projects with its share of the funding it must receive approval from the U.S. Department of Education.
• Provides detailed guidance and resources for districts renovating or replacing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
• Allows the use of federal funds to keep schools open after floods, tornados and other natural disasters "in limited circumstances," stressing that districts should rely primarily on FEMA funds.
• Allows for spending on gasoline and utilities when necessary to keep schools open and running.
• Provides details about how to dispose of equipment and supplies purchased with ESSER dollars but no longer needed.
• Allows the use of funds for purchasing and installing video security systems in limited circumstances "for promoting safe and secure schools." But the department cautions districts to provide the necessary privacy protections and civil rights considerations.

Watch Burlington, VT

You may remember that there was a significant write-up in EdWeek  back in October of the Burlington High School (VT)'s struggle with PCBs. 
As the article notes, this is but one example of a much larger issue.

There's a small update: the district has filed a lawsuit against Monsanto. As their lawyer notes:

“Despite knowing that PCBs were highly toxic to humans and animals, Monsanto manufactured and sold these toxic chemicals for decades and misled the public about the dangers posed by its products," said Matt Pawa, partner at Seeger Weiss LLP. "Because of Monsanto's deception, Burlington High School and Burlington Technical Center are contaminated with levels of PCBs significantly in excess of health and safety standards, rendering the buildings unusable and unsafe. We look forward to holding Monsanto accountable.”

It does not appear that the defendants are going to accept this sitting down:

“This lawsuit has no merit but hopefully it will shed light on the role of the state of Vermont, the Burlington School District and the manufacturers of the building products at issue in creating the perfect storm that resulted in unwarranted actions to abandon the school, move students to a converted Macy’s, cancel renovation plans and spend $165 million, more than twice the renovation cost, to build a new high school – actions that could have been avoided," Bayer said in a statement to WAMC.

Blaming the district in quite that way. Wow.  

Hearing on the proposed charter school

Hey, so before I start this not-at-all liveblog of the charter school hearing, which will absolutely not cover everything, and which is mostly drawing from my Twitter feed (scroll UP), but also other sources, please note:

YOU CAN STILL SUBMIT TESTIMONY THROUGH JANUARY 4!
It goes to charterschools@mass.doe.edu

And as always, the following is my summary, my work, my commentary, and does not claim to be otherwise. 

As MassLive notes in their coverage: "Of the 13 people that spoke in favor of the charter school, 11 were board members, trustees, teachers or staff at Old Sturbridge Academy or Old Sturbridge Village."

On what the OSV charter management contract is actually funding

 I'm working through a post that's about the testimony from yesterday's charter hearing, but I want to quickly put up what Deputy Superintendent Brian Allen found this week regarding the management contract proposed for the proposed Worcester Cultural Academy Charter School and already extant at Old Sturbridge Village Charter School. 

Testimony regarding the proposed Worcester charter

Thanks to my Worcester School Committee colleague for capturing the opening of my testimony

In preparing for today’s public testimony, I have found that I have a single message for you:

How dare you.

How dare you come into Worcester, the district that in October of 2013 welcomed back over 150 students from the failed Spirit of Knowledge Charter School that failed for exactly the reasons we told you it would, with an eerily similar budget proposal?

How dare you come into Worcester, a district that has lived at foundation level spending for years, with a charter proposal that is so ignorant of how charter financing is calculated that they think at net school spending means no rate was published?

How dare you come into Worcester, a district which after years of research and planning has brought transportation in house, with a charter proposal that plans $50,000 for a bus (we just bought 100; they cost more than that), has no budget for fuel or insurance, and makes no clear provision for students in wheelchairs?

How dare you come into Worcester, a district where the majority of our students speak a first language other than English and fully a third are English learners with a proposal from a purported “proven provider” that serves so few English learners that the state cannot publish MCAS or ACCESS results because they have so few students in that subgroup?

The demographics of the current school are most reflective, per the Department’s own comparison, with that of Edgartown, Florida, Oak Bluffs, Provincetown, Richmond, and Tisbury, with the exception that the Cape and Island towns serve as many as ten times the percentage of English learner students.
And you dare to suggest that they should be able to open a school here.

Those proposing the school have a record in key data points that is in a number of cases worse than that of the Worcester Public Schools while serving a student body that is more privileged. 

Last year at Old Sturbridge Village Charter School, 66.5% of students were absent 10 or more days. In the Worcester Public Schools, our rate was thirteen percentage points lower.

Old Sturbridge Village Charter has had a teacher retention rate over 80% only one year in its history; last year, it was 75%. In Worcester, our rate is regularly over 84%; last year, it was 88.9%.

In MCAS growth scores, Old Sturbridge Village Charter–with student demographics that are wealthier, whiter, and almost entirely primarily English speaking–were 52% for ELA and 56% for math. For the same span, the Worcester Public Schools, serving a demographic that is much more poorly served by the MCAS, had growth rates of 51% in both ELA and math. How dare you tout this as a record of academics superior to ours?

As I once again find myself before a state panel, begging you to not hurt my school district, I wonder if we in Massachusetts public school districts will ever actually see the “more supportive role” of the Department Commissioner Riley has claimed was his vision.
Not yet, it appears.
And so I will ask you again: please allow the Worcester Public Schools to serve and to be locally accountable for the education of our students. Do not forward this proposal.

Comments before Council on the proposed charter school

 Good evening, Mr. Chair. 

My name is Tracy O’Connell Novick; I live at 135 Olean Street; I am a member of the Worcester School Committee, which is what brings me alongside my colleague and our educators before you today.

I am here to address item 13A, your resolution that the Council go on record opposing the creation of the Worcester Cultural Academy Charter School. I would ask that the Council stand united with the Worcester School Committee in opposing this threat to publicly funded and publicly accountable education in the city of Worcester.

As the Council is aware, it was only last year that the long-awaited, long-fought for reform of public education funding finally came to the Worcester Public Schools. You, Mr. Chair, alongside the Council and School Committee, were prepared to sue the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on behalf of the schoolchildren of the city of Worcester to address this unconstitutional inequity. Due to united action by our delegation working with unanimous votes in the both chambers of the state legislature, that was not necessary.

But we are only two years in on a six year implementation of that funding reform. There is much work to be done, and many, many needs still to be met. While this is crucial work is led by Dr. Monárrez, to at this time,when we finally stand on just below the summit towards which we have worked, have that sucked away by a poorly designed proposal that will not meet the needs of Worcester students is infuriating and unfair to our students, as well as to all those who fought on their behalf.

It is important to note, Mr. Chair, that as the city of Worcester moves forward together under the leadership of City Manager Batista, who rightfully cites diversity, equity, and inclusion as among the focuses of his leadership, that charter schools nationally have been demonstrated to increase school segregation. The proposal put forward demonstrates no track record and poor understanding of the needs of the multilingual, multicultural, lively rich array of families that we in the Worcester Public Schools are proud to serve. 

I would ask that you not only unanimously pass this resolution tonight, but that you, Councilors, and Worcester residents join the Worcester School Committee, Worcester Public Schools administration, and the Educational Association of Worcester in testifying on Friday at 4 pm in the Herbert Auditorium at Quinsigamond Community College in opposition to this proposal. 

To say nothing at this time is to fail our school system.

What DESE needs to hear from you at the charter hearing

 The single page PDF of this is here. Slides are here. Video of slides is here.

I plan to testify against the proposed charter school in Worcester…

What does the state need to hear from me?

If you are a student:

The state needs to hear of the choices you have available to you in the Worcester Public Schools; of the partnerships your school has with museums and other cultural institutions in the city; of how your academic differences are supported in your school; of how you as a learner and as a person have grown in your experience with the district.

 

If you are a parent or caregiver:

The state needs to hear of the different choices available to your family within the Worcester Public Schools; of how your student’s different learning needs have been met by the public school system; of the experiences your family has had with Worcester’s cultural institutions through the school system; of how your family has been supported through the district; of how your students have succeeded through and beyond the Worcester Public Schools. 

 

If you are an educator:

The state needs to hear of how your school and our district meet the needs of diverse learners; of innovation that is ongoing within the district; of the high quality teaching and learning that is happening in the Worcester Public Schools; of the ways in which there are ongoing efforts to make our curriculum more culturally responsive; of the social-emotional and multi-tier system of supports for students; of the rich community partnerships that your school has; of the ongoing work to improve the work we do for our students.

 

If you are a community member: 

The state needs to hear of how the district is moving forward under new leadership that is focused on building relationships with families, educators, and the community; of the strong array of options available to families in Worcester for public education; of the lacks of connection and experience with needs of students, families, and the city demonstrated by the proponents; of the extractive nature of the proposal. 

Join us for public testimony:

Friday, December 9
4 pm

Herbert Auditorium, Suprenant Building

Quinsigamond Community College

The stories we tell and who tells them

 I said the following on Thursday at the Worcester School Committee meeting:

I was reflecting as I was reviewing the presentation that there's power in story. 

And there are a lot of people in Worcester who are accustomed to telling Worcester Public Schools' story for us.
There is now corresponding discomfort that we are both telling our own story and changing what that story is.
I was thinking that even before you, Madam Superintendent, this morning were at Centro conducting a caretakers' session in Spanish, which I believe is something that has never happened with a superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools before.

And that makes some people uncomfortable.

And I think that we as a School Committee have a responsibility to remember that that's part of what's happening here, too: we're changing, and that's great for our students and for our staff, but there are people who that is going to challenge.
In some cases, it's going to remove some authority and power that they thought that they had, and that's okay.
That's in fact, I would argue, exactly what we voted for last spring.
But I think that we need to remember that some of what is happening here is also effectively a backlash. And I think that we should treat it as that. 

Worcester Public Schools administration on the proposed charter school

The item on the agenda last night was:

To submit public comment regarding the proposed "Worcester Cultural Academy Charter School" as designated under MGL Ch. 71, sec. 89 (h), which reads "Before final approval to establish a commonwealth charter school, the board shall hold a 4 public hearing on the application in the school district in which the proposed charter school is to be located and solicit and review comments on the application from the local school committee of each school district from which the charter school is expected to enroll students and any contiguous districts."

Mr. Allen addressed this at the meeting:

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linking to Instagram for now, as there were sound issues with the WPS video of the meeting on YouTube

Full text is here.

 And I couldn't put it better than Aislinn:

This is totally nerdy, but hearing @Brian_E_Allen completely annihilate this proposed charter school's budget is freaking amazing. We have a true expert on our side.

— Aislinn (@itmeansdream) December 2, 2022

Please plan to join us Friday, December 9 at 4 pm at Quinsig to speak against this.