a couple of notes on the Worcester preliminary election

 Hey, Worcester, we're having a preliminary election! You can even vote in it right now! 

First, please note that there is not a preliminary election for at-large School Committee, so while I appreciate the support, please don't think you're going in to vote for me this week or on September 5. Save that for November 7th!

There is a preliminary election in one of the new Worcester School Committee districts: District E. There are three candidates: 

• Nelly Medina
• John Patrick Reed
• Kathleen Roy
  

District E runs along much of the southern border of the city, like so:

Find that full map here. As always, you can find out what district you're in here.

You can view the one forum for this district (which Roy did not attend) here (Nicole's liveblog here); Medina and Reed were also at the Community Labor Forum earlier this month. 

Neal McNamara is posting responses to his questions; thus far he has ones from Reed and from Roy; [update] and now here's Medina.

There are also preliminary elections in City Council districts 1, 2, 4, and 5 (all but 3, in other words). 

I think it's probably good for people to know that one of the candidates in District 1 apparently doesn't support a new Burncoat High, one of the candidates in District 2 is combining the cost overrun of the ballpark with the pandemic-created (and at least partly state covered) increased cost of the new Doherty, and this whole mess is in support of one of the District 5 challengers.

Go vote! 

Back to school week in Worcester

Worcester Public School students in grades 1-12 go back to school on Monday (plan for buses and walkers, Worcester!). You find lots of useful information on the district's back to school page, which also includes a welcome video from the superintendent and all of us on the School Committee: 

Worcester will, for the EIGHTH year in a row, have universal free lunch and breakfast. You can find menus for schools here. 

Families, note that a lot of information is shared on WooEdu, which is the student and parent portal through Infinite Campus (search your app download for "Infinite Campus" and choose either the student or parent version). You'll need a claim code shared by your school.

Also I highly recommend downloading the VersaTrans My Stop app, which is the bus tracking app. You'll need student ID and birthdate for that. 

Preschoolers and kindergarteners go back on Thursday of this week. 

If and as you have questions, please be in touch! WELCOME BACK WORCESTER! 

Worcester Public Schools summer facilities

 ...work is in the news today, and I just wanted to be sure people knew now that we'll be having a full report on summer facilities work at the Finance and Operations meeting on September 18. 

bus meltdown in Jefferson County, KY

 As I'm always keeping an eye on school transportation across the country, the meltdown last Wednesday of transportation for Jefferson County Schools (that's Louisville) in Kentucky caught my eye. Some students didn't get picked up, some didn't get home until hours later, and needless to say, there was an uproar. The district quickly cancelled school for Thursday and Friday, to try to straighten things out, and they've now cancelled classes for Monday and Tuesday of this week. 

There's been some suggestion that the issue was caused by the district using AlphaRoute, which uses (this may sound familiar) algorithms developed by MIT: 

The program — developed by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — uses artificial intelligence to generate the routes with the intent of reducing the number of routes. Last year, JCPS had 730 routes last year, and that was cut to 600 beginning this year. 

News in Kentucky has noted that the system struggled in Columbus, Ohio, as well. Columbus then switched to using Versatrans*

*which, for what it's worth, is what Worcester uses.

A few notes on this coming week's Worcester School Committee agenda

 You can find this Thursday's agenda here. 

A few things of note:

• You might remember that I put on the agenda and then held a proposal that we endorse the state's proposed health and PE standards. That tops the agenda this week; if you have a thought on that, please get in touch. And if you haven't weighed in yourself, please do! 
  
  
• The conversation we've already been having regarding the School Committee clerk position reporting to the Committee should be resolved to be posted this week. Please take a look at the position description draft  and see if you know anyone who would be great! 
  
  
• We have a public petition from a student, paralleled by an item from Member Kamara, requesting that we move to the observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day, effective this year. Kamara notes in the item that it would align with the city's Human Rights' calendar. 
  
  
• Dr. Monárrez is coming back to us with a draft of her goals for next year (no backup as yet).
  
  
• We're being asked to send a letter endorsing the request for a federal grant for electric school buses.
  
  
• I'm requesting that we acknowledge "the climate emergency in the priorities, policies, actions, and budgeting" of the district.
  
  
• Member McCullough is suggesting hiring 16+ aged students in the summer for custodial work and other seasonal work.
  
  
• We're being requested to raise the salaries for CNAs and LPNs.
  
  
• I compared a boatload of our policies to the state model policies, and that work is all here.
  
  
• And you can meet our new administrators via the presentation at the end. 

Summer meetings start at 4, remember, but we start with executive session for about an hour. Look for the public session around 5.

and in local news

Really pleased tonight to have joined a unanimous vote in favor of an MOU extending @drrmonarrez’s contract with the Worcester School Committee through June 2027.

Looking forward to continuing to go #FromHereAnywhereTogether!

— Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) August 10, 2023

 

Just a reminder that, despite all the right-wing action around school board

 ...that largely isn't who is winning: 

...despite enormous advantages, most conservative education board candidates lost in Ohio—even in conservative districts. Similar school board election outcomes occurred in 2022 and 2023, from Wisconsin and Illinois to North Carolina and Texas.  

Why? Well, for one thing: 

 It turns out that most people don’t want someone else’s parents or some outside group telling their kids what they can read or what ideas they can consider. I sure as hell don’t. Like me, most trust teachers, schools, and librarians to do the job, and they vote accordingly.  

But this doesn't just happen: 

Leave no seats uncontested. Anywhere. 

Leave no incumbent extremists unchallenged. Anywhere.  

Take it as your responsibility to fill these seats wherever you are. And if the candidate taking on that run is not you, help them in any way you can. 

As Teresa Fedor, Tom Jackson, and Katie Hofmann prove, even in Republican areas, standing against censorship is not just a moral obligation. It’s a political winner. 

Quick note on the budget signing

Earlier today, Governor Healey signed the FY24 state budget, which means, at long last, we have a state budget (more than a month into the new fiscal year). 

She did exercise her veto power on a few accounts that involve K-12 education, as follows: 

• Civics Education Trust fund cut by by $1M to $1.5M 
• $300K in earmarks in EL & Literacy programs (funded at $5,366,731)
• $100K from AP math & science (thus funded at $3,292,809)
• $5,601,240 from circuit breaker, which is the FY23 carryover that was in the language (thus making it $ 498,972,361)

On that last, the Governor cites the $75M in the FY23 supplemental budget, but that last is extraordinary relief. Regardless, the line is fully funded.  

All of the above are found here. 

There are not, as yet, new Ch. 70 spreadsheets, but the cherry sheets are updated. 

Let's talk about P-EBT, Worcester parents

I mentioned in my last district update that the Department of Transitional Assistance had put another $120 on P-EBT cards for Worcester Public Schools students. That, and some questions I have received subsequently, have made it clear that this was insider-y lingo and more needs to be explained. Sorry about that!

Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfers came from the recognition during remote learning that students who usually would receive free lunch at school would not be able to, as the buildings were closed. As much as schools might be delivering meals, not all kids were going to get them. Thus every child who qualifies for free lunch either had money added to their family's Electronic Benefit Transfer (food stamp) card, or, for families that aren't enrolled, had a new card sent to them. This works just like food stamps: you take to the grocery story, and you can swipe it when you check out. 

For districts like Worcester, which since 2017 has had universal free lunch for K-12, this meant that all families of K-12 students, regardless of income, received the benefit. Precisely like food stamps, these are non-transferable by both the recipient and by the Department; they're for YOUR child, no one else. (And don't try; that constitutes fraud.)

So, what if your family is fortunate enough to not need the assistance? Here's my recommendation:

1. Go use the benefit in the grocery store. Doing so not only fills your cart; it destigmatizes the use of the benefit, which is important in it being used by families. Yes, families like mine/yours/all of yours use P-EBT just like all of our kids get free lunch.
   
   
2. If you are able, donate the EQUIVALENT AMOUNT OF CASH to a food bank. Food banks can make money go MUCH MUCH further than we can, and it works a thousand times better for them to get the money than to get whatever cans you pick out. If you like, include your kids in deciding where the money goes (after all, you have it because of them!). 

If you're a Worcester parent whose child just graduated, they should have also received the benefit, but some students were inadvertently left out of the data transfer; they'll get the benefit in September. 

Have questions? Didn't get it? Lost the card? There's help from DTA available online.

My comments on the proposed new health and PE standards

 This is a reminder that public comment on the new health and PE standards are open but close August 28th! Review and go comment! 

Good afternoon,

I submit the following comments entirely in my capacity as an individual member of the Worcester School Committee. 

I want first to note that I was overall struck by how strong the standards are. There is clearly a great deal of thought, time, and expertise invested in them. They introduce topics and skills at developmentally appropriate ages and grades, and then build on those as, again, developmentally appropriate. These standards come together as a constructed whole, as one would hope. 

With that general statement, let me then turn to a few specifics.

I was pleased to note the wide variety of experts of various kinds involved in the creation and the review of the standards. There is an enormous scope of information and skills involved in this field; casting the net wide here is wise. 

I was confused by the suggestion on page 7 that "school resource officers" might be among the staff most likely to be involved in these programs. As SROs are very much not instructional staff, why would this be suggested by the Department?

I would suggest that guiding principle 2 (page 10) should include the word "inclusive" regarding the description of the programs. It is not only the perspectives (in principle 3) that must be inclusive; the programs themselves should be.

I very much appreciate that included in grades PreK-2 is a note on weapons and on gun violence(p. 19). I'd suggest that making this more than a parenthetical would be appropriate.

Ensuring that students in grades 3-5 are being taught (under practice 6) on how to find "medically accurate" sources of information (p. 31) is invaluable, and, again, I appreciate that this carries through in later grades.

In grades 6-8, working through the complexities of human trafficking, and also acknowledging situations in which there are barriers to reporting unsafe situations (p. 35) is so very crucial for our students. 

In grades 6-8, the inclusion of food not only as a source of nutrition, but of connection, is so very thoughtful (p. 38)

Turning attention in grades 9-12 to lifetime physical activity (throughout the section) is a fit completion to this standard.

It does seem to me from the district level that this will require health class in every grade for much if not all of a year, as well as full year PE in every grade. While I know that is left to local authority (which I appreciate), it might be well to mention.

Again, I appreciate the time, thought, and attention to this overdue area.

Very sincerely yours,

Tracy Novick 

Recommended reading (but this one's a book)

 I'm doing my usual summer catch up with the "to be read" pile, which means only this weekend did I get to Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond. I want to highly recommend this to anyone involved in education or policy making, or both. 

without commenting further

 ...let me strongly recommend that you read the latest in Bill Shaner's substack, from WPS parent Aislinn Doyle, entitled 

"I'd love to see actual proof"
Would you, though? On buses and Binienda

Let's read the Worcester Cultural Academy FY24 budget!

I have posted it over here for you. Jeff Chamer did a nice job with some highlights, which also included the lease (which does not include the Bishop having any authority over what goes on the buildings, it appears). They will not be opening in the building on Hamilton Street, which is not ready--I'd be interested on why, as they've had lots of time--but mainly in the building the diocese canceled the lease with the Worcester Public Schools on. 

You might remember that I did some math, working to create a foundation budget for WCACS, and I struggled to get them to $2.5M; it appears (page 5) they're estimating $2.3M in tuition (which is what that would be). Let me reiterate that my estimate is based on my wildly overestimating how many students they'll have that are considered low income. As they are, per page 6, basing their foundation budget on an average per pupil rate of $18,291, which itself is based on Worcester's average per pupil rate (most of their students are Worcester students), let's note how wild that overestimation is: 

• The Worcester Public Schools' enrollment is 30.4% English learners; theirs is 5.5%
• The Worcester Public Schools' enrollment is 72.5% low income; we don't know theirs yet, but I very seriously doubt it is anywhere near that AND THAT IS WHERE MUCH OF THE MONEY IS.

We should note that the tuition that WCACS is getting is still based, in some part, on estimates: they know numbers of kids, but they don't have all the data on who those kids are. For those who might have followed the evolution of Worcester's cherry sheet through the budget process: that's a large part of why our charter tuition keeps switching , as it's getting less a projection and closer to real numbers (for all charters to which we send students, not just WCACS). WCACS tuition still, though, is based at ground on WPS numbers, which we know it won't reflect.

WCACS will have to report their actual enrollment, just like everyone else, in October. That will need to be trued up with the state, which usually takes some months, but by the beginning of next year, what they'll be getting is their actual tuition, not projected tuition. As the state at that point will need to make up for the fact that they've essentially overpaid in the first months, the school will take a double hit (the state only has half the school year to make back to overprojection). It's pretty concerning to see that they've made absolutely no allowances for that in their month-by-month projections on page 17: 

As they've also front-loaded the year with the major grant, they won't have that by February as a cushion, either. 

Recommended reading

 This weekend's New York Times Sunday Magazine piece [gift link] entitled "How a sexual assault in a school bathroom became a political weapon," looking at the Loudoun County schools is a must-read for anyone involved in public education or public policy right now. 
The conclusion: 

“These are really complicated political issues, on which reasonable people can disagree.” But, he said, those fights did implicitly raise a question: “Do we care about learning, or do we care about these symbolic issues that get voters fired up?”

This was more of a zero-sum question than the combatants might wish to admit. A meeting that a school board spent debating a problematic mascot was a meeting that it did not spend on a new learning technology program. A million-dollar settlement over a textbook lawsuit was a million dollars not going to classroom instruction. The school board seats lost, superintendents fired or driven out, exhausted teacher retirements — all of that churn came at a cost, too. 

Worcester School Committee special meeting

 Note that the Worcester School Committee has a special meeting this Thursday, August 10 at 6 pm. There are two items on the agenda:

• We have Dr. Monárrez's contract in executive session.
• We're having a discussion of the school committee clerk position and hiring process. 

Note that the meeting might not start right on time as many of us are coming from a Doherty tour. 

Conference Committee FY24 budget

sticker reading "Oooh, this calls for a spreadsheet"
from Wild Oak Stickers

I've updated my spreadsheet of the education lines through the conference committee budget here. I'm drawing on the budget itself of course, but also this spreadsheet of the account lines, and the outside language by itself here. 

You can find the municipal cherry sheets here; the regional ones here. UPDATE 8/4: The Division of Local Services sent out a notice this afternoon that the charter tuition reimbursements are updated. 

I'm off to a forum this evening, but do send along questions should you have them. 

on Massachusetts free lunch

While I'm still working to update my spreadsheet on the FY24 conference committee budget now on Governor Healey's desk, I did want to note how one thing that had been up in the air--universal free lunch--is resolved within this budget. 

The language, which is in the outside section  (that link via State House News) on page 16, reads as follows: 

SECTION 34. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 1C and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:-
Section 1C. (a)(1) The board shall require all schools providing school lunch as provided in the National School Lunch Act, as amended, or school breakfast as provided in the National Child Nutrition Act, as amended, to make breakfast and lunch available at no charge to each attending student regardless of household income. Schools shall maximize access to federal funds for the cost of breakfast and lunch by adopting: (i) the federal community eligibility provision or provision 2, pursuant to section 72A of chapter 71; or (ii) other applicable federal provisions, including, but not limited to, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296. The department shall reimburse the difference between the amount paid by the United States Department of Agriculture and the free rate as set annually by the United States Secretary of Agriculture under 42 U.S.C. 1759a for each school.

So what that means is every Massachusetts public school is now required to feed all kids without charge, by Board of Elementary and Secondary Education requirement. All districts have to adopt Community Eligibility or other provisions, which provides for reimbursement from the federal government for the students who are considered low income. (That is how Worcester has done universal free lunch since 2015. This piece appears to change nothing for the Worcester Public Schools and the other CEP districts.)

Note, though, that this won't be enough reimbursement for most districts to cover their costs. It is last line that kicks in state reimbursement: the Department--that's DESE--is required to kick in the difference between recognizing all kids as eligible and those that otherwise qualify. 

While there's only $102.5M (in line 7053-2925) set aside for that, the budget has $69M also set aside from Fair Share [updated].

The second section referenced requires all districts who have 60% or more kids who are recognized as low income to do breakfast after the bell, so that students are also getting breakfast, often in classrooms. 

The section goes on also to require the Board to set up school nutrition standards, which I flag a concern I have about over here.

This is of course all subject to Governor Healey's action (though, so far as I have seen, no one seems to think she'll veto this).

A look at some struggles across the country in schools

I have had a few articles come across my timelines this morning that give some idea of how things are out there, as schools gear up to go back to school in August in many places.

• the North Dakota board that licenses teachers is asking the governor to waive the requirement that student teachers teach under a licensed teacher. That would mean the student teachers would be the teacher of record under their student teaching. The board cited the lack of teachers as putting the state in "imminent peril."
  
  
• You may have been following the evolving saga of Central Bucks School District in Pennsylvania, where a not-actually-even-conservative majority has been banning books, spending significant money to attempt to diffuse criticism of their anti-LGBTQ stances, and so forth since the board turned over. They just gave their superintendent a nearly 40% raise, making the superintendent of the 17,000 student district the second highest paid in Pennsylvania. 
  
  
• The Texas school funding system has long been...I don't think "a disaster" is too strong a word. Kudos to Texas Monthly for this excellent piece which both dives into the calculation (and why it doesn't work) and takes a deep look at what it looks like for Fort Davis Independent School District: 128 kids, 2,265 miles. 
  
  
• Mount Airy School Board in North Carolina recently censured one of their members for posting on Facebook an anti-LGBTQ meme. I'm sharing mostly due to the last line of the article, though: 
  

  He is one of several Christians who have expressed interest in “reclaiming the rainbow” from the LGBTQ+ community. In the Bible, God displayed a rainbow as a peace offering after drowning nearly all the humans on Earth for being evil.