October Board of Ed: accountability update

 on underperforming and chronically underperforming schools

THREE SCHOOLS COMING OUT OF SUCH STATUS TODAY; ONE DISTRICT

exit decision and exit assurance
exiting:
Oliver Middle School, Lawrence
Van Sickle Academy, Springfield
High School of Commerce, Springfield

underperforming or chronically underperforming; lowest 10% of schools statewide; one or more low performing student subgroups; low graduation rates as defined by ESSA; low assessment participation rates
DESE then provides:
support with development of instructional priorities
direct assistance to district and school instructional leadership teams
refinement of systems and structures
routine classroom observations and progress

over forty districts receiving such support

Acting Commissioner "does not intend to name new underperforming schools" for this year, however naming "Schools of concern" meaning "if schools do not improve rapidly, they're up for consideration as underperforming in future years"

• Brockton: Arnone Community Elementary School
• Chelsea: Clark Avenue Elementary School
• Framingham: Harmony Grove Elementary School
• Springfield: Lincoln Elementary School
• Worcester: North High School

and we lost sound for awhile there as people were asking questions...oh well
Moriarty "in a troubling place right now" with results coming from schools
"to meet our constitutional obligation, there needs to be a serious rethinking of what's effective"
Moriarty thinks districts don't educate kids; schools do
"think the system itself needs to be on the table here"
Acting Commissioner says plan is to come back to this in January

John Avery Parker School from New Bedford exiting chronically underperforming status (which it has been in since 2013)
"really have great confidence in the district" to bring "the school back into the fold of all of the elementary schools"
district may make the school into an early childhood center

provisional release of HOLYOKE from chronically underperforming status
"anticipated July 1, 2025"
will have next Board meeting in Holyoke
consider which aspects of receivership will remain in place during exit
Johnston congratulates Holyoke School Committee for the work that they have done to be "solidly in place for governance"

Mayor Joshua Garcia opens by introducing himself in Spanish
(worth noting that the two men at the table, Garcia and Superintendent Receiver Soto, are both grew up in Holyoke; both are Latino)
says school committee met every single month during receivership; appreciative of work that was accomplished under receivership
Soto "a very proud Puerto Rican from Holyoke"
speaks of the analysis of data
increase in graduation rate
access to preK, dual language, early college
"can pass the torch and they can take it to the next level"

Garcia: listing social determinates of health, housing: "there's a different higher level conversation" on how we support those Gateway Cities
things that kids are going to school from what is happening in these neighborhoods
rather than try to have teachers solve them in schools, be better about helping those communities improve outcomes

Hills: "but...or and, on that last point... please don't underestimate the impact that political leadership and educational leadership has had on Russell's decision making"
having a white man from Newton lecture the Latino men in from of them is...a choice to make