Whos of Who-cester

We're not gonna take it...

2012-01-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what it is that's given the sudden push, but I've had a series of "we're not gonna take it" posts from teachers come across my screen recently.
There's this, from Chicago:

She wrote in her suicide note that the major reason for this drastic act was work-related. According to her colleagues, this woman took her own life because of the bullying and fear she experienced at her school.
As I discussed this event with a friend who is a current CPS teacher, he mentioned that in the comments section of the article many non-educators were shocked and horrified at this tragic happening but were also quick to assume that the woman must have been "soft" or had some kind of underlying mental health problem. But, he quipped, when many CPS teachers heard about the incident, they just shook their heads and said, "Yeah, I can see that happening."

This, from Seattle:

In my perfect world (where chocolate was handed out free of charge and nobody was lactose intolerant), the Public School System would be set up in such a way that every single child reaches their potential. It would be a place where we recognize that none of us are ‘typical’ and our uniqueness is celebrated. ...We would celebrate the academically skilled along with the artistically skilled, athletically skilled, mechanically skilled and socially skilled. We would work hard to reduce the negative impacts of poverty and chaos.

And this, from Topeka:

In what other profession are the licensed professionals considered the LEAST knowledgeable about the job? You seldom if ever hear “that guy couldn’t possibly know a thing about law enforcement – he’s a police officer”, or “she can’t be trusted talking about fire safety – she’s a firefighter.”
In what other profession is experience viewed as a liability rather than an asset? You won’t find a contractor advertising “choose me – I’ve never done this before”, and your doctor won’t recommend a surgeon on the basis of her “having very little experience with the procedure”.

Know hope?

More on the Governor's FY13 budget

2012-01-28T19:51:00.001-05:00

Having now gotten the Worcester Public Schools administration's budget memo (not, alas, online!) as well as one from the Mass Association of School Committees, here's a bit more on Governor Patrick's proposed FY13 budget as it relates to education (and, specifically, WPS):

The change in the WPS foundation budget, including the 3.65% inflation factor and the enrollment changes, is a $12 million increase. That's $10.4 million in the inflation factor and $1.5 million in enrollment changes and shifts. In total? About a 5% increase from the state.
Due to the increase in the city base funding plus the required growth factor, the total city contribution is up 3%, or $2.8 million.The city is expected this year to contribute--this would be minimum contribution plus the $660,000 the city has contributed the past few years over--$97 million.
That means the city is expected to contribute about 34% of the budget.
This shakes out overall [city and state] to a 4.1% increase, or $11 million.
Charter school and choice tuition have increased $1.8 million, and the reimbursement amount has increased $940,000. Charter and choice tuition in total is projected to be $28 million for FY13, while reimbursement from the state is projected to be $4.7 million. (Yes, that does mean the state is funding only about 17% of the charter and choice tuition.)
HOWEVER, the Governor is level-funding charter reimbursements, AND the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has once again created new charter schools: THUS, once again, we have Beacon Hill giving the same amount of money and Malden dividing it even more ways. We will thus, unless someone fixes it, be underfunded on charter reimbursements for year two (Hint: here's a place the House and Senate could really be of assistance!).
ALSO remember that part of last year's budget was $2.4 million of Education Jobs funds. There is no more.
...thus leaving us projecting a deficit of about $1.3 million. Not zero, but significantly smaller than in years past.
I haven't yet seen numbers on the Quality Kindergarten Grant.
The Special Education Circuit Breaker is level funded at last year's (increased) level.
The Governor has budgeted $10 million in "Gateway Cities" initiatives, including early literacy and kindergarten readiness, student support councilors and councils, ELL enrichment and academies, and a statewide innovation fund. That's all being done through the state office, which makes me assume we're looking at state grants (for which Worcester would be eligible). I don't know much more on these yet (and it will, of course, depend on the House and Senate's willingness to fund them).

That's what I have for now! Good time to get in touch with legislators about priorities!

Got a trumpet in the attic?

2012-01-27T13:05:00.001-05:00

If you've got an instrument gathering dust, we'll take it!

Worcester Public Schools and WICN 90.5, the NPR jazz station in Worcester, announces a collaboration called Instrumental Partners. The program will collect used musical instruments from Central New England residents for the benefit of public school students.
All instruments will be accepted: brass, wind, string, percussion, acoustic, electric, etc.
WICN will ask people to check their attics, closets and basements for instruments no longer used. “One instrument, placed in the right pair of young hands, could mean everything to that student’s future.” Weston said. The drop off points for the instruments will be the Hanover Theater on Main Street in Worcester, and the WICN studios in the Printers Building, 50 Portland Street.

First priority is getting South High what they need for the parade in D.C. on July 4th (and yes, they're taking monetary donations as well!).

Tough week

2012-01-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

...for education in Tennessee. The same week the Board of Education proposes bringing back being able to reprimand teachers for actions taken outside of school (and you wondered why teachers fought for tenure?), members of the Tea Party, as part of their proposals--sorry, demands--to the state Legislature, said that the group wants to address:

an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another.

(more here)
I think Molly Ivins said it best: "It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America." There's a reason why there's a three-fifths compromise in the Constitution and it wasn't due to make-believe.

Resegregating Wake County

2012-01-26T20:37:00.001-05:00

There's so many things wrong with some of what's being said around the reversal of decades of desegregation efforts in Wake County, North Carolina, that it's difficult to know where to start. How about concentrating poor kids in high-poverty schools does not improve student achievement?

Looking for youth to apply to Worcester's Youth Council

2012-01-26T11:36:00.001-05:00

Forwarding this from the Youth Opportunities Office:

As you may have heard, the City of Worcester Youth Opportunities Office islooking to establish a Youth Council. The Council will be made up of 11 Worcester youth betweenthe ages of 14 to 21. There will be 5 district representatives and 6at-large.

There is a competitive application process that will requireyouth to complete an Application, Essay, Commitment Form, Parental Consent Form andsubmit 2 Letters of Recommendation. The deadline forsubmission is March 1^st.

The deadline is quickly approaching and we would like to getas many submissions as possible. Applications can be downloaded by goingto www.yooworcester.com. Click on theYouth Council Tab and download the attachments.

Please share this with people of ages 14 to 21!

State of the Union: education

2012-01-26T10:46:00.002-05:00

Sorry, running a bit behind on the news here...
There was (as has been usual in this administration) a significant section of President Obama's State of the Union message on education on Tuesday evening.
The sections on college tuition and on dropouts have gotten most of the press here. Today's New York Times tackles the true cost of kids dropping out of school today. That tackles it from the national economic front; the personal and social costs are also high.
However...
I assume at the end of this we'd like to have well-educated citizens of the world, rather than people who have filled a seat for another two years. If so, we're once again tackling this from the wrong end. If you've got thousand upon thousand of high school students dropping out, in what certainly seems clear violation of their own best interest, we're better off asking why rather than banning it.
We need better alternative education programs, and more of them.
We need night high schools.
We need an increase in vocational education.
We need more and better support structures--guidance counselors and others--who catch the kids who are headed out, find out what's up with them, and get them what they need to stay in school.
And for those who persist in heading for the door, anyway, we need continued contact with them, to get them a GED or career training or what they need, recognizing that it is possible to drop out, pull yourself back together, and make a meaningful life for yourself.
Making another rule about what kids can't do doesn't do that.
............................................................................
As has been caught by nearly every commenter on EdWeek's coverage, it is a contradiction to cite as one of your values "to stop teaching to the test" at the same time a centerpiece of your education policy is evaluating teachers based on test scores.

Two children missing in the Vernon Hill neighborhood: FOUND!

2012-01-25T18:06:00.001-05:00

FOUND!

{We're asking that you PLEASE keep an eye out for two children from Vernon Hill School who are missing. The T&G has the details here. Bella is ten and a fifth grader; Landon is eight and a second grader.
UPDATE: They may be hiding, thinking they're in trouble, and they could be over as far as Grafton Street. Please, if you're over that way, go check your shed and under your porch! }

And it was passers-by that found them.

Governor's FY13 Budget

2012-01-25T16:57:00.000-05:00

I'm sure we'll be getting more analysis as the week goes on, but right now we know that Governor Patrick is proposing $210,364,137 in Chapter 70 aid for Worcester for FY13. That's in comparison with $201,135,279 for FY12.
That's only the state side, 'though: the state has up the summary of contribution for city and state: city's minimum contribution for FY13 is $88,586,175, which is up from $85,772,826 for FY12. Remember, the city's contribution is based on local wealth and tax revenue calculations.
Together, those make up the net school spending amount for FY13, which is $298,950,312; note that number includes charter school assessments (which are also up, and which I don't yet have). That's looking about where our budget update from last week put us.

I will give you more information as I have it.

Jeff Mulqueen: Pentucket Regional Schools Superintendent

2012-01-25T06:44:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Chief Academic Officer Jeff Mulqueen, on his selection by the Pentucket Regional School Committee as that district's next superintendent.
(Pentucket is West Newbury, Merrimac and Groveland, up on the North Shore)
Petnucket's superintendent is retiring at the end of this school year.

Community contribution over minimum

2012-01-24T00:10:00.001-05:00

A few notes on the above chart (which if you click on it will become larger), which I thought might be of interest, given today's editorial*:

Worcester is at the top, for the purposes of comparision, followed by communities that surround us (where parents may or may not opt for school choice), followed then by communities with which we are sometimes compared. You'll note that no one contributes at the level that Worcester does.
Communities that do? Lawrence and Springfield.
While there are communities that have fallen off on their contribution over foundation in recent years, they are communities that had a better record in prior years.
Several communities--see Northbridge and Pittsfield, for example--have actually stepped up their community contribution in recent years.

*which should include my colleagues Jack Foley, John Monfredo, and Brian O'Connell as co-signers.

Mass Budget presentation: Coming to Worcester!

2012-01-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

Please join the Worcester Public Schools

the Worcester Educational Collaborative

the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents

the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials

the Massachusetts Association of School Committees

for

Cutting Class: Underfunding the Foundation Budget's Core Education Program

by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center

Wednesday, February 15

7 pm

North High School

140 Harrington Way, Worcester

Public education: of all, for all

2012-01-23T13:37:00.000-05:00

h/t Ruth

What's a site council?

2012-01-21T21:27:00.001-05:00

I got this question this afternoon at the Worcester Government 101 panel put together by the Worcester Free School. I try, as I get questions that seem like others might have them to post them here. And send those along! I'm always glad to field them.
When we refer back to the Ed Reform Act of 1993 in Massachusetts, we're usually referencing two things: the MCAS or the foundation formula. Both are a result (direct or otherwise) of that Act. There are a number of other things that happened them (School Committees stopped directly hiring most of the employees of the schools, for example): among them was the creation of site councils.
Because another aspect of the Act was to move an increased amount of control back to the school (from the district) level, the Act set out a group of people to assist in the leadership of the school. While the principal was given increased autonomy in budgeting, policy, and staffing,* the law set out an advisory council for the principal, to ensure that those with a vested interest in the school had a voice in running the school.
Each site council consists of parents (generally at least two), teachers (again, usually two), community members, and (at the secondary level) a student. They are public meetings, so anyone can attend.
Thus the site council serves as an advisory council to the principal on matters of budgeting--they are required to review the school budget--and policy. In Worcester, site council members commonly are called on by the district when it comes to hiring a new principal for the school.
Site councils meet monthly and the meetings are statutorily required to be public. The dates and times are posted on both the city website and the Worcester Public Schools website. Any member of the public may attend any site council meeting, and if you're interested in what's going on with a school, I'd enthusiastically recommend you do so!

*in theory if not in practice, always.

What's the deal with local aid?

2012-01-21T21:04:00.001-05:00

I asked a few of the financial mavens I barrage with questions to explain unrestricted local aid to me last year, and I was met with, more-or-less, a head shake. Now I understand why.

The Mass Budget and Policy Center tackles the other half of the state budget that has a lot to do with local budgets: unrestricted local aid. A few highlights:

there isn't an overall formula
changes in calculations haven't taken into consideration changes in wealth that have happened in the past several years.
there have been cuts and restorations, but they've been the reverse of progressive.
reform is difficult (maybe impossible) without increases in revenue

Well worth reading!

Good news at the state level on FY13 budget

2012-01-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

Both the Boston Globe and State House News are reporting that Lieutenant Governor Murray today told the Mass Municipal Association that Chapter 70 aid for schools for FY13 will include a $145 million increase, and that districts will be fully funded or greater for their foundation budget.
The full proposed budget will be released on Tuesday.

Burncoat Prep Level 4 plan

2012-01-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

I should perhaps point out that due to technical difficulties, this meeting is not being broadcast live.

stakeholder group finalizing their report
presenting to school community next Wednesday, January 25
then that plan goes to superintendent, who creates plan to present to School Committee
Feb. 16 School Committee meeting: presentation of turnaround plan by Superintendent Boone
possibly vote on School Improvement Grant at the same time
faculty had already been working on changes under innovation plan
next set of timelines: potential work outside of collective bargaining agreement
School Improvement Grants are available
require district to choose one of four options:

close school
outsource school
replace 50% of faculty plus principal
replace principal plus annual evaluation of staff (plus)

Boone intends to pursue money, as in past two, if School Committee approves
none of these four models represent a pancea for scuccess
"my recommendation for a model represents no lack of confidence" in school leadership
"very clear...not a statement of lack of confidence for principal and leadership team"

Essential conditions are still in play: extended learning time is still required, as are specific professional development
increased attention to English Language Learners

FY13 questions

2012-01-19T20:03:00.000-05:00

Foley
mentions lack of agreement by Congress, thus sequestration: significant cuts in federal funds
managed federal funds very well; no major cliff
glad not to see double-digit deficit to start the conversation
slide for instructional costs: static level since FY02
actually a 25% reduction in what we can buy due to inflation
short where we'd hoped to be

O'Connell:
three-legged stool
state budget : appropriate share of resources from Beacon Hill
federal government: grants are volatile issue
city dollars from tax revenue: third and crucial factor
"to what extent the School Committee will go to the City Manager and the City Council..."is up to the committee
to what extent does the city truly value education?
"and ask the city that an equible, appropriate share" be allocated to education
beginning of the approach that we must take
MOTION: statement for School Committee: expenses taken on by other similar communities
percent of dollars shared with schools
special education: can we do anything else in-house?

Novick:
any order on the areas of need? Not as yet
Is Title I in danger? No, part of waiver is flexibility
supporting HR 153

Biancheria:
asks for difference between vocational and regular ed student
will come with governor's budget
are we getting more buses? contractual increase plus buses already added this year
no new additional service included
Allen: final number (due to enrollment could include more buses)
savings from outsourcing of painting etc: coming

FY13 budget presentation

2012-01-19T19:32:00.001-05:00

Governor releases budget next Wednesday
continue with zero based budget approach
"not going to step away from our process as we've started to do this work"
posting as we go

communication plan: meeting one on one with principals, talking to teachers, community groups,
Allen: different than earlier presentations: lots of research that has been done
2000-2007: Ch. 70 aid rose by $700m, but spending on employee benefits rose by $1 billion (statewide)
desipite an almost $5b increase between 1997-2006, virtually no increase in number of teachers
21% below foundation in 1993
rose within 3% in 2000
down 16% under foundation
notes from the MassBudget research
weakening job picture slowing revenue
FY13 revenue estimate: 6.9% increase over FY12
MassBudget projecting a $1B shortfall
hoping may get some indication even tomorrow when Patrick presents to Mass Municipal Association

State Budget: Ch. 70 (70% of our general fund budget)
circuit breaker set at 65% (should be 75%)
charter school reimbursement
kindergarten grant

revenue
enrollment increase (from THIS year) of 219 students
inflation increase of 3.65%
=about an $11.4 million increase in foundation budget for WPS
always hoping to hear that Governor intends to fully fund Ch.70
student enrollment: 1300 increase over past three years
nearly at Fy06 year
running into capacity issues at elementary level

expenses
$4.8m increase in salaries
health insurance increase of 7% (estimate) which is $3m
tuition increase of $1m
transportation of .8m (does not assume additional service; this is just contractual and current)
retirement assessment $.4m

cost increases of about $10m

ABOUT BREAK EVEN: first time in years without a significant structural deficit!

federal grants have been going down: more positions are in grants
(FY12 is $22.7m in grants)
Three grants ending this year: Teaching in Urban History, APIP, 9 of 17 schools that have 21st century programs are losing their funding

slide on where the grants go: very position heavy in allocation

zero-based budgeting: thorough review
long-term planning for student achievement
need to reflect changes beyond revenue/expense projections

Worcester is among the top housing markets in the country and is the 2nd happiest city to work in

Areas of need with expenses needed for them: total of $27 m
"no expectation that we can get there in short order, but needed in long term planning"

MSBA project submitted: largest capital investment list submitted by Worcester (and ever submitted by one community)

Focused on students

MassBudget FY13 forecast

2012-01-18T21:48:00.000-05:00

And while I'm posting MassBudget reports, here's their FY13 forecast.
It's bleak.

Unseen corners: Goddard School

2012-01-18T16:17:00.001-05:00

Part of an occasional series of photos of corners of the Worcester Public Schools you may not have seen:
Sometime back, I posted photos of the windows in the Goddard School of Science and Technology's auditorium (which also included the classically designed ceiling). I've since been told the windows are from Tiffany.
You know that Goddard was South High School; did you know that Robert Goddard was class president during his senior year and wrote the alma mater for South?

Today, Principal Marion Guerra was kind enough to take me around the school. Here's a few corners you may not have seen of Goddard:

This is the original gym floor in the old South gymnasium. It is parquet: yes, like the Celtics play on at the Garden.

Scattered around the building are murals painted, which really brighten up the walls. Many, as Alice below, are scenes from books.

Like many of our buildings, the place to go is the top floor. Goddard has enormous windows (it was built to be run without electric light). Here's the view from the third floor, looking out towards downtown, over University Park.

I didn't take photos of the beautifully shiny wood floors, the transom windows, the cheerful ('though in a basement) art room, and all the nooks of a building built over a hundred years ago, all busy with over 600 students and accompanying staff learning.
With thanks to Ms. Guerra for her time and the enthusiastic history lesson!

Worcester School Committee meets tomorrow: UPDATED

2012-01-18T14:16:00.000-05:00

The first regular meeting of the Worcester School Committee is tomorrow evening at 7 pm at Worcester Tech. You can find the agenda here.
In addition to recognizing the work recently done at Doherty by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, approving minutes, filing a number of retirement and other personnel items coming in, and a variety of new business being sent off to subcommittee, we are getting our first report on the FY13 budget (yes, it's that time of year again; check out the report! It should have a works cited page!) and getting an update on Burncoat Prep (which you'll remember has Level 4 status).
Burncoat Prep backup still to come.

Discussion on MassBudget presentation

2012-01-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

Rep. Lewes: These aren't just bars on charts; these are our kids.
Some changes made in the budget in 2006, but there has not been a comprehensive reconsideration of the foundation budget.
HB 153:to reconsider the foundation budget
Coalition for Student Success: educate folks about issues around education funding and advocate for a reconsideration of the foundation budget

Questions:

concern from a higher wealth district (that gets 6% from the state): people are moving out due to property tax. Believes chart needed on MSBA funding (as that affects tax bills). Complaint that this hurts those with the income tax. Also some lambasting here of school committee not overseeing spending closely enough. Answer that this is diagnosing what the problem is.
Suggestion that reconsideration of foundation budget should happen every ten years (original law assumed reconsideration every five years)
School committee member (from North Reading) gets up and gives a rundown of every way in which they've worked on saving money (problem with teachers' union); drastically change contribution of health insurance. Expectation from reps that there will be something taken up this year
School committee member from Medford (I think?). Housing growth causing growth in special ed.
Winchester school committee member: health insurance projections. Variables in health insurance amongst communities. MassBudget replies that they could look at national data where copays and contributions are; compare to where it should be. What's a reasonable and just level?
Are not spending enough to meet our Constitutional obligation AND we're not doing what we were required to do under the lawsuit settled in 2001. Challenge from Senator Pat Jehlen that THIS should be the top education priority (not increasing MCAS testing, she notes). The adequacy study is not being reported out of the education committee tomorrow. Shouldn't it be?

You can use the MassBudget interactive tool to look community by community.

MassBudget presentation on the foundation formula

2012-01-17T11:17:00.000-05:00

MassBudget and Policy presenting on the foundation budget
You can find the report they're discussing here.
Lots of aides here today, as the House is in caucus.The room is packed, 'though: people standing against the walls.
Noah Berger and Luc Schuster are here to present today. Representative Lewis is introducing.
This study was paid for by Mass Association of School Business Officials. (That's the finance people.)
posting as I go...will clean up my spelling and such later!

Compares what the foundation budget says should be spent in various spending areas, to what is actually spent.
"Not a full adequacy study in any sense"
Will start with a primer on foundation formula, and then findings
And you've seen this presentation...but allow me to point out that the examples they're using for this are Worcester and Newton.
Baseline per pupil for Worcester is $10,826. Newton is $9028.
Worcester can afford $3225. Newton $8034.
Worcester thus receives $7600 in state aid; Newton $1207
Worcester spends $43 per pupil OVER required minimum; Newton spends $5195 per pupil over required minimum.
And we are here reminded that Worcester has higher needs than Newton does.
(Admittedly, emphasis added, but let's also point out here that Worcester comes out looking not so hot here.)

Additional resources are allocated for low income students, special education students, and English Language students.
Supplemental learning opportunities for kids who are middle class; kids of lower income do not have those opportunities.
Thus, three additional teachers PER a hundred kids in your community for low income kids to allow for that. Plus, additional funds for low income kids for supplemental learning opportunities.

Those numbers are in the formula today.

Specific wage adjustment factor; baseline for salaries, plus inflation factor.

Review of levels of funding: vocational student, high school, elementary, low income....

Foundation budget (all numbers FY10): $9.1 billion
General fund spending (including SFSF): $10.6 billion
all funds spending (including grants): $12.9 billion

Breakdown by wealth: districts with greater wealth spend above foundation
very consistent: greater the wealth, greater the spending over foundation (if you have more money, you spend it on education)

actual spending WAY OVER foundation in health insurance, special education teachers, and out of district special education

Breaking down special education teacher funding:
Teaching costs in general are right on with foundation budget BUT special education teachers specifically are way over the foundation budget allocation.

Health insurance: gap of $1.1 billion between foundation budget and actual funding
HUGE

special ed in district teachers: gap of $665 million
out of district special ed spending: gap of $356 million EVEN AFTER circuit breaker spending

all together? About $2.1 billion gap for FY2010

Health care inflation has grown at 2 to 3 times the rate of inflation factor in Ch. 70 law (outside control of local school districts). Recent health reform law may help somewhat.

special ed numbers were set INTENTIONALLY LOW: thus no incentive to find new special ed kids
dramatic growth in HIGH NEED special ed since early 1990's (we have more kids surviving to elementary school who didn't use to live that long, for example)

Inflation adjustments were not fully implemented:

cost growth were not inflated for the first year
FY10 skipped a high inflation quarter; reduced the foundation budget $327 million statewide
implementation has not always captured revisions to prior years adjustment

Highest wealth districts are still able to spend at foundation on regular ed teachers, while lower income districts cannot. Savings are being found, among elsewhere, in regular ed teachers. Lowest income districts are spending 32% less in regular ed teachers than the foundation budget allows for.
Are those districts paying teachers less, or are they hiring fewer teachers?
Hiring fewer teachers (as salary is about where foundation budget assumes).
Only in highest wealth districts is spending meeting the level called for in the foundation budget

All districts across the board are spending below foundation on materials and technology (50% less even in the highest wealth districts).
Gap in professional development follows wealth: under foundation in lower wealth districts, higher wealth districts spend more than foundation.

Value of foundation budget has lagged behind true cost growth.

New seats

2012-01-13T17:10:00.001-05:00

And as we haven't yet had a school committee meeting, here's a preview of our new seats (we pull for them before the inauguration:

Left side (as you face the rostrum):

O'Connell

Biancheria

Foley

Right side:

Monfredo

Novick

Colorio

notes from January CPPAC

2012-01-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

Notes from CPPAC January 12, 2012
Barbara Sergent presenting on Title I
authorized in 1965 under LBJ: "to level the playing field between advantaged and disadvantaged children"
ESEA is up for reauthorization (note that Title I is part of that)
waivers being offered by the Obama administration, which does affect Title I
"supplemental federal funding for improving student achievement in high-poverty schools"
Title I is school-wide (not specific to particular children)
30 out of 33 elementary schools are Title I schools in Worcester, and the funding is used school-wide at those schools
Title I is used to support: preschool programs, IAs, coaches, literacy tutors, parent liaisons, PD, parent/family activities, supplemental educational services, and instructional materials
all schools were encouraged to offer a Title I informational session, along with a literacy evening
districts are required to offer school choice to students enrolled in a school that has not made AYP; note, however, that if 27 out of our schools are deigned "underperforming," that does not leave much room for movement
Most parents choose not to move their children (this is true nationwide, incidentally)
yearly NCLB report cards are sent home
School compact signed by parents, students, teachers required by Title I
information related to school activities must be sent home in a format and (as practicable) language parents understand
Organizing a Title I parent council: scheduling meeting for February
I asked for a bit more information about this being up in the air today; it seems there's some chance that states that requested waivers MAY (we don't know) have their Title I funds cut. We don't know yet.

Focus on Results working with coaches and instructional leadership team; yesterday's meeting on "authentic literacy"
Is there support for more literacy events? They are being asked to do it, there is funding avaliable
The three schools that are not part of Title I: Nelson Place, Flagg, and West Tatnuck
Middle and high school do not receive Title I funding

some suspicion that the waiver will affect our supplemental education services funding, and possibly (this is not part of Title I) our 21st century schools program

Brainstorming on "community agency outreach priorities"
Worcester Educational Collaborative co-sponsor of daylong workshop on February 4 at Worcester State on the Common Core standards
"what the implications are in those two areas (ELA and math) are for teaching and learning"
"everybody has a role to play to make sure that the kids are successful in school"
"people really wanted to know more about the resources that are available in their community"
WEC suggestion: issue of third grade reading: "a critical benchmark"
Some ideas from brainstorming:
reading a single book citywide
social-emotional development of children
as a parent understanding the role of a teacher
fear of parents who have had negative experiences in school themselves
child development: going back to birth (and before, really) when it comes to parenting, development
getting parents to events: best practices (shout-out to Woodland Academy)
communication
gather opinions from teachers on best practices for parents: no need for it to be adversarial
site councils or PTOs or parent advocacy: expectations spelled out and consistent and available
once you sign up for site council, you should get your training, when your first meeting is, what the expectation is, what the roles are
basic training for parents around advocacy
Parent Academy: advocacy, content, curriculum, school choice
interacting with MASC around training of site councils (Brian O'Connell adds that MASC does other training as well)

following up on Parent Expo: partnering with WEC
looking for a keynote at the Parent Expo: looking for ideas (Common Core?)
working with administration
this year is more about tabling, people circulating around
tables from schools (Doherty's engineering program)
March 31, location TBA

curriculum revision is sitting in TLSS: next meeting TBA
probably coming up in February or March
bringing in community people as a part of the curriculum revision
FY13 budget presentation is at the January 19 School Committee meeting

On the morning commute

2012-01-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

This afternoon the Worcester School Committee received the following email from Administration:

As you know, this morning’s commute ended up being worse than originally forecasted. Based on information available to us early this morning at 4:30 when we need to make a decision (including real-time road conditions and the forecast of the snow turning to rain) we decided not to implement a 2-hour delay or cancel school. We had school plant crews out early this morning to make sure parking lots were accessible and building custodians worked on walkways. We were also in communication with DPW about their plowing operations and road conditions. Most other school districts in the area did not have a delay either (other than Leicester that canceled and some communities south of Worcester).

The road conditions did present challenges in spots for school buses to reach certain locations, but not any different than other storms in the past. There were no accidents involving any WPS or Durham school buses this morning.

As this was a difficult storm to forecast, it was also a difficult decision to make this morning. Road conditions are reporting to be improving for a normal release time this afternoon.

Yes, money matters

2012-01-11T20:45:00.001-05:00

Just in case you'd somehow not gotten this clearly, Bruce Baker did a research review.

New statewide testing protocols

2012-01-11T20:25:00.000-05:00

Just out yesterday from the state: new statewide MCAS testing protocols. You can find the protocols here; the sample document that principals have to sign is here.All principals must now undergo state training, must document the distribution of materials, and must require non-disclosure agreements of all those administering the test to those with disabilities. Superintendents must obtain signed copies of the security vow from each principal.

And if all of this sounds familiar, it's parallel to some of what was required in Worcester last year, after the Goddard investigation.

That's going to hurt

2012-01-11T19:34:00.000-05:00

Among the grants cut in the compromise budget? Teaching American History.

House Education Committee completes two final bills

2012-01-11T19:21:00.000-05:00

...and they'd dramatically change the role the federal government has in education, if they move through as written.
(You can read the bills here.)
While the grades 3-8 testing requirements remain, as does the requirement to report by subgroup, the House bill does not require science testing (which the Senate bill does require).
However, the bills:

Scrap adequately yearly progress, similar to the Senate bill and the Obama administration's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver plan. In its place, the House bill gives states the authority to develop their own accountability systems as long as they include annual measures of student achievement, annual evaluations of schools based on student achievement and closing achievement gaps, and school improvement interventions—overseen by school districts—for the lowest-performing schools. The House bill would also eliminate the School Improvement Grant program.
Eliminate all maintenance of effort requirements for states and districts, which require states and school districts to maintain their own education funding at a certain level to access federal funds.
Eliminate the highly qualified teacher requirements, and instead require states and districts to develop local teacher evaluation systems that use multiple measures of evaluation; incorporate student achievement data; include more than two rating categories; are tied to personnel decisions; and are developed with input from parents, teachers, and other staff. In contrast, the Senate bill maintains the highly qualified teacher requirements and only requires teacher evaluations for districts participating in competitive grant programs.
Limit the U.S. secretary of education's authority. As a clear response to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's support for the Common Core State Standards and his NCLB waivers, the bills assert that the secretary has no authority to address state standards, assessments, or accountability, and may not coerce states into entering into partnerships with other states.

(emphasis added)
So, yes, they aren't fond of Race to the Top, for example, nor the new systems this administration has required around School Improvement Grants.

Valentine Contest time!

2012-01-05T16:41:00.000-05:00

It's time for the annual Worcester Historical Museum Valentine contest!
As per usual, the contest is open to children in grades 3-6 (or the equivalent) who attend a Worcester Public School, are members of the Worcester Historical Museum, or hold a Worcester Public Library card.
Valentines must be historic, contemporary, or verse; must be made of non-perishable materials; and must be no larger than 11 inches in any direction. I'd recommend a close reading of the rules.
Entries are due by January 27 at 4pm at the Museum.

(I've uploaded the full description here.)

What those common assessments might look like

2012-01-05T16:22:00.000-05:00

There's a good round-up of what we know so far about the new common assessments over at EdWeek.
It may be useful to recall that Massachusetts is a part of the PARCC group.

Common no more

2012-01-05T16:15:00.001-05:00

You may have thought that there was a general trend towards commonality in curriculum right; not so, says New Hampshire:

The state House voted 255-112 and Senate 17-5 to enact H.B. 542, which will allow parents to request an alternative school curriculum for any subject to which they register an objection...Under the terms of the bill, which was sponsored by state Rep. J.R. Hoell (R-Dunbarton), a parent could object to any curriculum or course material in the classroom. The parent and school district would then determine a new curriculum or texts for the child to meet any state educational requirements for the subject matter. The parent would be responsible for paying the cost of developing the new curriculum. The bill also allows for the parent's name and reason for objection to be sealed by the state.

Everyone immediately thinks of health class and science class, but the article rightly notes that this could also rapidly get into the phonics/whole language and new math debates.

On the heat

2012-01-05T15:50:00.000-05:00

or lack thereof. The Worcester School Committee received the following from Mr. Allen this afternoon:
It is clear that the recent cold weather has had an adverse impact on some of our heating plants and we are taking the necessary steps to address these issues as soon as possible so as to minimize any impact on instructional time.

We have received the most communication regarding Doherty High School. The immediate response that we will be taking is an earlier starting time for the heating system during the colder weather. This should mitigate much of the overall building problems that has been experienced at the school. However, the school does experience significant heat loss; first when the rush of students enter during the morning (with doors being opened for extended times) and during the day due to the condition of the school’s overall building envelope. This also contributes to the variances in temperature within rooms and is not a new issue. This is the condition resulting from of the non-insulated, single paned windows that surround the entire building envelope. This is one of the reasons that we have identified Doherty High School as a project for major renovation under MSBA. We will continue to work with our HVAC and building custodial staff to address daily, localized issues at the school. We believe that turning the heat on earlier and some other steps will mitigate the problems at this school.

We have also experienced problems at other schools this week, including WTHS, McGrath, PIC, Quinsigamond, and Fanning. These were primarily related to building controls and remote communications issues and have been resolved. We’ve also had problems at North High and those issues appear to have been resolved through the construction contractor. The building needed adjustments to the building controls based on the commissioning process of the school while in full operation.

Jim Bedard is meeting with the HVAC lead tradesman each morning to review the status of all buildings and deploys necessary resources to address any issues.

Preschool and kindergarten registration is open

2012-01-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

Parents of preschool (4 by December 31, 2012) or kindergarten (5 by December 31, 2012) are welcome to register their children for the respective programs at the Parent Information Center at 768 Main Street in Worcester.
To register, bring proof of residency (a utility bill will do), proof of age, and vaccination record with you.
Half-day preschool is by lottery at the individual school; lotteries for slots available will be held on March 23. You have until March 16 to apply. You can find a list of which schools have preschool here.
Kindergarten is at all schools; admission to the magnet programs is according to space and lottery.

The overlooked benefits of physical activity

2012-01-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

Yet another article on the research. Yes, it increases test scores, but also GPAs and classroom behavior. Why are we arguing about time spent in gym and recess, again?

And yes, WPS policy does say 30 minutes a day. It can be inside at the discretion of the principal, but it does have to be 30 minutes, total, DURING the day.

More of the same

2012-01-04T13:11:00.001-05:00

And just in case you were wondering, Mitt Romney's education policy is, ah, just about identical to Barak Obama's.

"Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted."

2012-01-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

I'd urge you to read all (it isn't long) of the article from The Atlantic titled "What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success." Just about everything important, it turns out:

Since the 1980s, the main driver of Finnish education policy has been the idea that every child should have exactly the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income, or geographic location. Education has been seen first and foremost not as a way to produce star performers, but as an instrument to even out social inequality.

(emphasis added)
Read the rest; the title quote is from Pasi Sahlberg, director of the Finnish Ministry of Education's Center for International Mobility and author of the new book Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?

Inauguration Day

2012-01-02T20:35:00.003-05:00

The 2012-13 Worcester School Committee taking their oath of office (the above swiped from clbergpowers' Twitter feed)

I will be serving as Vice Chair this year.

2012-13 Standing Committee Assignments: Worcester School Committee

2011-12-30T17:35:00.000-05:00

The Standing Committee assignments by Mayor-elect Petty are as follows:

ACCOUNTABILITY AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Dianna Biancheria, Chairman
Tracy Novick, Vice-Chairman
Brian O’Connell

FINANCE AND OPERATIONS
Jack Foley, Chairman
Donna Colorio, Vice-Chairman
Tracy Novick

GOVERNANCE AND EMPLOYEE ISSUES
John Monfredo, Chairman
Donna Colorio, Vice-Chairman
Jack Foley

TEACHING, LEARNING AND STUDENT SUPPORTS
Brian O’Connell, Chairman
John Monfredo, Vice-Chairman
Dianna Biancheria

City of Worcester Inauguration

2011-12-27T18:49:00.001-05:00

All are invited to attend the Inaugural Exercises of the City of Worcester

Monday, January 2, 2012

3:00 pm

North High School Auditorium

140 Harrington Way, Worcester

Jon Stewart takes on Obama's education policy

2011-12-21T21:03:00.001-05:00

If haven't seen Jon Stewart push Melody Barnes, outgoing Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, on the Obama education policy, take a look:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

He could have pushed her farther, and he could have pushed her harder, but he didn't let it sit.

Occupying Education

2011-12-20T14:22:00.001-05:00

It isn't just the hold of Wall Street over the economy that Occupiers are questioning; they're looking at corporate control--rather than democratic control--of education. Great look at what's happening around the country (largely in districts without democratically-elected school boards) here.
h/t Schools Matter

Another one

2011-12-20T13:44:00.002-05:00

The state investigation into Dougherty County, Georgia around cheating on exams is back. This is the same county that, after its own investigation, found no evidence of cheating. From the report (via Get Schooled):

Hundreds of school children were harmed by extensive cheating in the Dougherty County School System. In 11 schools, 18 educators admitted to cheating. We found cheating on the 2009 CRCT in all of the schools we examined. A total of 49 educators were involved in some form of misconduct or failure to perform their duty with regard to this test.
While we did not find that Superintendent Sally Whatley or her senior staff knew that crimes or other misconduct were occurring, they should have known and were ultimately responsible for accurately testing and assessing students in this system. In that duty, they failed. The 2009 erasure analysis, and other evidence, suggests that there were far more educators involved in cheating, but a fair analysis of the facts did not allow us to sufficiently establish the identity of every participant.
The statistics, and the individual student data, leave little room for any other reasonable explanation, save for cheating. For example, the percentage of flagged classrooms for DCSS is ten times higher than the state average.

A few things of note: the state investigation team was not from the education department. It was a former state attorney general, a former DA, and a special investigator. They were granted broad powers by the state. The intention of the state from the beginning was to make the results public (as was done in Atlanta), as well as hold accountable those adults who so remarkably failed in the public trust.
Not how it's been handled everywhere, but a credit to the state of Georgia.

Holiday decorations

2011-12-19T19:37:00.000-05:00

donated for the Durkin Administration Building

Stakeholder group for Burncoat Prep

2011-12-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

informing the School Committee about the make-up of the group:
Jeff Mulqueen will chair
ESE Designee: Erika Werner/Joan Tuttle
School Committee designee: Donna Colorio
Union designee: Howard Clash
School administrator: Brendan Keenan
Teacher: Beth Zeena-Dowd (Coach)
Parent from school: Jovanny Marinez
Social service rep: Tim Garvin (United Way)
Early Education and Care: Linda Granville
Community Memeber: Paul Hernandez
Teacher Kara King (Gr. 1)
District administration: Mary Meade-Montaque

Completed plan approved by April
being done under the current turnaround options (under NCLB); so, those same four choices:

close the school
restart the school under different management (aka: a charter)
fire the principal
fire half the staff and the principal

Coming, it sounds like, in January...

reducing the budget

2011-12-19T19:23:00.002-05:00

O'Connell asks what the effect will be on classrooms of the IAs
"does this make a reduction in what we need?"
attrition, says Boone: "sum total of vacancy"
(money we saved by those jobs being open for a bit of time)
This is (again) what happens when the state Board of Ed authorizes additional charter schools and the Legislature level-funds the charter assessment budget: there's not enough money.

Additionally, should the charter numbers see any change (which they might, comparing projected enrollment to bodies in seats), the money will come back AFTER the Council votes the tax assessment (and thus the budget, finally), tonight. Thus any money that comes back, comes back to the city as free cash; it does not come to the schools.
Asking for a report on whatever change there is, once administration knows, so we can follow that money to City Hall (and ask for it back!)

somewhat related: questions around the city not meeting net school spending requirements
They haven't for FY11, and this year's budget does not make up the difference, as they are legally obligated to, so they are two years in abeyance.
The superintendent will be speaking to the city manager on this; we're forwarding this information to incoming City Council. Important to meet your legal obligations!

request for an early warning system for dropouts

2011-12-19T19:04:00.002-05:00

is the request...Biancheria asks us to look at what we have, first.
"signaling the kids were doing..."
indicator factors from the state used to create early warning indicator reports by student, by school
includes attendence, test scores, support services
through support of Mass Graduation Initiative
a multidisciplinary team
"graduation improvement groups"
state looking at a similar process across all grade levels
Monfredo says he wants to look at the elementary level
Boone says we have (through attendence)

TLSS report

2011-12-19T18:53:00.002-05:00

...but many of the items (including cheerleading and homeless students) are being held at the subcommittee level...

Teacher Evaluation Requirements

2011-12-19T18:26:00.000-05:00

This will be going to negotiations (or at least some of it will), so we're getting something of an update. Specifics on implementing the regulations from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Ed are coming out on January 10, so there's only so much information we have now.
Level 4 districts and RTTT districts (we are both) have jumped on this early.
"The teachers will be a part of developing their goals"
Boone further notes that this will also change how we evaluate principals and all "instructional leaders," including the superintendent
The District Management Council will be facilitating the process, through state funding.

There are four areas in which teachers will be evaluated:

curriculum, planning, and assessment
teaching all students
family and community engagement
professional culture

For principals, the four are:

instructional leadership
management and operations
family and community partnerships
professional culture

Note that for teachers, the first two are required to be proficient; for principals, the first is.

Action must be outlined as well as how it will be evaluated.
Require that you use evidence for your plan.
Plan may evolve over time.

O'Connell: often a battleground
mentions other states in which half of assessments are tied to test scores, etc

O'Brien: "We don't want to create a disincentive to go to challenged schools"
"there are differences within a city"

Biancheria notes that this is ongoing and being worked on

expanding PD for instructional assistants

2011-12-19T18:12:00.000-05:00

The Mayor has asked about expanding professional development for instructional assistants. Some of our HR people met with the IAs in November regarding this.
"they are eager to have some professional development" and we get a list of issues that they run into in their daily lives. "Definitely enthusiasm"
Something to roll out for the next school year
The Mayor comments that some IAs have trouble taking courses, as many have second jobs (because the IA job does not pay a living wage).
"would like to propose that the committee consider...that they could gain points as they take these classes...they could become highly skilled"
"they can learn more..and they can earn a little bit more"

I'd missed this: outgoing chair of Chamber of Commerce comments

2011-12-19T18:07:00.001-05:00

I haven't gotten all the way through the Sunday paper yet, so I just caught this now:

4. Insist on excellence in public education.

“The business community needs to insist on it,” he said. Then he said this: “We need to restore the public preparatory school system in the Worcester public schools if we want to have the middle class in our schools.”

Boston has such a system, and its schools are a case of the haves and have nots. A tiny sliver of the best of the best public school students pass the entrance exam to Boston Latin and Boston English, the two preparatory schools for public school students in Boston. They get into some of the best colleges and universities in the country. The vast majority of Boston’s public school students are left behind, with minimal skills. If Worcester is going to pursue a preparatory school system, it should create a new model, one that includes charter schools, pilot schools and other school types that do not require exams for entrance.

This isn't the first time I've heard this...

Committee appointment

2011-12-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Mayor-elect Petty has appointed current Mayor O'Brien to the Education committee

I'm further told the committee appointments, both Council and School Committee side, will be coming out next week. Incoming-mayor Petty has met with each of us (or talked to us) regarding our preferences; committee chairmanships and positions are entirely at his discretion.

School Committee Liveblog: coordinator of nursing

2011-12-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

New Coordinator of School Nurses Anne M. Laverty appointed by the School Committee, per recommendation of the administration

also honoring Joe O'Brien (as it's his last meeting tonight)

Worcester School Committee meets Monday

2011-12-15T20:03:00.003-05:00

The Worcester School Committee has their (postponed) meeting on Monday at 5 pm at Worcester Technical High School. You can find the agenda here.
Note that the several-times-held report of the superintendent on teacher evaluation is one of two reports; the other is a class size report for secondary schools.
We have a report coming in from Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports (they met Tuesday night; report not yet up).
We have some mid-year retirements/transfers/hirings.
We've received a list of who is on school site councils. Note that these are also now up on each school's website.
There are several requests for reports and honors.
We also, unfortunately, are having to reduce the budget. You'll find the report here. The short version (as I've mentioned here before) is that the Legislature level-funded the charter reimbursement account in the same year that the Board of Education added sixteen new charter schools, nine of which opened last year. There thus was not enough money in the account to go around. The state assured us on Tuesday that they thought that gap would either be smaller or close entirely; that will come too late for us, as we have to have solid numbers now.We have some money we're saving on utilities this year; otherwise, the money is coming from IAs, custodians, and instructional supplies: in other words, it's coming straight out of our classrooms.

FY13 DESE budget forum

2011-12-13T16:42:00.000-05:00

taking a few notes from the budget forum
Reville: to give you sense of the budget challenges we face as the Governor prepares his budget for FY13
begin by talking about budget overall, including restraints
then education in particular
then questions to comment on
not a legislative hearing, so much as a opportunity for a conversation

Review here of what drives the state budget: tax revenue collection (based on FY12), spending pressures, loss of one-time or short term resources
Tax revenues have been recovering: just now getting back to what we'd hit in 2008
"sound fiscal management" in this adminstration, says Reville
balanced approach using cuts, revenue, rainy day funds, and stimulus funds; reduction of reliance on one-time resources
note that taxes are 62% of revenue sources for the state
chart showing expenses: education and ch.70 aid is 18% of the budget
55% is for health and human services
continuing cost pressures from Medicaid and other health care services
most states are making cuts to meet their budgets
federal subcommittee established: did not meet schedule, not clear what will happen
some cuts will hit as early as latter part of January
move state revenue into services provided by federal government
Patrick includes "eliminate the achievement gap" as one of his four top priorities
a bit over 67% of education in the state budget goes to Ch. 70 aid
recording investment in ch.70 for FY12
RTTT
innovation schools: 20 across the state, $1 million in grants awarded
$28M in wraparound grants
Gateway cities : high standards, rigorous accountability
comprehensive student services: health and ready to learn; differentiated services
"new expectations for college and career readiness"
"innovation fund to promote best practices and build stronger partnerships"
"the dilemma of how you build a budget in light of the limits here described"
some shrinkage below what we'd consider "maintenance"

what are your priorities for FY13?
what are your ideas for increasing revenues and decreasing expenses?
where should the administration focus our resources?

South High principal Maureen Binienda: "I've always tried to figure out a way that we can close the achievement gap"
She's speaking of MIMSY, citing their numbers on AP: wanting increased funding to match

Poverty matters

2011-12-12T16:38:00.002-05:00

Excellent op-ed today in the New York Times, pointing out what we've heard before and studies have confirmed again: poverty matters:

The correlation has been abundantly documented, notably by the famous Coleman Report in 1966. New research by Sean F. Reardon of Stanford University traces the achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families over the last 50 years and finds that it now far exceeds the gap between white and black students.

The author lays out the variety of reasons why this continues to be brushed aside (in some cases, by the very people one would hope would be fighting hardest to overcome it), and lays out some things that can, even with the current push to deny the realities of anything outside the school building, be done for children who need the support most.

UPDATE: Deb Meier's latest letter to Diane Ravitch discusses Professor Ladd's paper on this issue (of which her editorial is a summary).

Worcester School Committee meeting postponed to 12/19

2011-12-12T15:14:00.001-05:00

Note that the Worcester School Committee meeting originally scheduled for this Thursday, December 15, has been postponed to Monday, December 19.
It will take place at 5 pm in the conference room at Worcester Technical High School.

The Worcester City Council will also meet that evening, at City Hall, at 7 pm.

Whose children are left behind?

2011-12-10T20:35:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Teacher Ken at the Daily Kos for his highlighting of Diane Ravitch's address to the National Opportunity to Learn Education Summit yesterday. I'd really encourage you to read the whole thing, of which the theme is "Whose children are left behind?"

We know—or we should know—that poor and minority children should not have to depend on the good will and beneficence of the private sector to get a good education. The free market works very well in producing goods and services, but it works through competition. In competition, the weakest fall behind. The market does not produce equity. In the free market, there are a few winners and a lot of losers. Some corporate reformers today advocate that schools should be run like a stock portfolio: Keep the winners and sell the losers. Close schools where the students have low scores and open new ones. But this doesn’t help the students who are struggling. No student learns better because his school was closed; closing schools does not reduce the achievement gap. Poor kids get bounced from school to school. No one wants the ones with low scores because they threaten the reputation and survival of the school.
The goal of our education system should not be competition but equality of educational opportunity. There should not be a Race to the Top. What is the Top? Who will get there first? Will it be poor and minority students? Don’t count on it. The Top is already occupied by the children of the 1%.

City Council to consider school projects on December 19 (NOTE DATE CHANGE!)

2011-12-09T20:33:00.001-05:00

SAVE THE DATE!
Please save Monday, December 19 (NOTE DATE CHANGE!) for the Worcester City Council meeting at 7pm. On that agenda will be the Worcester Public Schools Statements of Interest. These need to be passed by the Worcester City Council before they can go to the state.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
You can find the full list of projects being submitted this year here. The list by school is here. If you can come to the meeting, that would be excellent. If you cannot, please contact the councilors (you'll find their emails to the right) and express your support for these projects.
Thank you!

Worcester City Council cancelled for Tuesday

2011-12-09T15:27:00.001-05:00

Please note that, out of respect for pending funeral arrangements for fallen Worcester Firefighter Jon Davies, the Worcester City Council meeting for Tuesday, December 13 has been cancelled.
There will be a meeting on December 20 with both a Council and a City Manager's agenda.

Public forum on the state FY13 budget

2011-12-08T19:49:00.001-05:00

yes, already!
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will hold two forums on the FY13 budget:

Secretary Reville will present the context for the FY13 state budget and gather valuable comment from members of the public about their priorities for funding. The forums will begin with a short overview presentation by the Secretary, followed by an opportunity for audience members to provide testimony to Secretary Reville and other members of the Patrick-Murray administration. Feedback received during these forums will help inform the development of the state's FY13 budget.
The two meetings will be held:
Tuesday, December 13, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.Worcester State University, Student Center
486 Chandler Street
Worcester
Tuesday, December 20, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.Department of Early Education and Care
51 Sleeper Street, 4^th Floor
Boston
Written testimony will also be accepted and can be mailed to the Executive Office of Education, 1 Ashburton Place, Room 1403, Boston, MA 02108. ATTN: Heather Johnson.

Voice of reason lost from the Board of Ed

2011-12-08T16:23:00.001-05:00

I am really going to miss Jim McDermott being on the state Board of Ed.
He's entirely right on the state of education right now, though.

School or prison?

2011-12-07T21:51:00.001-05:00

Well worth reading Christopher Emdin on why students are being arrested in schools

Wide is the Gate(s)*

2011-12-07T21:03:00.001-05:00

There's some strange things afoot with the latest round of Gates Foundation grants. In addition to continuing their grants for district/charter collaboration (I'm trying hard not to put that last word in quotes; it's warranted), they've given ALEC money for:

...to educate and engage its membership on more efficient state budget approaches to drive greater student outcomes, as well as educate them on beneficial ways to recruit, retain, evaluate and compensate effective teaching based upon merit and achievement

It's worth reading the whole Crooks and Liars post above on ALEC and the ongoing push to privatize education, but also notice what ALEC's latest work is on:

A package of model legislation opposing the common standards gained ground yesterday at the American Legislative Exchange Council.

That would be the same Common Core standards...that the Gates Foundation just spent a whole lot of money developing and getting everyone to adopt.
Confused yet? It seems the Gates Foundation might be!

h/t Ken Libby for the tweets on this on December 5
*Matthew 7:13,14 (again)

Potential

2011-12-07T14:39:00.001-05:00

http://xkcd.com/987/

School repair and rehab projects

2011-12-02T13:41:00.001-05:00

I thought it might be easier to sort through if you could just go to the school you're interested in, so I've loaded them as separate Google docs (the full backup is here).
Note that these are executive summaries, not the actual applications. Further note that the Green Repair program is a single page chart including 21 schools that need windows, roof, or boiler, or some combination of the three.

South High partitions

2011-12-01T22:30:00.001-05:00

request for partitions in South (as the ones that the building was built with)
Boone requests that this be referred to F&O
the superintendent points out that some of the half walls removed were required to be done so by the city
Allen further says that the work at South this summer required the removal of those temporary walls; we can't get new ones; we'd have to build new walls entirely
Biancheria asks if we have a timeframe, as what we have right now is not working for the kids that are there
Monfredo asks "what can be done?"

allowing the city to understand the budget

2011-12-01T22:25:00.001-05:00

the request here is for an audit of the WPS budget, done by the Council and the City Manager
Foley points out that the city auditor, appointed by the City Council, oversees every penny spent by the Worcester Public Schools
this is in addition to the independent audits done by the those hired by the committee
Novick suggests recasting the item as, as suggested by O'Connell, this is actually about educating the Council regarding our budget
Boone supports
the item is amended, and then referred to Finance and Operations

Graduation requirements

2011-12-01T22:17:00.001-05:00

There's a series of items here--on civics, science, and math--around which we're having some discussion regarding graduation requirements. Superintendent Boone is asking that they be taken together as part of the conversation regarding MassCORE.
Civics is being taken independently; the other two taken together.
I should note that part of the conversation here brought up the "college" track which does not track one for college. As courses are being reviewed, parents and students will receive close counseling regarding what courses get them where.

Fix America's Schools Today

2011-12-01T21:57:00.001-05:00

Senate Bill No. 1597, which would appropriate $25 billion for infrastructure improvements, including school buildings

report of the Standing Committee on Finance and Operations

2011-12-01T21:13:00.001-05:00

You've got most of this already...so minimal notes from me...
I will note that the votes we are taking tonight on the Statements of Interests are heading to City Council for Tuesday night's meeting, with our hope of getting them in next week (?).
Mr. Foley notes that Nelson Place has already been voted and forward to MSBA (thus it will not be voted tonight)
O'Connell stops the vote to ask if the Worcester East Middle vote includes the auditorium. It certainly does!
And note that many of the Green Repair window projects are at the schools either built or repaired during the PCB era.
And yes, MSBA does need an individual vote (phrased correctly) for each school submitted.

Burncoat Prep uniforms

2011-12-01T21:01:00.001-05:00

sorry, I should mention:
The uniform request is being sent back to the school, as Burncoat Prep is now a Level 4 school, so it's being sent back to their stakeholders' group.

Environmental Management System report

2011-12-01T20:16:00.001-05:00

Presentation by Brian Allen on the environmental management system

A set of management processes and procedures to help an organization identify, assess, control, and reduce the environmental impact of its activities, products, or services.

Using UMass Lowell Service program, an environmental health and safety specialist, and Triumvirate Environmental Inc.
"more of a change in management issue than a technical fix"
reducing our risk of spills and incidents; wastes and emissions; costs; energy use; liability
benefiting: increased awareness of best practices; sustainability; awareness of energy efficiency and clean energy
Chemical cleanouts at 11 school labs have been done
Next we will be looking at school-specific issues, and providing additional training
Five subcommittees:

asbestos
hazardous materials
incident preparedness and response
inspections and corrective action
professional development and competency

20 schools constructed during the period from 1950-1978, when PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were used; another 9 with major renovations during that time. Trivumvirate Environmental hired in Feb. 2010 to conduct a comprehensive facilities assessment regarding PCBs for all 29 buildings, along with ongoing work with EPA, throughout

24 light ballasts that were leaking have been removed; those were the immediate risk
Next 156 unlabeled ballasts will be removed; interior dust will be removed; stained light fixtures will be removed; interior and exterior window glazing and caulking will be sealed
then we will have on-going annual re-inspections and exterior assessments as needed
This will cost $1.3 million, estimate
introduces Triumvirate Environmental staff
EPA "is very pleased with the work product; moveover, they're very pleased with the course of action" taken by the school system and the city
"actions taken by the Worcester school system should be commended"
"not running from the problem, but also managing it fiscally responsibility"
back to Allen: initial plan had us doing this work over 4 years
a new electricity contract has freed up nearly $1 million in next year's budget
Allen recommends allocating not only the money already allocated, but the million in next year's budget, and get it done in ONE year (rather than four)
This will need to be planned and then go out to bid, so this vote needs to happen now.
actual bid results will be brought to the committee
Later in the meeting, we're voting on Statements of Interests to MSBA, which include windows for these schools (in either renovation or Green Repair)
The EPA "are pleased with the steps we've taken"
work to commence immediately, and then do long-term planning

O'Connell asks if we see any other "buffer" funds, as we're spending this money ahead of having it
Boone: these are one-time funds, we need to use them on one-time opportunities
"would be safer to use them for a one-time use, rather than using them" in the larger budget for curricular issues
O'Connell concerned around use of chemical and such in science labs; not to shortchange kids' education
either develop processes for not using certain chemicals, or doing what we need in order to make them able to be used safely
Novick: are there other capital needs as we look at science labs (four are included in MSBA submissions)
plan to have EMS Manual for review soon
Foley: hesitant to commit funds ahead, but recognize need to move up the timetable
comment that this is in keeping with environmental responsbility taught by Worcester Public Schools
EAW: acting as responsible guardians
Biancheria: contact with city? Allen: contact has been with fire department (as they handle hazardous materials)

Asian longhorned beetle presentation by Ginny Kingsbury

2011-12-01T19:59:00.001-05:00

Ms. Kingsbury has been a vocal member of the public regarding the dangers of the Asian longhorned beetle. She is concerned that people are not aware that it remains a concern for the city of Worcester.
She stresses the responsibility of individuals to look for signs of the beetle and report them to the USDA (whom you can reach, locally, at 508-852-800). If you even think you see something that indicates a beetle, call them!
Ms. Kingsbury is asking that we be proactive in getting information around the beetle out to students.
Question if our trees have been checked (it sounds like some have, and we've had trees removed); we're also using contracted vendors that are trained and certified for moving debris within the city (which is now required by the USDA).
The motion is to refer to TLSS.

Goddard School grant

2011-12-01T19:57:00.001-05:00

...which brings up that Goddard is (among much else, well covered in a presentation; preschool story hours--how cool!) reworking their report card, something of GREAT committee interest.

Worcester School Committee: honors for those improving grounds!

2011-12-01T19:38:00.001-05:00

We're starting our meeting tonight by honoring the members of the Quinsig Village Advisory Committee, who enabled the building of a new playground at Quinsigamond School.
Councilor Clancy is announcing that they recently voted additional funds for capital improvements inside of Vernon Hill School and Quinsigamond School. (Hooray!)

We are also honoring District Attorney Early for the work he and his staff have done for improvements at schools around the district. (I should note that we got a list of the work that has been done and it went on for pages!)

F&O liveblog

2011-11-30T17:09:00.001-05:00

Transportation:
students who reside less than two miles from the school they attend (as discussed in August; referred back to subcommittee)
List is of places that have bus transportation that are closer than two miles
Question of whether there are places that DPW action could resolve the safety issue (largely, not)
Secondary students are not required to be bussed, but we do, thus all the buses are on the road already, and so this costs nothing extra.
Security cameras
list of current cameras, compiling list of upgrades
notes made of schools that have cameras only at the front door; considering recommended upgrades, as needed by principals

FY11 Budget
final numbers

Foley says this is when we "make glowing comments about..our administration"
"finish the race with the least amount of gas in the tank"
any money left reverts back to the city
of $260 million, $7392 was left at the end
0.0028 percent was left to revert to the city
"the intent is to spend it on education..."
Foley points out that you can't carry over money from one year to the next
all funds go through the city auditor
now that the line is drawn under FY11, is there anything we need to switch for FY12?
it informs the first quarter report

Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 54
is being implemented by the city auditor
(if we were a regional district, it would apply to us)
the independent auditor last year recommended to the city that they implement it going forward, which they are

FY12 first quarter report
vacancies and attrition in IAs, custodians, and non-instructional support: positive balances, being filled
charter schools assessment was larger than the state budget projection (done at the end of the process, after our budget is done): it's about $770,000 greater than we anticipated
state level funded charter account: nine new schools opened
Worcester underfunded by about $500,000 in terms of reimbursement
reducing budget very soon, after the city sets the tax rate
utilities: saving us $225,000 this year (good contract!); nearly a million dollar saved next year!
part of student supplies budget frozen; hopeful we won't need to touch that
transportation: we had to add three special ed buses for door-to-door service
workers compensation is traditional underfunded (as it is this year)
additional transportation provided for School-aged Mothers at Creamer (recommended transfer)
item asking about hiring IAs for kindergartens over 20
we have about 65 IAs or so; 90 or so Ks; we'd need about 20 more IAs to do that
administration does not feel that we're at place where we can fund that at this point
we have an interm principal at Clark Street (so administration is running over)
health insurance changes have continued, so we've got $170,000 projected there

North High rental fees
balance of a fair rate that doesn't overuse the building
capture usage (including utilities), plus long-term use of building
using Worcester Tech model
any rental of the school is retained by the school in a revolving fund
specific to North High

Statements of Interests to MSBA
Note that eleven projects are being submitted under the traditional renovation/replace projects
Nelson Place has ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED
in many cases, we are submitting for work that we're already been done, or is planned short-term
Plus 21 schools being recommended for Green Repair (windows, roofs, boilers)
Allen notes that you cannot be on both Green Repair and major renovation (so if there's a choice, it's going on renovation)
in some cases, submitting for reimbursement for work already done
Worcester is an 80% reimbursement district
Note that each must be voted individually

And so they are...

NYCoRE call for proposals

2011-11-30T13:53:00.001-05:00

NYCoRE (the New York Collective of Radical Educators) has issued a call for proposals for their third annual conference. The conference this year is Saturday, March 24; the proposals are due January 3.
From the description of the conference theme:

Conference Theme: Education is a Right – Not Just for the Rich or White!
In New York City, public schools have faced merciless budget cuts, resulting in growing class sizes, lack of materials, and huge layoffs. These cuts disproportionately affect schools in communities of Color. Meanwhile, our state and local government continue to award huge contracts to private consulting firms, charter schools, and other corporations. Patterns of resource distribution reveal the values of those making the funding decisions. These patterns are telling in their prioritization of profit over people, as well as in their disregard for communities of Color.

Losing kids in the transition to middle school

2011-11-30T12:17:00.001-05:00

EdWeek has a report on a new study on the transition to middle school being the particularly tough one:

For the Florida study, Mr. West and Guido Schwerdt, a researcher with the Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich in Germany, used the state’s longitudinal database to track more than 450,000 students in the state’s public schools who proceeded from grades 3 to 10 between 2000-01 and 2008-09.
They found students who attended elementary schools ending at grade 5 had an early edge over those attending K-8 schools in mathematics and language arts, but their performance in both subjects dropped dramatically when they switched to middle school in 6th grade. After the 6th grade transition, middle school students fell by .12 standard deviations in math and .09 standard deviations in reading compared with students at K-8 schools, and then that gap continued to widen throughout middle school and into high school.
Moreover, students who had attended a middle school were 18 percent more likely than students who attended a K-8 school before high school to not enroll in grade 10 after attending grade 9—an indicator that they may have dropped out.

You can read the study here.

Increases in students on free and reduced lunch

2011-11-30T11:06:00.001-05:00

Excellent front page article in today's New York Times, calling attention to the growing number of students on free and reduced lunch.

Finance and Operations subcommittee meeting tonight

2011-11-30T10:20:00.001-05:00

The Standing Committee on Finance and Operations meets tonight at 5 pm at the Durkin Administration Building. You can find the agenda here.Note that it's a subcommittee agenda; click the highlighted number to get the item with backup.
We'll be closing out the FY11 year, and doing the first quarter of the FY12 year.
We're setting the rental rates for North High School (and if you've ever wondered how much it costs to rent a school, you'll find the answer in the backup).
If you have an interest in the transportation of elementary students, there's an item is for you.
There's also an item on security cameras.

We're also reviewing, prior to consideration by the full committee tomorrow, the Statements of Interests for the Mass School Building Authority this year. In addition to Nelson Place (which has already been submitted), we're submitting applications for:
Worcester East Middle, Doherty, Burncoat, South, Tatnuck Magnet, Clark Street, Goddard, Flagg Street, Chandler Elementary, Burncoat Middle, Union Hill**, Worcester Arts Magnet, Jacob Hiatt Magnet, Elm Park, Grafton Street, Harlow Street*, Columbus Park, Sullivan Middle, Belmont Street, Canterbury, West Tatnuck, Chandler Magnet, Vernon Hill, Thorndyke Road, McGrath, Lake View, Lincoln Street, Caradonio, Mill Swan*, and Millbury Street*.

In several cases, these SoIs including work already completed this summer, or work planned for this upcoming summer. It also includes, in many cases, windows for buildings that did not get them under the plan from Honeywell. It also includes the auditoriums at Burncoat Middle and Worcester East Middle.

We further are applying for updated science labs (these are a separate application process) for the three high schools and for Worcester East Middle (again, work already planned. Originally, MSBA was not going to consider middle school applications; they now are).

Again, 5pm, Durkin Administration Building, 4th floor, or on Channel 11!

*Head Start location
**including a replacement for the now-defunct boiler

We have a new member!

2011-11-28T20:51:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Donna Colorio, who will take the sixth seat on the Worcester School Committee.

Hey, guess who's now a PAC?

2011-11-28T20:32:00.001-05:00

Stand for Children!
Not only that, they've now joined forces (check the addresses) with our old friends, Democrats for Education Reform (hereafter, DFER). You'll remember that this comes (not coincidentally) at exactly the same time as Stand's atrocious ballot initiative, tying all decisions around teachers to student test scores (it's called, with the ed reformers' genius for Orwellian language* "Great Teachers Great Schools").
Gee, you think they're planning on spending some money?

*and totally lack of attention to punctuation. But I digress.

Reading roundup

2011-11-28T19:51:00.001-05:00

Here's a few that have come across my desk that I'd recommend reading:

If you've missed the New York state principals' rebellion over their new evaluation system, you can catch up on it here. Best quote:
Katie Zahedi, principal of Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook in Dutchess County. said the training session she attended was “two days of total nonsense.”
“I have a Ph.D., I’m in a school every day, and some consultant is supposed to be teaching me to do evaluations,” she said. “It takes your breath away it’s so awful.”
She said one good thing about the new evaluation system was that it had united teachers, principals and administrators in their contempt for the state education department.
Remember that New York set a percent that test scores would count (40%). And yes, the "building the airplane in the air" analogy is in there, too. Should you wish to join them, you can sign here.
On entirely the other end of the spectrum, there's a good piece today about the renewed recognition in the importance of giving kids time with blocks.
You may have caught Thomas Friedman's column regarding the findings of the Program for International Student Assessment around successful parent involvement. It turns out it necessarily what you'd think:
...on average, the score point difference in reading that is associated with parental involvement is largest when parents read a book with their child, when they talk about things they have done during the day, and when they tell stories to their children.
Seattle is reporting in on their fighting the good fight (and winning!) out there against the corporatizing of public education. Rock on, Seattle!

Recount day! UPDATED

2011-11-28T09:48:00.001-05:00

I've got a huge backlog of things to catch up on....to come!

It is recount day for the Worcester School Committee. Note that every city ballot will be counted for all School Committee candidates.
You can watch it live here.

7:30 UPDATE: And if you're awaiting results, I'm told they are currently adding totals, and it could be awhile yet.

Trouble in the Wellesley business office

2011-11-22T16:06:00.001-05:00

The Wellesley Public Schools business manager has been put on administrative leave, a week after the superintendent announced she'd be resigning the end of the year due to irregularities found in the business office.

Berdell, who has been employed by the town for 26 years, came under fire following the discovery last spring of about $169,000 in uncollected school lunch debt. An audit triggered by the discovery found sloppy bookkeeping practices in the business office. No misappropriation was discovered...
Recently, the School Department came in for more criticism for approving payments totaling about $100,000 to two employees to compensate them for unused vacation time. Berdell was owed $86,000, which she will receive over a two-year period, said Wong.

As the schools were expected to ask for a Prop. 2 1/2 override this spring, they've got their hands full.

Why teach anything else?

2011-11-22T15:42:00.001-05:00

If you only get judged on your English and math scores, why teach anything else?

If the supercommittee fails

2011-11-20T21:31:00.001-05:00

...the news isn't good for federal education funding:

According to the budget office, education funding would be subject to reductions ranging from 7.8 percent (in 2013) to 5.5 percent (in 2021).
What does that really mean for students?
In a letter sent last month to the supercommittee, the National Education Association said a 7.8 percent cut in fiscal year 2013 would mean a reduction in $3.54 billion in education funding. That includes:
*$1.1 billion from Title I, a federal program that provides additional resources to disadvantaged students. This would impact almost 1.5 million students
*$896 million from the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, affecting more than a half-million students, and
*$590 million from Head Start, affecting more than 75,000 young children.

Not good.

Waiver review board has one familiar name

2011-11-18T12:30:00.001-05:00

EdWeek has the list, and it includes outgoing deputy commissioner for Massachusetts, Karla Brooks Baehr.
(widely regarded by those of all stripes as "getting it," so a good choice.I'll keep you posted as I learn more about the others.)

Very much not liveblog of School Committee

2011-11-17T23:09:00.001-05:00

I have not yet gotten the password to log in at Tech, so no liveblog tonight. (Also, the bronchitis has taken my voice, so not many comments from me tonight, either!) A few notes in retrospect, however:

As expected, the reconsideration of Superintendent Boone's contract failed, 3-4. (And should you wonder, Mr. O'Connell more-or-less made the arguments I would have regarding timing, previous contracts, and concerns.)
The School Committee voted raises for non-unionized personnel of 2% effective July
We got the elementary class size report. Per previous conversations, the big classes are due to lack of space in those schools. Mr. Allen explained that we are not yet at capacity--there is still space in some schools, which the Parent Information Center is letting parents know of--but that we will need to begin having conversations around the space. We'll also get a middle and high school report on class size.
We voted to accept the (popular) Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program grant.
The teacher evaluation item was held (as we got to it at 10 pm) for the second meeting running...hopefully December 1?

New round of Level 4s

2011-11-16T20:06:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting: I've come down with a doozy of a post-election, post-MASC bout with bronchitis.
The news of the day is the latest round of level 4 schools being announced by the state, including Worcester's Burncoat Prep. As Burncoat Prep was in the midst of creating an innovation plan (jointly with Lincoln Street), we are, as NECN explains, in a bit of a no-man's-land regarding the need for a turnaround plan. This after (as the T&G covers) a vote of no confidence in the principal. (I don't know what measures were taken in the building after the vote; I intend to ask.)
The big news on the Level 4 front comes from Lawrence, however, where Mayor Lantigua is calling for a state takeover of the entire school system after the state added three more schools to the two that Lawrence already had in that designation. Lawrence is between superintendents (their last one was indited), and, as of last Tuesday, has four newly-elected School Committee members.

Some funny points from Parliamentary Procedure

2011-11-12T09:50:00.001-05:00

there's no such thing as a friendly amendment (once the motion is on the floor, it belongs to the assembly)
tabling requires a majority, but the table is cleared at the end of the meeting
a vote may be rescinded if the action has not gone into affect
the agenda is the property of the committee (not the clerk, the chair, or the superintendent)
if it "reasonably could not be anticipated" it may be added from the floor
any ruling of the chair may be overruled by a majority vote
a point of order is a "point of parliamentary inquiry"
parliamentary procedure is not a book called Robert's Rules of Order (there are other options)
the chair may participate and the chair may vote; it is traditional for the chair to yield the gavel when he wishes to speak
any member of the School Committee may convene the meeting and the first action of a meeting (in the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair) should be to elect a temporary chair
know the order of precedence of motions
passage of a motion to adjourn does not end the meeting; when the chair declares the meeting adjourned, the meeting is over
the chair needs to keep the order of the meeting (including during public comment)
draft minutes are public as soon as the meeting ends; executive session minutes are public as soon as the reason for it being in executive session is over
main motion, subsidiary motion, privileged motion, incidental motion

Rules of remote participation in meetings will be released Monday.

Mass School Building Authority update

2011-11-11T10:37:00.001-05:00

Katherine Craven, outgoing Executive Director (leaving December 1) of the Mass School Building Authority
Jack McCarthy, interm Executive Director
McCarthy comes from Inspector General's office
"no secrets at the School Building Authority"

"We're getting this thing down..."
7 member board; chaired by state Treasurer Steve Grossman
1 penny of state sales tax
423 projects that cost us $5.5 billion that had stalled on wait list
spread school building across the state
MSBA: small staff and overhead; less than 1% of annual budget
of 428 waiting list projects, all but 2 have received payment, been paid off, or removed
inherited almost 800 audits
created "pay-as-you-build" system; cash flow as projects are built

based on need and urgency: places heavy emphasis on planning, study, and design
in collaboration with cities, towns, and regional school districts to confirm problems and identify educationally sound and financially prudent solutions
encourage accountability
standard feasilbility study agreements, project scope and budget
pay 100% of projects in MSBA costs for those in the pipeline
"avoiding problems for you later on"

Statement of Interest: How do you get in?
Opened on October 3
competitive program, grants voted by Board of MSBA based on needs as expressed by community and agreed by MSBA assessment
RE-CERTIFICATION: Deadline is November 30
refiling an SOI that was previously submitted; streamlines
NEW SOI: including science labs and repair: Deadline is Janaury 11
it helps your district if you get them in as soon as possible
"demand vs. inventory"
Science lab initiative: if all you need is a new lab (rather than a new school)
$60M in prototype designs : Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB)
there's a fly-through of a design on their website (I'll work on a link)
MASC/MASS will have members on the decision making board for those who apply
SOI submitted; evaluated by advisory group; district will present before them
Getting into the capital pipeline: review and verify the identified problem
asses relative urgency
"senior study"
invites districts to collaborate on potential solutions within
Local clearance: prerequisities>>forming the project team
Defining scope: feasiblity study>>schematic design>>funding the project
How fast it happens depends on how fast the district moves (getting team together, agreeing on education scope)
Then build
Local clearance chart: which districts are where (I'll link later...typing too fast to look it up now!)
46 in green repairs
$300m in green repair set aside
Roof, windows, boilers to buildings otherwise ok
"difficult for us to do more than one project at a time; difficult for districts to do more than one at a time"
required to follow Stretch Energy Code
a two track operation: major projects vs. green repair
don't wait on the replacement or major repair projects as the Green repair are submitted
"the early bird really does get the worm" passing it in at the last minute (with everyone else) is not as good an idea
Major repair program: materially extend the useful life of the building
accelerated repair program: green repair, science labs
major repair:: one at at time

2010 needs survey: current buidling conditions, maintenance, general environment, education
40% of all current school square footage either built or repaired in last ten years
not widespread overcrowding: "if you have empty classrooms in another elementary school, need to redistrict your space" rather than build
Questions: Jim Daiute (James.Daiute@MassSchoolBuildings.org)

making the votes work well: truth in what people are voting

Tony Wagner, Global Achievement Gap

2011-11-11T09:35:00.001-05:00

Tony Wagner, Harvard Graduate School of Education, author of The Global Achievement Gap
to help the public understand what it means to be an educated adult in the 21st century
there's some great stuff here! Worth it!

"vitally important to the future of our children and our country"
"what are the challenges in education?"
"new skills needed for college, career, and citizenship"
"skills we neither teach nor test even in our very best schools"
"very differently motivated to learn"
"our systems are not failing...systems...need re-inventing"
any skills that can be automated are rapidly being off-shared or automated

Moral foundation: educating for character, has always been vital for our species
New or changed skills in addition

Critical thinking and problem solving: Needed for every employee
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence: deep appreciation for differences. No longer lead by supervisors.
Agility and adaptability: contrast with regularities of school
Initiative and entrepreneurialism: lifeblood of continuous growth. Better to succeed at only some stretch goals, than to make all, but only average, goals. "HOW MUCH THEY VALUE FAILURE" "F is the new A...we talk about interaction"
effective oral and written communication: formulaic writing (like required on MCAS); kids don't know how to write with voice
accessing and analyzing information: ongoing changing information, growing exponentially. Information is a free commodity. Completely different learning challenge
Curiosity and imagination: "not merely a 'nice to have'...it's our future" Innovation: "it is because of, or in spite of, our education system" "Curiosity and imagination the well-spring of innovation...those capacities are schooled OUT of us"..the kinds of tests we use rely FAR too much on factual recall...whether for AYP or AP. AP not teaching what they need. (tells of student at Brown who'd taken seven APs and never written a research paper)

Global achievement gap btn what our very best skills are teaching VS what all our students need for careers, college, and citizenship
Finland has reconceptionalized learning
PISA: can't succeed by memorizing: requires you to apply what you know to problems you've never seen before (reading 15th out of 65, science 23 out of 65, math 32 out of 65)
one out of every two students who starts college never completes a degree
No one ever says "gee, if only I'd had more content, I could have done better" They need more skills
Accustomed to instant gratification and "always-on"
Internet to "learn, create, connect"
constantly connected, creating, and multitasking EXCEPT in school
"the kid in the back row, Googling what the teacher is talking about, to see if it's still true"
"in Finland, no filters on any internet connected computers in schools..." they'd taught the students how to use it
"need practice on how NOT to multitask...sustained concentration..going to have to give them work that is intrisically challenging"
less fear and respect for authority: want coaching, but will not listen to adults who talk DOWN to them or talk AT them
what to make a difference, far more than they want to make money
who made a difference? The outliers: people who teach differently than others
"culture of learning is as important as what is taught"

Culture of learning v. Culture of innovation

individual achievement v. collaboration
specialization v. multidisciplinary approach
risk avoidance v. trial and error
consuming v. creating
extrinsic v. intrinsic motivation (thoughtful adult play)

This is a REVOLUTION: from an information-based learning system (cites Kahn Academy) to a transformation-based learning system
"What they can do with what they know"

Suzanne Bump, State Auditor

2011-11-11T09:15:00.001-05:00

she's pretty popular around here now due to her finding on the requirement on McKinney-Vento funding
Also, the work on the educational collaboratives
"it's all about integrity and public confidence"

"an implicit promise that your money--tapayer money--is going to be well-spent"
"How much did you spend, where did you spend it, how much did you get for it, and how can we do better next time"
operations of auditor's office reviewed by others, first
Medicaid spending is now 30% of state funds
looking at systems that may be broken: tax expenditures
for over a billion dollars of these, there is no measure of success: is there a public benefit?
caught attention of federal accountability office
"all of this work is intended to make government work better"
audit at end of August suggested some concerns around education collaboratives
problems at Merrimack were found elsewhere
Legislation on the table from Sen. Chang-Diaz and the Governor
public hearing this past week: includes most if not all of concerns, Leg plans to pass by early spring

Homelessness: fiscal implications of transporting and educating kids who are in state-sponsored emergency shelter outside their community of origin
Danvers has 8% of homeless family population (with 1% of the entire state population)
legal analysis was that this is an unfunded mandate
"a limit to what local communities can be asked to bear"
difficult decisions in very tight fiscal conditions
Auditor's office will be in touch: "help us figure out what costs if any you are incuring, so as to inform legislation"
contribution to improving transparency and integrity

President of the National School Boards Association

2011-11-11T09:08:00.001-05:00

speaking here of public education being under attack
speaks of push to privatize, to pull money away from schools
Chester Finn on school boards:
"this sense of urgency provides a catalyst for us to move"
"cultivate a culture of caring...make sure our work is about cultivating curiosity, wonder, passion"
"not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire"
"we've got to start yelling about our successes"
"a great cornerstone of our democracy"

School Law 201

2011-11-10T16:03:00.001-05:00

again, from the MASC/MASS conference in Hyannis
Non-renewal of non-tenured teachers

Hull: "a case of bad facts making bad law" Two year teacher, hadn't been evaluated at all
The court confused "dismissal" and "non-renewal"
Dismissal is for cause, involves hearing process
Non-renewal is done at the end of the school year, without cause, by end of June
Many confused as a result.
Laurano v. Super. of Saugus found the distinction again
Dismissal for cause and non-renewal for an employee with right to employment on an annual basis are very different things
In a non-renewal notice "keep it very simple...don't add anything that could be the subject of further discussion or debate"

Labor relations: he asks if anyone is in the middle of contract negotiations, and nearly every hand goes up
employees' First Amendment rights: insignia in schools during contract negotiations
"management sometimes rises to the bait.." Do not have the right to direct what people are wearing during contract negotiations
"you can't do that"
"lose it legally, also lose it with your staff members...trying to maintain trust"
Work to rule: refusing to do college application letters, not using full features of computer grading system, would not teach independent study courses (DLR decision with King Phillip Regional)
law is clear: "if the working condition...is not universally performed by every member of the bargaining unit, you cannot require it...truly voluntary..you can't compel it"
However, if it's in the contract, it can be compelled

Education collaboratives: after audit, DESE conducted a series of hearings, issued a report including proposed next steps and recommendations
two bills filed regarding collaboratives; hearing by Joint Committee on Education on them earlier this week
who appoints and who removes board members?
Audits be shared with member school committees
reasonable number
appropriate salaries
will be seeing legislation coming, if not this term then after the recess

Reminder of the manditory reporting of child abuse (per Penn State), Ch. 119, Section 51A
all employees who have custodial contact with kids are mandated reporters of emotional or physical abuse

Arbitration: more favorable review standard under collective bargaining than under the statute
if the facts cited by management were proven, the discipline sticks

if people want to discuss the boss on Facebook, probably upheld
Note: not students
social media law still developing, though

Legislation of interest:
H168: attorney's fees bill

Posting from the conference

2011-11-09T22:14:00.001-05:00

I'll be posting from the Mass Association of School Committees conference starting tomorrow. My colleagues chose to elect me as the Worcester delegate to the assembly on Friday.