The stories we tell ourselves: Worcester's past 75 years of superintendent transitions

Stories are how we make meaning for what has happened to us; they give form to the past. Sometimes, though, our stories about how things happened once become stories of how they always happen, and we can miss pieces that might make better meaning of the current time.

Thus it is with superintendent transitions.

Thus, here, with my particular gratitude to the Worcester Public Library for having Worcester Telegram & Gazette archives, to whomever scanned decades of Worcester City Council manuals, and to L.H. Larned, whomever you are, are the past seventy-five plus years of Worcester superintendent transitions.

The Loughlin library

...naming the library of new North High after Deidre Loughlin
(She taught science at North before, of course, going on to many administrative positions, including that of interim superintendent before the arrival of Melinda Boone.)

And Dianna Biancheria had her as a science teacher!

Lauding Dr. Loughlin

"There are some who resist change...there are some who" didn't cooperate, says Mr. Bogigian, speaking of the interm superintendent. "It was all about the kids."
Much talk (with some wonder) from members of the interm superintendent visiting every school in the city in her first month. That hasn't happened much.
Ms. Hargrove is using the projects fair as a frame for talking about Dr. Loughlin. And quoting Scarlett O'Hara, and closes by talking about planting trees under which one never expects to sit in the shade...giving a nice segue to Mr. Foley, who says we could use the trees in Burncoat.
Mr. Foley is now likening her to "Brigadoon" in that she comes back every six years.
There has not, the EAW president says, been a time in the history of collective bargaining when the superintendent gave the union president a hug at the close of negotiations.

Sutner on Administrators' pay

While there was not a word of coverage of the consideration of the FY10 Worcester Public Schools' budget this past week, there is on the front page of today's Sunday paper a considerable article on administrative compensation.

The gist of the article is that it's been difficult to decipher who makes what and why in past years. You'll receive no arguments from me there. It's a system that has recently had a number of changes made it; most people receive several forms of compensation. In some cases, this information has been difficult to access; if you don't know what's what, it can be hard to understand.

The direction of the article, from the title ("Despite economy, school pay is up") on, is entirely misleading, though. The amounts of pay cited are for 2006 and 2008.
We are in the final month of fiscal year 2009.
We've just considered the budget for fiscal year 2010.
The economy didn't crash until the end of calendar year 2008.

The article sets up a false comparison. These administrators received this pay last fiscal year, before the economy went south. Their pay for this year was set during the spring of last year, again, before the economy declined.

Now that the economy has been hit, these administrators, along with everyone else who works for the Worcester Public Schools, are looking at a year without a pay raise--this coming year's budget depends on it.

There's plenty of fodder for articles in that, or in plenty of other aspects of the FY10 (the upcoming!) school budget: we haven't cut back the budget to only core services; we haven't funded our translation services enough to be in compliance with Civil Rights obligations; we are still going to have classrooms of 30; we have English teachers who are photocopying novels as we can't afford books; we have schools without paper towels because we've run out for the year. And the School Committee took just over two hours to consider a $300 million budget.

At best, this article is a year out of date. At worst, it's an attempt to mislead the public into anger regarding administrative pay (as it gives a great excuse to print a chart of salaries in the paper). This bracketing (with a pull-out quote by the superintendent, declining teacher raises) of previous year's raises to this year's economy is false.

It's fine to have a conversation about compensation of public employees. Let's have it with clear and correct information if we do.

Councilor Palmieri

speaks of his own experience in the Worcester Public Schools, saying that Loughlin is among the great teachers he had, as was Senator Chandler.



Early intervention, he says, has been something important to him. Boone says it's something she'll take a look at.
Palmieri speaks of gifted student funding..."a school for gifted children" is something he'd like to see.
Loughlin speaks of the advanced placement in the high schools, music at Burncoat, engineering at Doherty, Goddard Scholars at South, and health at North.
Palmieri wants to see something like Boston Latin.

Councilor Clancy

points out that he's already moved to pass the budget.
He also says he knows of three ways to balance budget:

• raise taxes
• cut more
• get more money from the state or fed, which isn't going to happen

Lauds for Loughlin and Mills now.

Councilor Smith

citing himself (to much Councilor muttering and chuckling) as a fine example of a Worcester Public Schools graduate
He asks how Superintendent Boone would spend more money, if she had it, "to increase student achievement"
There are a lot of things, she says, to provide "stretch goals" for the district (she's doing a dang good job, incidently, of citing councilors by name). She's going to be meeting with her "leadership team" to develop those. She also thanks Councilor Smith in citing himself.

Interm Superintendent Loughlin has a wish list to offer:

• low class sizes
• teacher development
• 3rd grade and sped achievement gap
• student health
• gifted and talented programs
• parental involvement (not just having meetings, but training parents in reading and math)

Smith asks what is the long-term plan for the loss of federal dollars.

Boone says that's a good question and she's going to be working on that..."a clear direction" She calls it a "real change in landscape" She's also considering in using stimulus dollars to "cushion" the blow.

Smith asks how much we've lost in students ($10 million of $60 million in losses over the past 6 years). And have we gotten more now? Yes (as, Brian Allen points out, he already explained once). Smith wants to know when the money is coming; this year, says Mr. Allen, based on last year's enrollment. Smith asks if we're going to continue to see that; it varies, says Mr. Allen.

Smith asks about repairing schools, citing Nelson Place School in his own district (which has to be periodically be checked for how far it's leaning). It's a question of when the state will fund it. "Kids should be able to learn in a school where they aren't worried about the building crumbling around them."

Deidre Loughlin's qualifications

On the ongoing question over Interm Superintendent Loughlin's qualifications: the section of the report to the School Committee two weeks ago dealing with those working under waivers, reported on last week in Worcester Magazine, is 143 pages long. Page 60 is clearly labelled as Dr. Loughlin's resume, which runs for a full page and includes her education and her experience.
Her certifications are not on the page.
The following page of the report, page 61, begins with the heading "Certifications." It leads off with Superintendent, and moves down through various other certifications. It is not otherwise labeled, and it's in a different font than the preceding page (p. 60 is sans serifs; 61 has serifs).
Is that page from a different resume?
I've heard from some in the city that they think it is, that the second page got stuck in behind the first page of Dr. Loughlin's resume, and it was photocopied in error.
If that's true, what we have is not an official lying about her certifications, but a Human Resources department that erred in its reporting in a huge and horrid way. Moreover, we have an administration so tone deaf as not to demand a retraction from Worcester Magazine or send out a clarification of the report.
Can someone over there please explain just what the heck is going on with the resumes in that report?

Human Resources Task Force appointed

At an 11:30 press conference this afternoon, interm superintendent Loughlin appointed the Human Resources task force. The members are:

• Tracy Hassett, Chair: Vice-President, Human Resources, WPI
• Nicole Brown: Assistant Dean, Worcester State College
• Russell Vanderbaan: Vice-President, Human Resources, Morgan Construction
  
• Jose Vieira: Assistant Superintendent, Milford Public Schools
• Patricia Webb: Senior Vice-President, Human Resources, UMass-Memorial Healthcare

Superintendent Loughlin introduced the group, then turned the floor over to Mayor Lukes, who commented that the city has "suffered a black eye" from the current and ongoing flap around the schools' Human Resources department. The task force will conduct an "in-depth investigation" and report back to the Superintendent. She commented also that this is a "very professional and qualified group."
Mr. Bogigian and Mr. Monfredo were the other School Committee members there, and both briefly commented. Councilor Rosen also attended, as did several parents of special needs children, who spoke with both the press and the officials after the meeting.

More on certifications...

...over at Daily Worcesteria

This is less about who has what now, as we knew that.
This is about who had what ever, which appears to be under dispute. Participating "in all requirements for Principal, Supervisor and Superintendents," as Worcesteria has it, is not the same as being certified. You have to fill out forms, get signatures, and get a piece of paper back from the Department of Education in order to be certified. Meeting the requirements to be certified isn't the same.

We appear to be having a bit of a problem over at the Admin Building with certification. It isn't optional. It isn't something one gets to decide one has. It is a state requirement and it is decided on by the state.

And, incidentally, while we may require that our administrators be certified or certifiable, we don't require that of our teachers.

And for Poem in your Pocket Day

Mr. Monfredo carried through on his mention at the last meeting and called on both the mayor and the superintendent to read the poem they'd brought in honor of "Poem in your Pocket" day.

Mayor Lukes read "The Lamplighter" by Robert Louis Stevenson (if you have a copy, you can find it also in A Child's Garden of Verses), including the gloss that Leerie is the lamplighter's name, and that Stevenson was sickly as a child (thus the "But I, when I am stronger and can chose what I'm to do" line).
Superintendent Loughlin read "Sea Fever" by John Masefield (some of whose work her father set to music), the opening lines are the instantly recognizable "I must go down to the seas again/ to the lonely sea and the sky."

Questions from the School Committee: Bogigian

What is the superintendent's role in hiring?
Superintendent executes all contracts; she signs off on all hires.
Is anyone responsible for seeing that people are making progress toward certification (if they're on waivers)?
Yes, one of the administrators is.

Coming at the next meeting

The superintendent asked that the committee allow her to pool the items they requested into one complete Superintendent's report for the next (April 16th) meeting. She added that she will add some items to those requested. The committee agreed, provided, the chair added, that the items be referenced within the report.

Human Resources item

In rising to address his item on looking at the Human Resources department, Mr. Bogigian goes to great lengths to specify that he isn't making a motion BUT he would like to suggest an outside task force look at the Human Resources department, if the Superintendent would allow it. "I mean this, " he says, "as a cooperative venture--to restore faith and confidence." He defers, through the Chair, to interim Superintendent Loughlin.
The Superintendent agrees, saying that such a task force is being assembled, and that she will welcome their recommendations.
Bogigian then submits this as a motion, which passes.
(After the meeting, there's a bit of a stir when he goes over and has an intense conversation with Stacey DeBoise Luster, the current Human Resources director.)

Liveblogging budget hearing: urging School Committee

Deb Steigman, urging the School Committee to "quell the concern that there is not quality in the schools"
"What is the School Committee doing to help" the perceptions of the public and the City Council?

Foley responds that "we have a great" school system and that's part of the message tonight

Loughlin "appreciates the comments of the last lady"
Brian Allen is "one of the outstanding educators we have at DAB"

Liveblogging budget hearing: intro from the School Committee

Coming out swinging!

Chair of the Business subcommittee Jack Foley:
"our public school system in Worcester is an outstanding public school system"
Outstanding administrators working for our children every day, working for our children
"a wonderfully transparent budget and budget process"
FY10 is "an inexact science"
what are the most important elements as we are drafting our budget
"a very transparent budget process"
"to bring to the public exactly what has happened over the past 7 years"
nice words for Stephen Mills


Monday evening meeting in joint session


O'Connell repeats strong support for administration: "their dedication to our children was in some ways its own reward"
graced with support by parents, legislative delegation, City Council
unwaivering support of groups like Stand for Children
"we can bemoan what we don't have"
Stimulus package $ --opportunities to restore what has been lost; we cannot just carrying on several positions as they are--need to be invested
"positive, proactive, and measure real dollars as we move forward"

Bogigian: taxpayers have stood with the schools through thick and through thin
Have seen and heard of parental support of WPS
"teachers are mavelous"
"backbone of a dedicated, talented teaching staff"
special thanks to Loughlin
"outstanding teacher, an outstanding educator....exemplefies a true professional...has all the answers at her fingertips"
"a very difficult role"
"I am very optimistic about the future" speaks here about Dr. Boone

Loggerheads

The file photo smiling faces of the current (interim) and past superintendent were in sharp contrast to their words in yesterday's Telegram and Gazette cover story. And kudos to the local daily for seeing that the story didn't die with the firing of Donna Byrnes.

First things first: it is absolutely true, as former Superintendent Caradonio says, "he had received consistently high reviews from the School Committee." It's also unfortunately true that requests for information from the administration sometimes bore a depressing resemblance to something written by Beckett. Witness, for example, last spring's request for what would happen if Question 1 passed: the answer came back four days before Election day, months after the request was filed. That's the sort of priorities that are set by the person at the top of the ladder. The relationship between that lack of respect for the School Committee and the high marks received by the former Superintendent is something that I don't understand.

The current Superintendent's way of moving forward are also a bit unclear to me: "I’d like to clear up and clean up the perception that this is happening in human resources and to come up with some steps so that this doesn’t happen again in the future," she says. Clean up the perception? It isn't a perception, though: it happened. It not only happened: it happened at her urging. As the entire thing happened because she didn't want to fire the office manager and because the human resources director had no problem with putting an entirely unqualified person into a classroom, I don't think a few steps are what we need. We need a complete and utter overhaul of the perception of those running the district.

Their own perception, that is, rather than how they are themselves perceived. I think we're doing pretty well on that.