Innovation plans hearing

Note that this is a public hearing tonight: the School Committee will not vote tonight.
Len Zalauskas: "not happy" in the way it rolled out
He'd asked to participate, but was not allowed to
"very fine plan, and they did a fine job"
law is clear..."if you're on one of those committees, you're supposed to help write the plan"
"wanted to bring that to your attention"
 "no one bids in there, anyway..."
some issues that need to be dealt with in these plans
"let's get it right"
"the gold standard is UPCS...and that's about Worcester East Middle...the other one is much worst"

Ted Coughlin:
who knew he lived in Shrewsbury?
"embed more STEM in the Worcester Technical High School curriculum"
and we've got a STEM education video...

workforce investment board president from Northboro
gap that's twofold in the emerging workforce
soft skills: communication, teamwork, time management
hands on skills:
"evolving labor market requires more than a high school diploma"
"becoming the underpinning of most of our industry"
80% of jobs created over the next decade are estimated to require math and science skills
"Massachusetts forgotten middle skills job"
support for Tech's plan

current sophomore reviews her plans for the rest of her high school


Zalauskas: "I'm not sure any of these people actually read this plan"
should be rejected and be revised
work year and work load: union's attorney questions who voted: faculty or teachers
there's a question as to who voted on the plan
2/3 vote of the teachers required by Act Relative to the Achievement Gap  
(section 8 deals with innovation plans)
(That's here: " the applicant shall submit the innovation plan to teachers in the school that is proposed for conversion for approval by secret ballot within 30 days. A two-thirds vote of the teachers shall be required to approve the plan.")
"president and superintendent can't collude to subvert the law"
first time the plan was put forward, it was rejected
"basically solid, but is it legal?"

O'Connell requests a legal opinion on the vote at Worcester Tech prior to the School Committee vote at the end of April
also comments on collaborative nature of the planning process: people need materials well ahead of time before a vote