Board of Ed public comments

first comments from some from Dorchester Collegiate Charter
headmaster and Board chair
"hear today not to ask you to vote against Commissioner's recommendations"
asks that they be allowed to continue:
three points:

1. unique mission to address students who have struggled (requiring counseling in many cases)
2. significant growth in MCAS: level 2 school
3. strong academic program in place

citizen of Massachusetts, proud that state has set the standard

"good scores can mask simmering issues around achievement"

founded by social workers and others

"probably not a good fit in an era of strict accountability"

"no student is ever pushed out"

asks them to consider other ways of dealing with charter schools than closing than

dealing with students who might otherwise be pushed out "bridge that needs to be built and needs to be crossed"

Global Learning Charter School: Executive Director

pleased that it is being recommended to be removed from probation

"as you can see from our performance we have turned things around"
"want to demonstrate that these past two years were not an aberation"

Digital Literacy and Computer Science standards:
MASS endorses the proposed standards "strongly and without reservation"
"an understanding by the committee that the school day is only so long"
MassTLC foundation (technology leadership council foundation)
"working to ensure all students have access to basic" technology
"coding is a way of thinking"
majority of students are losing out and sitting on the sidelines
problem isn't creating the jobs; it's filling them
"creators, not simply consumers, of their future world"
"talent is distributed evenly but opportunity is not"
Facebook-Boston
impressed with strands and how they're woven together
computer science as a way to solve problems
"company connects more than 1.5 billion people around the world"
computer and society as one of the strands
"wonderful starting point, not the end"
"beginning of the debate around these issues"