Monday, January 29, 2018

Vote of Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on new Commissioner of Education

The meeting is scheduled to start at 12:30...posting as we go...
Everyone here save Chair Sagan and Secretary Peyser. Isn't that interesting? 
And the Chair is here...

Meeting being called to order at 12:39



Sagan: is rehearsing the sequence of how we got here...
125 pages of commentary received over the weekend "I read every page"
"including those that ended by saying they were sure no one would read that comment"
thanks those who assisted
"a magnificent group of candidates, especially a very diverse group of candidates"
at least 8 of 11 have to vote for someone to recommend to the Secretary
"but only this board has been through the entire process together and it's our recommendation to make to the Secretary"
"called on not to select a finalist on a single aspect or attribute"
"believe we should not be judged on how we lived up to our responsibilities in the coming days and weeks...up to children to judge in coming years"
"everyone will have a chance to speak as much as they want"
"at some point I will call for a roll call vote"
Sagan goes back to description of position: agent for change, achieve educational equity, advocate for student learning, comprehensive view of what it means to educate someone, multiple means of messsaging, inspire leadership from the top, empathy and understanding, put students and families first, champions for teachers and other educators, "lead with integrity and humility"
"I think those were the right attributes"
"three finalists who embody them all"
"I learned to like them all a great deal"
"I think each member needs to tell us who they want to support...or if you are divided, that's fair to say"
"these are incredibly fine professionals, who have put themselves out here for public scrutiny"

Craven: "three literally magical candidates come in...so impressive"
Schwinn and Infante-Green "captured imagination"
"special needs and how it should be systems based"
"when I go back to what the descriptions say, need something with direct district management...having someone who has walked the walk in the district"
"direct district experience...someone who has closed achievement gaps"
"I come down to Jeff Riley being the person who embodies those in my perspective"
cites his experience in Boston at the Edwards
Lawrence "no money, charter schools and unions at each others' throats, intense institutional poverty...his work there is enough that has impressed me over the years that he has enough to run the whole system"
Gabrieli recommended Riley, Carol Johnson recommended Riley
"a little bit iconoclastic"
closed gaps "and he does it through arts and enrichment programs"
"what he said about parent involvement in Lawrence...bureaucracy is not sacrosant"
"being able to work within a bureaucracy"
"leadership locally aligned with the principles and the goals"
citation of Mayor Rivera "no drama"
"the Secretary and Jeff sorta got into it on Friday...and I think that's healthy"
"we'll all have better discussions at the Board level if we have those discussions in public"
"accountability in Massachusetts...we've been through this for twenty-something years now"
having experience necessary "or we could stand to lose some ground"
"I'd be happy to support Jeff Riley and I'd enthusiastically support Jeff Riley for Commissioner of Education"
as she holds the business seat, checked back with some business organization
"hitting the ground running" agreed with her estimation
"but this was a torturous decision"
"Infante-Green was unbelievable with her accomplishments....my vote is with Jeff Riley"

Doherty: "there are two that I could vote for and be very comfortable voting for"
"I am going to echo a lot of what Katherine said"
Sat across the table from Jeff Riley
"I have never experienced a superintendent who did everything the union wanted"
work of Riley in Lawrence
"positive work with him in Boston"
"particularly pleased that he's not going to double down on math and English
"recognizes the impact of poverty"
"I am not going to go on and on" but will support Riley

Fernandez: "grateful that there's such a wide range of committed leaders"
lived experiences, gratified by what each of their contributions was
Schwinn "stood out to me on her ability to put performance management in place"
what works and what isn't
"thoughtful and mindful on building a diverse team"
Riley: invested in the community
"knows a lot about Boston and our Gateway cities...has that context"
"we've also said that none of us is satisfied with where we are, and so much work remains to close these gaps that disproportionally effect children of color"
demographic makeup of Commonwealth very different than ten years ago
someone who has walked in the shoes of the children
"inspire a sense of urgency...while at the same time build hope"
Infante-Green "is the right person"
"what is that edge?...because they all are so talented"
spoke to her daughter over the weekend, had the video up of Infante-Green
"I could see when my daughter was watching that video, she was moved"
"I understood what it means to be what you can't see"
"do think it's time to have the first woman and the first Latina in this position"

McKenna: "I will add my voice to my colleague"
"the right person at the right time"
"what we don't often hear is Massachusetts being 49th out of 50 in accomplishments of our Latino students"
"we talk about the achievement gap but we haven't done much about it"
a lot of that is bilingual education
Infante-Green "has been her life's work"
"who can inspire...it would be hard not to be when you listen to her"
"she has all of the pieces that we have laid out in terms of the qualities we said we were looking for"
"and these opportunities do not come across our desk very often"
"seems to me that this is an opportunity we should not pass up"
"I love everybody who says "nothing's like Massachusetts'"
"everybody has a piece missing"
"when you come from outside you bring with you a new look at what's happening inside"
"for any of these candidates, there's a learning curve"
"at this point in our history, she is the right person"
heard from business community and the labor community, saying I hope you take this opportunity to support Infante-Green
"there is something about having the leadership of education in Massachusetts be all male"
not saying we should ever appoint someone unqualified
"but we have someone who's qualified"

Moriarty:
"would have voted for [Infante-Green] if we had voted when we finished on Friday"
"however this decision is bigger than two hours"
looking at outcomes, "that has brought me here today to vote prepared to vote for Jeff Riley"
"very hard for me to leave" a highly qualified Latina candidate on the table
"that's an irrelevancy, it has to be"
thought "none of them did particularly well with that question" on third grade reading
goes back to third grade reading: better outcomes in Lawrence on third grade reading than in NY state
"hiring in the district...isn't that where the relationships with the children matter more?"
"was unimpressed by people mentioning empowerment zones...okay, you did your homework, you mentioned western Mass"
"there is a diversity that goes beyond that"
"Jeff has argued with me at this table, just as he has argued with the Secretary...there is an integrity to that, there is a strength of conviction"
Riley was very clear on where his learning curve was
have not heard the last of the others

Morton:
"I was actually hoping my colleagues would give me some help in this decision...they haven't at all"
created a grid with the criteria and gave each candidate points
then chose criteria most important to him: experience with turnaround, teacher evaluation & PD, achievement gap, assessments, poverty if a factor and how we counteract it, support with special needs, partnerships designed to promote inclusions, "who really saw parents as partners," experience in budgeting
on balance "the person that I in the end really wanted to choose was Penny Schwinn"
spoke articulately and passionately, life experience informed
"had in front of us three enormously talented leaders"
"Jeff Riley was the candidate that got the most points"
"would love to choose a candidate of color...I will walk away from here feeling it was a missed opportunity" but my vote goes to Jeff Riley

Stewart
information gleaned through Friday's interview was invaluable
"clear understanding of the strengths of each candidate"
"all would grow in the role; they will be shaped by the role of Commissioner"
"what Massachusetts needs for the next chunk of years and who can provide a vision for the future"
"was struck by just how...they were all parents...they all stated their particular children had a deep impact on how they had approached their work"
"very affirming"
recognize the value that Jeff Riley has had in Lawrence
long-term process to continue to make achievement and growth in Lawrence
concern about Schwinn's lack of state agency presence hasn't realized her potential
was impressed with Infante-Green "hands down"
implementation of language programs
"an immediate impact on us" in perspective
"not accepting limits on anyone"
"think she will...inspire department"

Trimarchi: humbled and honored to be part of this process as a student
"keep this brief and focus on the achievement gap"
"to me Jeff Riley has an extremely nuanced perspective" on addressing it
"we need to have people that students can turn to...and that looks like them"
work Riley did in Lawrence has provided that
"only candidate who gave me an answer on student engagement" (she's right)
"his humility was one of the most inspiring things that I saw in the interviews"

West "I have been adamantly opposed to alphabetical order since elementary school"
started today possibly revising his position, now rethinking that
"have three proven leaders who will do great things for children in this country"
fit of candidates and need of state now
Schwinn's passion, has not had a chance to see through things as others have
Infante-Green "impressive track record" "savvy immediately evident"
"willing to make tough decisions"
"but, much like member Moriarty, if I step back and look at the full body of evidence...I think...Jeff Riley is the candidate who has the most convincing track record in that area"
"vision of state education agency"
"someone who has a lot of skill as a leader"
support from superintendents in Massachusetts
"I see this as a very close call, but Riley comes out just a notch stronger"

Sagan: "tears were shed three times"
"went into Friday completely undecided...I left Friday thinking all three could do the work"
"had probably the most experience in the search, because I had to do a lot of additional discussions"
"we said our priority was closing the gap"
"we know the results we want to get to; I believe all three candidates share that with us"
Infante-Green "has done that in New York State...for all children"
"the same with Penny Schwinn"
"some pluses in being able to go deep and not go wider and the reverse is true"
Schwinn "dug a little deeper" in the charter school even as she has left it
"both are doing spectacular work and will continue to do spectacular work"
Riley " he too has demonstrated follow-through and commitment and success"
"for what we've said we want to do see done...the entire country points to one place, and that's Lawrence, Massachusetts"
"and I believe Jeff Riley deserves the confidence to see that happen"
"there's an urgency...a unique opportunity" now
"can break some of those log jams"
"the answer isn't receivership everywhere"
"a pragmatist but not a compromiser and he won't sell out"
"if we had infinite time, I would have no problem supporting any of the candidates"

Peyser: "really moved by the intelligence, integrity and wisdom of everyone around this table"
"deepens my confidence in citizen government"
"I believe that Jeff Riley is the right choice for us at this time"
"it's about the 'how' not the 'what'"
"bring people to...I don't want to say consensus...but a higher level"
"respect and a commitment to change"
"path forward in that direction"
"an innovative thinker"
"a system of schools rather than a single school system"
"acceleration academy...very unique approach"
national searches which yield the local candidate "appreciate the optics of that"
"I won't deny that local knowledge is an asset; it really is"
"in this case, I'm confident at least in my own mind and listening to all of you is not based on" local quantity
"the best candidate or the right candidate for this time"

ROLL CALL:
Riley: IIIIIIII
Infante-Green: III
McKenna, Stewart, Fernandez vote for Infante-Green
RECESS

Sagan: vote to authorize the Chair to submit the name to the Secretary
and also vote to authorize the Chair to negotiate
recommendation:10 votes  (with one abstention, that of the Secretary as the recommendation is to him)

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