Liveblog of the January 2021 Board of Ed: opening comments

 The agenda is over here. Livestream can be found off of this page. 

updating as we go once it begins...

We are here for the call to order! 

BPS parent: "given that families do not have a remote option this year..."
COVID safety has to be a continuous top priority
Families and students must have a voice in decisions
DESE making decisions without our input
"families are in turmoil"
"Despite what you say here today, we know that transmission is occurring in schools"
"Asserting that transmission does not occur in school" does not address the issues
"your current policy for test and stay does not reach all contacts who are exposed"
"So I ask, how can you say there is no transmission in schools"
shifting to testing at home will create more inequity
rapid test direction in only two languages
"the new DESE policy has many problems...offers an 'either/or' option"
"you did not consult us"
"we can't test our way out of this pandemic"
better masks, guarantee adequate ventilation and filtration in every eating place
do not penalize families for missing more than 18 days in a school year; families are getting court orders
support districts to investigate outbreaks
allow remote learning; needs to be support for families and students
"any mitigation strategies, any COVID protocols, there needs to be racial equity"

read testimony: need to address individual people, not just goalposts
that was a parent

Mass Advocates for Children: advocate for racial equity
parents have expressed their concerns, students have organized a walkout
pre-existing inequities..."COVID has revealed" how pervasive these inequities are
"I am here to urge you to put equity at the forefront of your policies"
urge you to ensure students can access their education safety
should have the right to access remotely, and should count towards instruction
"decision makers cannot continue to minimize the concerns of students and their families"

"I was here back in September begging you to consider the options available" to students and all of those in their schools
appreciated home and hospital mention from Morton, and SEL from Stewart
"It was sadly clear that the conditions and desires" of parents expressed "were certainly different than is typical in this space"
decisions made without consultation; have been denied repeated requests to meet with Commissioner
even now "no option for parents and guardians to testify via Zoom or in another language
"it literally sickened me to witness" the gap between our experience and the Board's understanding of this 
"to witness yourself pat yourself on the back for forcing testing" during a pandemic "as if the data all around you wasn't enough"
"as if the struggle of our teachers" and "our telling you wasn't enough"

Testimony asking to keep the other two test
"only serves to reduce the accountability standards of the adults in the system"

Parent in New Bedford: innovative charter school before the them
thanks Board members for being in New Bedford
over 150 in meeting, roughly 99% of audience disapproval for charter school; most who approved don't live in New Bedford or Fall River
"the people of Fall River and New Bedford have spoken, and I hope that people here listen to them"
analysis of proposal
"this fixation on learning loss needs to cease. I ask the Board to hold all school districts...schools...students on MCAS scores"
Additionally: bank has now withdrawn support for proposal
"the stability of the charter school is in question now that three members...have withdrawn themselves from the application"
application "has always been littered with red flags"
"now the school's governance structure...is in complete shambles"
"if BESE takes its responsibilities seriously, it must reject this application...if it does not, it significantly lowers the bar"

Dan French, vocational educational justice coalition
analysis of admission patterns

1. overall, while doing better, not enough attention is paid to recruiting EL and students of color
2. voke schools offer seats to less privileged students at substantially lower rates across comparisons groups
3. when offered seats, less privileged students are more likely to accept seats than more privileged peers
   

Demand for seats outstrips vocational schools' admissions

Chelsea organizer: admission policy to local vocational school from 14 year old student
"the worst thing was knowing I could have learned something different"
guidance counselor "hesitant to encourage students to even apply" to vocational schools
every year "less and less" of students who might have thrived apply
"heavily discouraged" based on what they've seen in prior years
every student should have an equal opportunity to participate in vocational education
using data that's heavily biased
"will the Department enforce the civil rights standards or not"
and sorry, missing this testimony entirely...

Craven: thanks Board
"every speaker this morning represents someone who is diametrically opposed by someone else"
"thank the Board for standing strong and doing the due diligence"
thank the Board for being in New Bedford
"again, the concept that voices aren't heard...we hear them in hours and hours of testimony across the Commonwealth in many ways"
"kindness, patience, and partnership" across the Commonwealth
"lacking kindness in discourse"
haven't seen urban superintendents in some time; will be coming in
thank Governor Baker who has appointed all on Board (except the student member)
remembering Paul Andrews of MASS

Carris Livingston on Presidential Scholar's award
it's already done for this year, but to keep in mind for other years 

Peyser: normally would provide an update on the Governor's budget
doesn't come out until tomorrow

Riley: 
appears we've gotten past the peak of omicron
"but still we must remain vigilant"
part of preparation was handing out home tests "over holiday break"
it was LITERALLY over break, as opposed to BEFORE break, which would have gone better
planned on giving two, gave one
extended mask mandate
"over 300 schools and districts" (remember this includes charters) have signed up for new program
Johnston: "our testing program has never remained the same"
key is "the listening that we do"
visiting "five districts" to visit together
"available technologies" have changed
"our data are telling us that our schools are safe"
the change is to keep staff focused "particularly on symptomatic individuals"
"opt-in" by families
materials "translated" on our website
"have responded to what we've learned by listening to parents and students and staff"
changes if they are coming in late March, early April
Hills: were there any district leaders who told you that this was not a good option?
Johnston: overwhelmingly asked to reduce the burden
they literally didn't have a chance for the superintendents to talk back on that call
Stewart: what about districts that don't change?
Johnston: will continue to stay where they are, provided with testing and staff (what staff is that?)
Stewart: would be interested in learning about districts that aren't changing
Johnston: disparities between participation; "really pleased to say there is not a difference"
share that data, and we'll see
Stewart: what we learned last year; call for greater flexibility from students
"would love to know what best practices were picked up"
"really haven't heard much at all about any other best practices from year of best practices"
Lombos: new testing option an add on?
Johnston: a choice
Lombos: is that what you heard from the districts, that it was a choice not an add on?
Johnston: wasn't posed that way, but hearing this is very responsive to concerns
Lombos: respond to public testimony we're hearing
Johnston: what's happening in our communities in our
students testing positive "primarily due to" community transmission
Lombos: would say then it's one of the only places where there's testing and that the transmission is coming from other places 
Clark: we rely on our partners to do their work
effort to bring districts together
Johnston: "it's really the listening we've been doing"
"helping them make informed decisions"
not struggle alone
"need to have advice, need to have answers"

Carris Livingston: what if the test kits don't show up
Johnston: have a ready supply in our warehouses
redundant systems in distributions
Carris Livingstone: expired
Johnston: have checked
"it's tricky" 

West: move in change
Johnston: pool and/or symptomatic
West: so no longer test and stay
what are we seeing then
not seeing a sudden shift
Johnston: those with pool testing are maintaining, those with test and stay maintain

Moriarty: recognize and honor, the policy decision vital that schools stay open
"harder than it's every been before"
"think we should recognize and honor the heroic efforts that have been made" to keep schools open

Lombos: truancy issues and courts getting involved
if we are asking folks to test and quarantine
maybe it's a miscommunication with the courts?
Riley: "we'll get back to you on that"
Clark: "how much of that is our role?"
Riley: there is a part of that is our role
Johnston: "we have put out" guidance to schools and districts around working with families
really is about local schools and districts
recent webinar for principals, resources that aren't the courts
Moriarty: policies at district level "that school committees
Clark: "we're only as good as those implementing locally" the state law from the Legislature

Carris Livingston: continuing learning if they have to quarantine
how best to assist students if they have to quarantine
Riley: individual districts have contracts with teachers' unions
some of which don't provide for that
Clark: any authority of state?
Riley: local authority
West: can call out what we find objectionable
Peyser: more of hybrid issue
Lombos: want to check that there is actually a collective bargaining issue
Carris Livingstone: hear that hybrid was very difficult
"as communities not think of this as either or"
"remain open to discussion about this"

Riley: BPS MOU in a future meeting
All voke schools have submitted admissions policies
will begin process of evaluating