just a quick note on the charter application for Worcester (no news as yet)

 The Board of Ed did have an update on the charter PROCESS on their last agenda (as information, not for discussion). The relevant piece reads: 

The charter school statute requires that at least two of the new Commonwealth charters approved in any year be for charter schools located in districts with MCAS performance in the lowest 10 percent statewide. The Board may grant additional charters only after two such charters are granted.  Because WCACPS is a single district proposal for location in Worcester, a district performing in the lowest 10 percent of all districts based on MCAS test results in 2018 and 2019, that proposal is eligible for charter award...

Briefly, the charter school final application review process includes the components that follow.

• Public comment. During the current application process, the Board held a public hearing in December in Worcester. Three Board members attended the hearing. The Department also invited written comments from Worcester Public Schools. Written comments were also accepted from other government officials and members of the public. Prior to the February meeting, you will receive access to a recording of the public hearing and copies of all written comments that the Department has received. In addition, the Chair will ask those Board members who attended the hearing to make brief oral reports to the full Board at the February meeting if the Commissioner recommends the applicant group to receive a charter.

• Review panel. In December, a review panel of external reviewers met to discuss the applicant group’s response to the application criteria and to identify areas of the application where clarification from the applicant was needed.

• Interview. In January, the Department conducted an interview with the applicant group. Applicant groups typically have the following individuals participate in the interview: proposed members of its board of trustees; proposed school employees, if identified; and representatives of anticipated partners in the operation of the school, if identified. The Department prepares a summary of the applicant interview, which will be sent to the Board if the applicant group is recommended for charter award.

Prior to your February meeting, I will forward my recommendation to the Board regarding the award of a new charter.

The February Board meeting is on the 28th. 

Board of Ed: Surrender of Paulo Freire Charter School surrender of charter

Riley; January 19, board of trustees voted to surrender charter effective June '23
enrollment insufficient to continue
vote to accept surrender

next meeting is February 28

Board of Ed: IEP improvement update

 the presentation is here

Russell Johnston, Deputy Commissioner, is presenting alongside Jamie Camacho, Director of the Office of Special Education Planning and Policy Development
not just a new form, but providing support for families and districts
equal access; meaningful access both to curriculum frameworks and the life of the school
referral, evaluation, eligibility guidance (which is a new document); parent's guide (new update coming); systems improvement; IEP process guide (will be updated)
13 districts and 3 special education schools working to development a systems improvement playbook
more comprehensive model of support
engaging stakeholders: use stakeholder engagement to inform process as it went along
training, oversight, guidance provided by outside providers
public survey gave feedback on draft
many engagement sessions with parent and educator organizations, advocacy organizations
this winter will release finalized forms and tech specs
initial training for schools and districts in the spring through a vendor that recently did similar work in CT
districts can either adopt at the end of this school year or wait a full year; fall of 2024 as fully statewide adoption
Form to document process, not drive process; push on least restriction environment; integration of transition into IEP
New form puts student at the center and asks them what they see and what they want to be and see
"We want to hear from the children"
bring the focus on planning into the IEP
form last updated in 2001; no longer call students "limited English proficiency" students
strengths and needs of students who are dually identified as special education and an English learner
"what's the extent to which the student can participate in general education?"
asking about a shorter year "incentivizes a shorter year...we don't think many students actually do"
think we need to ask this question differently
middle ground between accepting the IEP and rejecting the IEP
What to make sure the state is being enacted
final will be clear about what the family is wanting to say in accepting/rejecting
will be sharing final versions as it comes forward
forms will be provided in translation by the Department "as they are now"

a round-up of coverage on the joint revenue hearing

Because FY24 first depends on how much money the state thinks it's going to have...here's a round up of coverage from yesterday's joint hearing on revenue:

Millionaire’s tax adds a new variable in uncertain state budget cycle (WGBH)

Top budget officials still undecided on tax cuts (Commonwealth Magazine)

How much money will the Mass. millionaires tax add to state revenue? Experts offer divergent estimates (MassLive)

New tax on high incomes could generate at least $1.4 billion next year, state officials project (Boston Globe)

Joint hearing on revenue

Rep. Michlewitz notes that the implementation of the Fair Share amendment will be part of the work of this year
Sen. Rodrigues looks forward to building a responsible partnership with both House and Governor
Secretary Gorzkowicz also noting partnership with chambers

Jeffrey Snyder, Department of Revenue: and there is no way that I am going to keep up with numbers, as ever
SHNS is feeling feisty

TAX FORECAST: After getting blindsided by tax refunds fueled by an FY 2022 tax collections surge that was outside their radar screens, Beacon Hill leaders on Tuesday are calling the same people back to testify on revenue projections for the upcoming state budget cycle. #mapoli

— State House News (@statehousenews) January 24, 2023

he reviews how we got the 62F funding return
lots of uncertainty in projections (as ever)
based in part on projections from Moody's and S&P Global
$1.08B above benchmarks in FY23 
$39.618B 
FY23 revenue $39.767B to $40.471B projected
FY24 includes 4% surtax 
income tax was 59%; sales tax at 21%
unemployment rate of 3% nationally; Mass employment follows similar pattern
income taxes are forecasted to be between 46M lower and 216M higher
and the surtax will impact income tax collection
$183M and $481M higher than the FY23 benchmark
unrealized capital gains a factor
FY23 Fair Share between $229M and $265M; FY 24 between $1.445B and $1.76B

Michlewitz: on surtax opponents said people would flee the state; do we know if they have or too early to tell?
Snyder: Very difficult to tell at this point; "it is top of mind...something we will continue to monitor"
Michlewitz: above benchmark, as we have been; what should we all be watching the most?
Snyder: "I would be looking at wages. That is really going to determine where we end up when all is said and done."
Michlewitz: on 62F, any insight into how far ahead of benchmark, projection as to if it will get triggered again
Snyder: don't have information needed for that
Rodrigues: one time revenue through tax code changes
Snyder: was part of 62F calculations
Rodrigues: tax code not clear on refunds versus credits; how did you decide
Snyder: credit on FY21 tax year resulted in refunds of about 14%
Rodrigues asks about debt ceiling
response is vendors keep in mind; should keep an eye on it

Treasurer Goldberg: rainy day funding up to $7.4B will be up to $8.4B "providing for...when it will rain again"
"did someone hear music? I think it was God emphasizing what I said"
investor demand for bonds remains strong: outlook changed from "stable" to "positive"
Michlewitz: bonds?
Goldberg: outlook to positive due to state management
"when we met with them in December they said 'keep up the good work'"
Goldberg: believe we will see a great deal of volatility
watching the debt ceiling very carefully, and "I think it's very dangerous"
Rodrigues: MSBA, hearing that supply change issues, interest, inflation; are there conversations going on?
Goldberg: feel strongly that we collaboratively need think about price, work outstanding, need 
did increase price per square foot
"but the formula and the cap are what hold us back to a degree"
"are concerned about having to shrink the number of projects when there's so much need out there"
"we know the need is great"

Doug Howgate, Mass Taxpayers Foundation
FY23: recommending modest upgrade
projecting growth of about 1% for FY24
"what happens in the first six months of a fiscal year often doesn't have much to do with what happens in the second six months"
.92% revenue growth for FY24
"we are not going to provide a projection on surtax revenue"
there is no prior data, because we're just starting
lack of information you'll have to build a projection into the budget
expect that it will kick in later in the year as the surtax kicks in as people exceed the revenue putting them into that category
will lack real information until May of next year
will be most volatile in uncertain times; recommend collecting revenue and then spending it
Michlewitz: is DoR's level volatility or more than that?
Howgate: when you talk about the federal government and the debt ceiling... 
Rodrigues perhaps should consider putting cap on surtax revenue as do on capital gains
Michlewitz: are we being overly cautious on capital gains?
Howgate: past two years, pandemic but also growth
revenue hearing is "giving you folks number that are reasonable to budget on"
Gorzkowicz: putting guardrails in given volatility?
Howgate: one challenge is the required use of those funds
how do we we demonstrate to the public that it is going to intended purposes

Prof. Alan Clayton-Matthews of Northeastern
time for the least exciting slides ever!
projections for FY23: $39.208B
for FY24: $42.224B
projections for surtax in FY23: $527.8M
FY24: $1.116B
assumes a mild slowdown with 2 quarters of zero or negative GSP growth and 4 quarters of declining employment
Michlewitz asks about surtax
Clayton-Matthews: "it is unknown, but relative to swings in capital gains revenue...it is less than that"
"just because a revenue source is volatile doesn't mean it's not useful"

Prof. Michael Goodman, UMass Dartmouth
will discuss broader economic context 
"this experience is not unique to Massachusetts"
33 of 41 states experienced budget growth above their original budget projections; "it wasn't just us"
likely that the pace of revenue growth likely will not be sustainable
encourage to carefully consider short and long term risks
"slow session" is how Moody describes it
interest rate connected sectors will be challenged
Tech sector grew and hired rapidly; slow
wild cards:
Looming debt ceiling crisis, very real possibility of a self-induced financial crisis
future federal monetary policy
expanded conflict on eastern Europe; oil and natural gas prices set in a global market
re-emergence of pandemic conditions; vaccinations and resistance has made a real difference; should there be another resurgence, unclear that federal government could respond
Policy issues: core competitive advantage of Massachusetts remains its people; more important than ever we make it easier for people to live and work here
housing, child care, education, training
"it remains very difficult for many of our colleagues and neighbors to make ends meet"

Evan Horowitz, Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University
tie between GDP and state tax revenue 
$40.2B in FY24; important how to distinguish between money generated and money that is overall impacted
projecting some loss of revenue due to tax avoidance
enough millionaire tax revenue should be included to cover the projected loss
should create savings plan as is done with capital gains
FY22 "saw a dramatic clash of forces"
avoiding 62F helps avoid chaos of last year but also means days of overflowing coffers are likely ending
likely to end year with shortfall of $1B this year; foreseeing April collections

AND THAT IS A WRAP! 

Board of Ed: Student Opportunity Act reporting -> goal setting

 which is one of my personal irritants, because of how the Commissioner has chosen to do it, so...
we should also perhaps note that this presentation has 98 slides

January meeting of the Board of Ed: opening comments

 The agenda is here; the livestream is here.

Public comment 
usual comment on department setting low standards
MBAE being dissatisifed by SOA reporting from districts
MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy discussing impact of "not being a good test taker"
MTA Noah Berger who is talking about Tom Birmingham to testify on how inflation is calculated (!!) and recommending that it be actual

English teacher from Codman Academy charter school speaking in favor of the dual path target plan
"I dream of a Massachusetts that leads with a holistic view of student achievement"
focusing only on a single point leaves all the other types of recovery out

MASS panel: Revere, Salem, Billerica, and Everett
Dianne Kelly, Revere: understand that there has been criticism of the proposal
notes that the Secretary was testifying as a superintendent nine months ago
represent superintendents from across the Commonwealth, and notes that a number are there in support
"not hear to condemn accountability"
need accountability that is "not only aggressive but achievable and compassionate"
Steve Zrike who was the receiver in Holyoke and now superintendent in Salem
significant inflection point in public education
"in Salem alone unhoused students has grown by 30% this year alone"
cannot disregard the larger challenges of our multilingual learners
notes that after a "love affair" with educators at the beginning of the pandemic, atmosphere now toxic
teachers leaving profession
Priya Tahiliani, Everett: notes levels of instructional interruptions and aftershocks
must overcome the mammoth opportunity gaps that have also widened
notes SOA was opportunity and support from the beginning
notes bringing students back, adding night school
"unfortunately these successes will not be captured in our accountability"
trainings to support physical and mental wellness; mediation
"I have every confidence that these successes will lead to long term gains, but unfortunately, they will not be captured in next year's accountability"
Tim Piwowar, Billerica (and MASS president): "it was with great dismay that I heard" the Board's discussion of the accountability system
"equally if not further behind in social and emotional development"
Grave concern with setting higher targets in MCAS
Urge Board to consider:
"the reality on the ground is all about accountability and the only incentive is to avoid them"
ask Board to demonstrate the same compassion we demonstrate each day to our students
Mary Bourque: ask to support Board's plan

Jason DeFalco, superintendent Blackstone-Millville: speaking as former co-chair of the AAAC
very concerning that the target setting shared was deemed not aggressive enough
believes Board should take feedback of AAAC
last thing districts need are goals there are set that are unattainable

Craven talks about Tom Birmingham

Secretary Pat Tutwiler: says it's day twelve "maybe" in his role
drive each day: "equity"
Says he "has hit the ground learning"

Commissioner introduces new early college person
read with concern about "teachers not being paid on time"
(That isn't what the article said at all)
Craven: is there an opportunity to amend the MOU?
will be talking to legal counsel

Commissioner

What happened at the mid-January Worcester School Committee meeting (with a few procedural notes)

 I've been trying to write these retrospectives, both for my own tracking and to serve everyone else. Please let me know if you're finding them useful?

The agenda for the meeting is over here. 
The Committee met in executive session before public session for discussions on five of the contract negotiations currently being conducted.

We also did this: 

Congratulations to our Business Team for receiving the Association of Business Officers International Meritorious AGAIN! Yes they have received this award 10 years in a row!!! 😀 #excellence #allmeansall ⁦@worcesterpublic⁩ pic.twitter.com/NF4GjiaCfu

— Rachel H. Monárrez, PhD (she/her/ella) (@drrmonarrez) January 20, 2023

And because this really is that important, here's what I said about that: 

Paul Matthews, the Executive Director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, spoke briefly on the WRRB's recent report on the evolution in School Committee governance. He also highlighted the Bureau's interactive dashboard on the new school committee districts.

From the held items, we received some additional information about the outside mental health resources coming into the district. That looks like this:

The report of the superintendent was on the multilingual department, the department that oversees language acquisition. What I think is important to remember about English learner enrollment is that it is a point in time count; students are continually moving through that status, as they test out. So while about a third of our students are English learners at any one time, what is perhaps a more useful statistic is that nearly 60% of our students speak a first language other than English. In other words, this is most of our students. 

Let me also call attention to two slides from that report. First, this is the students we're talking about here:

On the students who are currently English learners, the state sets out six years for them to move into out of that status and test out. Here's how we're doing on that: 

You'll also see the MCAS results from this group of students in the report as well.

We voted acceptance for two grants: $5,950 for an arts residency grant for a street art program at Worcester Tech, and $421,326 for English learner education support. 

We approved position descriptions (we approve new position descriptions; we do not approve salaries, save for the limited number of contracts under our purview) for a Physical Security Systems Administrator (the funding for this was already in the budget; this is an IT position managing school safety systems) and a WorkDay Implementation Specialist. WorkDay is the new enterprise system for the city, which will handle payroll, budget, HR functions all INTEGRATED. For something like this, WPS is just a city department (though one with both many times more employees and a larger budget than everything else combined), and we're just starting the transfer. This is looking ahead and planning for what will be a multiple year process.

If a contract will go for more than three years, that length of time has to be approved by the School Committee, so we also approved the administration seeking leases of, first, three years plus up to two three year renewals for the alternative program that currently is housed at St. Casimir's; second, of ten years, plus up to two more five year renewals for the transitions program (that's students who have special education needs that are in the 18-21 age range and are being transitioned out of the district) that is currently at the Fanning Building (in a space both too small and not suited to them). 
And just to be clear: those contracts do not come back to us, as that isn't under our purview.

We resubmitted Burncoat High School to the Mass School Building Authority. In order to get it onto Tuesday's City Council agenda--we both have to vote this--we also voted reconsideration.
Why? Under the rules of the Worcester School Committee, any member (and it is ANY member, regardless of how they voted) can file for reconsideration (think of it as "wanting to vote that again" with the assumption being voting differently) of any vote we took up to 48 business hours after the meeting. That means that any of us have until the end of the day Monday to file after every meeting. Reconsideration can only be done once on every vote.
As a result, votes of the Worcester School Committee aren't actionable until Tuesday morning. If we want something to take effect immediately, we basically tie our own hands by voting reconsideration at the meeting. We have to suspend our own rules to do that (those are "yes, I want to suspend the rules" votes) and then vote on reconsideration (thus we vote "no, I do not want to reconsider the vote we already took"). We did this on Burncoat, so it could be taken up by the City Clerk on Friday to be posted for the Council's Tuesday's agenda.

We sent an item looking at options for livestreaming of sports and other events to Finance and Operations.

The School Committee also hires legal counsel, so we authorized the hiring of Iandoli, Desai & Cronin P.C. to take care of an H-1B visa for an existing employee. Note that we are also the budgeting authority for the Worcester Public Schools; thus it is up to us to say that it is in the district's interest to allocate funds in this fashion. To me, it is simply in keeping with Worcester's long tradition as a city of immigrants.

We sent the social media policy back to Governance for further work.

We also send the out of state travel policy to Governance.

We filed four items--three from Member Kamara and one from Member Mailman--at the end of the meeting that were submitted by my colleagues; here, filed means that nothing further will be done on it. Let me talk a little bit about this, as I think that this can seem mean or like it's limiting a question if you're flipping by the video (it starts about 2:08 into the meeting)

The first item was "To explore a review of the certified nursing assistant job and salary and to

conduct review of similar CNA positions in similar school districts." Now, remember what I said above: position descriptions are ours. That part is in order. After Member Kamara asked that the item be taken "as it reads" (which just means "I have nothing more to say about this than is on the agenda"), I rose to ask that she consider amending to ask only that we consider the position description; the other items are not under our purview. She wished, however, to keep the request to consider salary in the item, so I made a motion to file, which passed.
The second and third items were taken together; they were:

To review the steps of accessing accommodation services for students on IEP per the Individual and disability education Act (IDEA) and the roles that administration and parent/guardians.

(that should be the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and:

 To review the process of students needing accommodation for extra time for exams or tests. 

Let me just be super clear: these are well within the realm of things School Committee members and others might want to know about. As I said at the meeting, this might be something to take up at a SPEDPAC meeting, for example. 
What they aren't is under School Committee purview; these are not things on which we have any ability or legal right to take action. They also don't lead to anything about which we can take action. This thus isn't the business of the School Committee.
As our rules say, "Agenda items filed by School Committee members shall be under the purview of the Committee, focus on the business of the Committee, and should be concise and specific."(That's the beginning of Rule 25)

Something different happened with Member Mailman's item, which read, "To resume public reporting of health data and absences while COVID is still prevalent in the city." You might remember we'd been getting COVID information at every meeting; that ended, on a split vote on a motion from Vice Chair Johnson, at our December 15 meeting. However, a motion from Member Clancey, asking that the information still be shared, passed. That less than clear to us (or at least it was to me). After Dr. Monárrez explained how the information was being shared both with the committee and on the website, the motion was filed.

Next meeting on February 2! 

Mid-January updates from WPS administration

 largely drawn from the weekly communication of Dr. Monárrez to the Worcester School Committee

First, I failed to note her op-ed in last Sunday's Telegram:

As a district we will lead others in the commonwealth and beyond if we are willing to lean in, act courageously, ignore the noise and stay committed to our purpose for existence — educating future leaders of Worcester.

Give it a read if you haven't! 

We actually got this last week, when several of us first heard of the terms of the Old Sturbridge Village lease, but administration did confirm that no such terms are in the leases we have with the Diocese of Worcester for either the St. Casimir or La Familia buildings. 
Relatedly, our lease for St. Casimir is up this year, and this week's agenda has a request for a vote to authorize a lease of space for that program for "three years with two additional three year extensions" for wherever it is that the administration agrees to put the program. There is a similar authorization requested, though for much longer--"a ten year lease with the option of two five year extensions"--for our Transitions program, which is for students in our special education program who are supported until age 22 to prepare them to transition out of the school system, currently housed at the Fanning Building, which doesn't have enough space.

In terms of access to basketball games, which has come up at a few different schools:

High Schools sports foster a sense of community and school pride. It was brought to our attention that our facilities at some of our high schools cannot accommodate large numbers of spectators. We are working with Dave Shea to identify options that will allow for our youth to attend games and not limit access.

And relatedly, specific to Burncoat:

The bid for the new bleachers at Burncoat High School is now posted on the City of Worcester website here. The bid opening date is February 2, 2023 and it is expected the project will be complete for the beginning of the next school year. In the meantime, we are seeing if temporary bleachers are available to expand seating capacity for the remainder of this year. We will also examine any short term options for repair of the gym floor as needed until the school is accepted into the MSBA replacement pipeline.

If you review the posting of the bid, it's a big project: 

The project scope generally includes replacement of existing wood bleachers with new telescoping bleachers and other related work necessary to complete all of the Work of the respective Sections and indicated on the drawings. Construction also includes installation of a new electrical transformer and sub-panel with new feed from existing electrical room. 

And note that our resubmission of Burncoat to MSBA is on this week's agenda! Once through the School Committee, it also needs to be voted by the City Council before submission. 

DESE was in the district on Monday, meeting with the district about our nine Sustainable Improvement Schools; those are designated by where schools are in the state's accountability system, which, as federally required, specifies a lowest performing 10% of schools. Per our update:

Currently these schools are strengthening teaming structures (Instructional Leadership Teams, and Professional Learning Communities), professional development (Science of Reading, Culturally Responsive Practices), and data driven informed decision-making.

I should perhaps note that this, along with the report we had earlier this school year on data, is the first update the Worcester School Committee has received on how we are doing on such state systems in...years. Literally. 

The transition to the city's new enterprise system is starting! Procurement (purchase orders) and bill payments (non salaries) are beginning on February 6, 2023. As a result, we Friday started a limiting of transactions, along with the city. Also, administration has on Thursday's agenda a request for the School Committee to approve the position description of a Workday Implementation Specialist as this BIG (and massively overdue) shift of city systems happens over the next several years.

And note that this week's Worcester School Committee agenda is here.

Oh, and finally: CHECK YOUR BUS INFORMATION this weekend! The Great Undoubling of routes has begun, and some information (whether your route was doubled previously or not) has changed! Please check the student and parent portals for accurate information.

Schools should be...

 Here's that MSBA post for you.

Rendering of the new Doherty from the Capital Budget section of the FY23 budget

The final three items from last week's Worcester School Committee meeting were proposed by me, as follows:

• To advocate to our state delegation for the use of state American Rescue Plan Act funds to cover the pandemic-induced inflationary increases in current Massachusetts School Building Core Program projects.
  
  
• To urge the state delegation to do what is necessary to restore the Massachusetts School Building Authority Accelerated Repair program.
  
  
• To urge the state delegation to do what is necessary to expand funding for the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

As I noted in the meeting (you can watch the video below), these are three interlocking items, because of Worcester's rare relationship with the MSBA:

1. Worcester has a current Core building project--Doherty--which is among the projects that have been hit with pandemic-induced inflation in the costs. While the MSBA Board voted last month to increase the reimbursement to building projects, that was only to buildings accepted into the program from last October forward. The city is carrying an additional $23M in costs as a result of the pandemic, in effect.
   While some have argued that MSBA should simply cover this, having a revenue-capped state program that already doesn't meet the need cover pandemic inflation isn't wise. Nor it is necessary, as the state continues to have undedicated America Rescue Plan funds, funds that the federal government sent to states just for the costs caused by the pandemic. They should use ARPA funds to cover the inflationary costs of school buildings.
   
   
2. Worcester has benefited perhaps more than any other district from the Accelerated Repair Program. Flip through the capital budget section, and you'll see that rarely has there been a year where Worcester didn't have multiple schools getting roofs, windows, or boilers (or a combination). This is a partnership that allows the district to continue to work with school buildings that are solid, but need these substantive upgrades.
   We would have submitted Union Hill and Wawecus Elementary Schools for new roofs this year. But MSBA announced last fall that, due to the increase in costs for the Core program, there would be no Accelerated Repair Program. That then bumps off the future year projects--we always budget these five years out--as well as continuing the issue of what we are to do about Worcester East Middle School's windows, a project far too big for the city to take on alone. 
   We have got to get the Accelerated Repair program back.
   
   
3. All of which, together, leads to that last point, which is that the MSBA needs more money. They have one of the clearest revenue lines I know: if you go buy a 99¢ burger, a penny from your 6.25% tax goes to the MSBA. It's those pennies that are building a new Doherty, that built us a new North and a new South, and that funded all those boilers, windows, and roofs.
   But it isn't enough, either for Worcester or anyone else. They need more money.

So, the above are going to the state delegation, and I, for one, do not intend to let this rest. We need not just people saying nice things about school buildings; we need money and we need real support.

You can see what I said at the meeting below.

outside Worcester and also hit by any of this? Get in touch. Let's get this done.

"There shall be in the department a board of elementary and secondary education..."

With the inauguration of the new governor have come a number of questions of what authority the Governor has over K-12 school governance in Massachusetts. 

This involves the interaction of three sets of players: the Secretary of Education; the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; and the Commissioner of Education

The Secretary of Education is a cabinet member of the Governor. They are appointed by the Governor, and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. They oversee an Executive Office of Education, which is not the governance system of the state.
By virtue of that appointment by the Governor, they have a voting seat on three Boards:

• The Board of Early Education
  
• The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
• The Board of Higher Education

Governor Healey has appointed Dr. Patrick Tutwiler as Secretary of Education; this position was held by James Peyser under Governor Baker.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education was created by MGL Ch. 15, sec. 1E, the Board consists of eleven voting members as follows: 

    1. The Secretary of Education: As above, this is Dr. Tutwiler. His term is entirely up to the Governor, but he can serve as long as Governor Healey is Governor.

    2. The Chair of the Statewide Student Advisory Council--This student member is the only elected member of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, as the chair is elected by their peers on the Council. They are elected in June and serve for one year. This seat is currently held by Eric Plankey, who is a senior at Westford Academy (which is the public high school in Westford). Eric's  term ends in June.

    3. A member whose term is coterminous with the Governor. That seat was held by Tricia Canavan of South Hadley; as such, this is a seat which Governor Healey now can fill with a person of her choice.

The term of all other seats is for five years, with a single renewal of an additional five years allowed.

    4. A labor representative, selected by the Governor from a list put forward by the State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. This seat is currently held by Darlene Lombos of Boston, who is the executive secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council. Darlene was appointed in June of 2020; as such her term should run through June of 2025, though she could be reappointed to a second five year term at that time if Governor Healey wishes.

    5. A "representative of business or industry selected by the governor with a demonstrated commitment to education." This seat is held by Katherine Craven of Brookline, who is Chief Administrative Officer of Babson College. She was appointed in August of 2014, and had her term renewed by Governor Baker; as such, her term expires in August of 2024.

    Important note: Though Craven currently serves as Chair, the Governor appoints the Chair, so  Governor Healey may appoint a different chair from among the members if she wishes.

    6. A "representative of parents of school children" selected by the Governor from a list of three put    forward by the Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association. This seat is held by Mary Ann Stewart, formerly a member of the Lexington School Committee, who was appointed in August of 2014; she was reappointed (or was she?) by Governor Baker, and thus her term expires August 2024.

The remainder of the five seats are non-specific, though the law specifies: 

No appointive member of said board shall be employed by or receive regular compensation from the department of education, or from any school system, public or independent, in the commonwealth, or serve as a member of any school committee.

 and not more than two can work for the state.
Currently, they are: 

    7. Matt Hills, Vice-Chair (elected to that position by his colleagues for the year), formerly a member of the Newton School Committee, is a Managing Director at LLM Capital Partners. He was appointed to the Board in March 2019--despite it not saying that on the Board page--thus his term should be up in March of 2024, though Governor Healey could reappoint him for a second term at that time. 

    8. Farzana Mohamed, also of Newton, was just appointed by Governor Baker this past July; as such    her term runs through July 2027, though she could be reappointed for a second term.

    9. Michael Moriarty, a former member of the Holyoke School Committee (prior to receivership), is the Executive Director of the OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation. He was appointed to the Board in September of 2015, and was reappointed by Governor Baker; as such, his term ends September of 2025.

    10. Paymon Rouhanifard of Brookline, is the former superintendent of the Camden, NJ schools under state control; he current runs Propel America. He was appointed in September 2019, and thus his term ends in September 2024, though he could be reappointed for a second term.

    11. Martin West of Newton, is a profession of education at Harvard Graduate School of Education. He was appointed in September 2017; as such, his term ended September 2022, unless he has been appointed for a second term.

Now there's something weird going on with appointment dates; the "official" website of terms of office, I am told, is here. Setting aside that the secretary of the Board (the Commissioner) is still somehow Jeff Wulfson (who was serving as interim five years ago), and the student member is two years of out date, the terms of office are strangely off, as follows:

• Lombos was only appointed in 2020; her appointment should run through 2025. The website has 2023, but the law has no three year terms.
• Craven's is correct.
• Peyser's blank (serves with Baker) is correct.
• Stewart was appointed in 2014, thus her first term did, as noted here, expire in 2019. She has continued to serve, though, so her term of service should run, one assumes, through the second five years, expiring in 2024. This is assuming that she was reappointed. 
• Moriarty's is correct.
• Canavan's blank (coterminous with Governor) is correct.
• West was appointed in 2017; as such, his first term have should run through 2022, unless he was reappointed. The site has it as 2025, but there are no eight year terms.
• Mohamed's is correct.
• Hills was appointed in 2019; as such, his first term ends in 2024. The site has it as 2027.
• Rouhanifard's is correct.

The law is quite clear on five years, allowed to be renewed once. The only exception is if someone is appointed to fill a partial term vacancy of less than three years. If the argument is that Hills, for example, first filled Sagan's additional year, that still only gets him to 2025, not to 2027. 

I don't like what looks like fudging here, and I hope that the state's former top lawyer, now running the show, straightens this little mess out.

It is, however, the Board, who you will note do NOT answer directly to whomever is currently the Governor, that appoints the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, who is the executive of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which oversees K-12 education in Massachusetts.
Currently, the Commissioner is Jeffrey Riley, former receiver of Lawrence, who was appointed Commissioner in 2018. He can serve as long as the Board wishes him to do so. He has no direct reporting line to the Governor.

Think of the relationship of the Board to the Commissioner as paralleling the School Committee to the Superintendent, with the Secretary simply serving as a voting member. 

What happened at Worcester School Committee on January 5?

The agenda of the meeting is here.  I've shared the slides of the Report of the Superintendent here.

The themes of the entry plan listening and learning

I don't always note this, but I do want to note that the Worcester School Committee always has executive session before public session, and almost always it is negotiation-related. There were five different bargaining units on Thursday's agenda.

There have been discussions in the past about what community groups we have relationships with; Thursday's agenda gave us a list.

I always find the elementary class size report fascinating, and this year, really amazing in terms of progress. Worcester has generally fought hard to keep elementary class sizes--even as we were/are hundreds of teachers short--smaller; the average has generally hovered around 22. To see it below 20 this year AND to see how few of the class sizes in the high twenties and into 30 we have is really great. This is directly as a result of ESSER funding; in past years, if we had had the sort of enrollment drop we did during the pandemic, because our budget is so closely tied to our enrollment, we would have had to cut positions. We didn't; we used federal dollars to keep teachers on. We're now picking that cost up with the increases in our budget due to the Student Opportunity Act (as was the plan), and we're seeing that benefit in the numbers.
Two notes; this is a 'real' report on elementary class size. This isn't fudged with total adults in the building. This is the general ed elementary teachers class by class and the actual number of students they had for the October 1 reporting. Also, as I mentioned both during the meeting and online later, the places where there are those larger classes, as a result of lack of space in buildings to split them, very often are next to places where class sizes are much lower. That's a district assignment issue (which I know isn't news to the administration).

Likewise, the October 1 enrollment report is revealing. First, our numbers continue to go back up from the pandemic drop. In particular, the Head Start enrollment doubled last year, as parents came back to that program. The grade that was the drop, which now is second, continues to be lower, but the grade 1 and K numbers are back up. We also didn't seen a drop from eighth grade to ninth grade (often we do, as families send students to private high school) last year. Overall, we're up over 583 students (that will matter in the FY24 budget!), and our total enrollment of 24,318 makes us the second largest district in the state (after Boston; we're back ahead of Springfield).

The position description for Assistant Director of Intramural and Interscholastic Athletics was approved; expect to see that posted soon.

I really recommend anyone involved in the district at all review the report of the superintendent. The major themes she's brought forward from listening and learning are:

• Acquiring and retain talent
• Modernized and safe facilities
• Student behavior and safety
• Communication and ongoing engagement
• Wellness and mental health
• Equitable resources and educational programs

Dr. Monárrez also moved us forward into planning for the next strategic plan, reminding us of the current one, and providing a (proposed?) plan for the next one. This all will go to Governance for oversight there.

She also provided us her proposed goals for the remainder of this school year, on which she'll be evaluated in June. Those are: 

• District Goal: Refine and calibrate district-level systems ensuring safety, efficiency, consistency and coherence to positively impact school systems
• Student Goal: Amplify & strengthen inclusive learning environments for WPS staff, families and scholars
• Professional Goal: Participate in the New Superintendent Induction Program (NSIP) to refine skills and knowledge related to DESE expectations of new superintendents

I believe the only feedback specific to the goals was I suggested that the verb in the student goal needed tweaking to accurately represent what was planned for this school year, as it's more like laying the groundwork needed to "amplify and strengthen." Those are now also in Governance for what editing may be needed; they'll come back to us for approval. 
In every case, the above are linked to indicators within the superintendent's evaluation rubric (remember, this whole process is VERY structured by the state), and under each goal is a list of the evidence we'll be receiving. The question on superintendent evaluation is always "how will we know we got there?" and that's what this is designed to answer.

We had three subcommittees report out--TLSS on ongoing work, Governance on a revised social media policy for staff, and F&O on the joint meeting with Education (which was sidewalks and capital funding). 

There was a lot of money approved at Thursday's meeting: a list of prior fiscal year payments, and a number of donations and grants. As a result, just to pull some: both Burncoat and Tech are having "Credit for Life" type fairs; Tech is getting a lot of updated equipment for the automotive facility; there's more support for both innovation pathways and internships.

Molly McCullough has asked that we look at substitute rates (that's going to F&O); Sue Mailman asked that we look at the time given to the vocational programming side of ch. 74 programs at the comprehensive schools (that's scheduling, and so to administration); Jermoh Kamara asked that we receive an update on mental health services outsourcing (to administration for a report); and I had three items related to facilities and the MSBA which I'm going to give their own post over here. 

We also--and thanks to Molly McCullough for bringing back this tradition--had Burncoat Quadrivium in to sing the National Anthem, and then the Carol of the Bells, as seen in the superintendent's tweet:

Burncoat Choir honored the School Committee with their beautiful voices last night. We had a little fun before the session started. I love my scholars! #allmeansall ⁦@worcesterpublic⁩ pic.twitter.com/qYGdIQUYpp

— Rachel H. Monarrez, PhD (she/her/ella) (@drrmonarrez) January 6, 2023

We next meet on the 19th of January. 

What did Governor Healey say about education?

 Yes, there was a section on K-12 education in the new Governor's speech!

We must make Massachusetts a place where every child — every child — can reach their potential. The first free public school in America was established in our state almost 400 years ago. Public education has been guaranteed ever since.

Today, we need an equal guarantee for our children: That we will continue to offer not just an education but the best education.

That means funding the Student Opportunity Act to make sure every student and every school gets the resources they deserve. It means doing more for mental health care and food security. Our students can’t reach their potential if they are homeless or hungry or suffering from untreated mental illness.

To support our state, we have to support our children. And we will.

Board of Ed: Special meeting on goal setting

 This is the presentation that was bumped from the last meeting because the one on gifted and talented went on and on and on.

Agenda is here; livestream will be here. 

Craven notes that this is a discussion only item.

Riley "how we can set ambitious yet attainable targets"
learning recovery

Curtin: introduces Erica Gonzales as Associate Commissioner for Data and Accountability
target setting process for accountability as well as for SOA
having to do this for two reasons:

1. ESEA: set targets for both state and for schools 
2. SOA: "for addressing persistent disparities"; for state and districts

Thus for state, for districts, for schools, and for all the subgroups therein
Target setting has been happening for many years; public document
pandemic has created new challenges, outside the usual norms of what we would do
"so that everyone understands what our intentions are"
between districts, schools, subgroups have to set between 60-70,000 targets annually
but challenges due to pandemic
did not see huge swings in graduation rates; and this is true of the majority 
not so of student achievement; "we have never seen variance like this"

it's the variance within the levels that is such an outlier, from 2019-22
had schools that also didn't lose ground 
have to come up with a system that fits all 
schools that lost extreme amounts, some of that lost small amounts, and some that made gains
how to have schools recover and then go beyond
process that both provides for that and provides for going beyond where schools were in 2019

two paths:
path to recovery: each district, school, subgroup will have a full 'recovery target'
Acknowledging what has happened over the course of the pandemic
asking them to recover back to where they were in 2019 before moving beyond there
the amount of decline requires thinking differently depending on where schools are starting from
amount of that decline will determine the group's 'time to recovery' quartile
those in the bottom quartile will have more time than those in higher quartiles

must show "care to where schools are"
simply saying that schools need to get back to where they were in 2019 "simply doesn't work"

applied to a student group, a school, a district, the state
"want to note that this is a rigorous requirement of schools"
this is a bigger expectation than what would have been set under prior system
"a fair and careful approach" 
make sure those that didn't have as much of a loss over past years would have goals at least as rigorous

also important to think how to move forward: to accommodate different combinations
once a district, school, subgroup recovers, then need a path forward
Those will focus on closing achievement gap; those furthest behind; particular attention need to be paid to those groups
"very complicated process, where you have schools that are in multiple places"
but we "have to develop a process that meets our schools where they are"
every year, schools would be moving from the path to recovery to the path forward

Canavan: asks if any reflection of usual underperforming
Curtin: "kind of a mix"
largest loss "by no means just a list of our historically lowest performing schools"
Canavan: do we have a forecast on when these paths will converge?
"I have some real concerns for our kids who have been most impacted"
Curtin: "I think it's important that we recognize that those that are furthest behind, getting back to recovery is very much progress."
"We need to meet our schools where they are right now."
"We have kids coming up into our tested grades right now who likewise were impacted by the pandemic."
"Yes, they would have a long runway, but I think it's really important to acknowledge what kind of progress that would be"
Canavan: "the phrase that was in my head was 'separate but equal'" though don't want to liken to Jim Crow South
"I'm concerned about the equity impacts"
"I think that we have to do better"
ESSER funding, SOA funding 
"should we be looking at wildly different strategies"
"I know we have tensions here on local control"
"wonder if SOA plans are a lever to require" tutoring, extended day
"you have my full support"

West: nothing magical about where we were in 2019; why go back to that
would be working to ensure that the targets that are set would be more ambitious than those set under the previous system
compared to what the targets would have been if we'd simply continued
Curtin: in year one, guarantee they'd be at least as rigorous as the previous system; for bottom distribution, much more rigorous
"Any time you draw a line" one side gets one treatment, the other another
at some point, we had to draw some lines
a function of us having to develop a methodology here

Hills: "I want to give you a reaction"
"at the end of the day, our success or failure as a Board will be largely a function of how we're moving the needle on student achievement"
I think this is incorrect FWIW
getting to 2019 "nothing to write home about"
"But there's a whole lot of money that's pouring in"
Money will stop soon from the federal government and stop increasing from state "and we won't have even gotten to the achievement gap"
"this is not a matter of beating up on districts or anything like that...districts have to figure out how to do it"
and that's it in a nutshell
"They also have to get us to a point where we have to be happy to get to that point"
if others on the Board, maybe you need to come back to us
this isn't under their purview, FWIW
Curtin notes that it isn't the lowest performing districts that had the largest loses (again, because he already said that)
Hills is now feeling himself to ask that question again
Curtin answers it again
"I think that the assumption that schools aren't going to start on that path forward until four years from now" is incorrect
"I wouldn't want to leave the impression with you that 25% of our schools is what's going to happen each year"
Again notes that the historically lowest performing

Plankey: think that clarification of timeline is useful
"almost expecting linear recovery"
"we keep talking about how unprecedent these drops in achievement are...when we have these...is it possible that these drops might take exponentially longer" to recover?
Curtin: yes, developing a system within the unknown 
Plankey: really the question we want to ask is what does this mean our job is and what support we need to give districts
Curtin: developing this with assistance folks, working in coordination 
"very much trying to think about the quantitative side of things"
Plankey: think the combination would be helpful

Mohamed: creates a health care analogy which is creating the No Child Left Behind act
"what does this say to this family or concerned parent about what our expectation is for those students"
"we seem to think will fall further and further behind"
"I wonder what other states and doing what other countries are doing and particularly all this funding that we have available"
"how should we be signaling"
Curtin: have gotten feedback already from council
Those that have lost the most believe that these targets are ambitious
"I believe we really need to be careful...it's a little like No Child Left Behind was: everybody is going to be proficient"
recognizes the complication of the conversation

Moriarty: 2019, last logical thing
"I didn't find much about 2019 to be acceptable"
rather than thinking about how long the runaway is, think like triage
"much more urgent intervention, guardrails" from the state needed due to those losses
to do what?
Time to recovery shouldn't be measured in reaching its next point, how much more do we have to do to reach that next step
"with good triage, we're looking a lot under the hood"
scores "never answer the questions so much as tell us the next questions to ask"
building stronger systems, what made some schools better withstanding than others

Stewart: would apply to both SOA and ESEA?
Curtin: yes
Stewart: other indicators besides the achievement scoring
really being clear about privilege and bias
Curtin: very much thinking about the questions that...who? has asked us
try to eliminate those biases as much as we could
districts are free to supplement SOA indicators set by DESE with their own
Stewart: missing data on real information around attendance and absence
I don't understand what this data is actually telling us
"if you had to touch base with families on some of this stuff, I don't know how it's going to feel surmountable at all"
Curtin: certainly can supplement around assistance efforts
discussed with advisory committee prior to coming to the Board
important to note that there are a lot of different indicators in the accountability system that made pandemic related decisions
illustration of how we have shown flexibility in the past

Peyser: to Craven saying this is "absolutely" his last meeting
"I don't know; there's always tomorrow"
Target really has two purposes: setting relevant targets; also used for accountability system
sometimes those are in conflict
two or three years sounds like an awfully long time to get back to where you need to go
we know that this is the actual children who have to do the work to get there, right? Like this isn't a thing DONE to kids?
he riffs on some sort of two year categorization, and I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking that he is not going to be on the Board in 48 hours
oh, that was targets for individual students. We can add that to the 70,000 that DESE already has to create
And he wants more ambitious targets for 3 and 4 grade reading performance

West notes interest in supports for districts and asks about path forward
Curtin: yes, going back to 2019 methodology but would increase rigor within methodology
past performance of like schools was past practice, but would choose a point in the continuum that is more rigorous than that used in the previous methodology 

Stewart notes national state boards of education is taking up this topic in March

Craven asks about talking about this at the next meeting "on your impressions of what the Board has said"
Curtin said "we have to let districts know what their targets are so there is a bit of a time crunch"
happy to work with Commissioner on following up on comments

testimony for the Standing Committee on Transportation

 The Worcester City Council Standing Committee on Transportation meets this Thursday at 5 pm. Their agenda this week focuses on the WRTA. I have sent in the following testimony (their meeting happens during our executive session); I'd urge you to submit your own testimony to Councilors Mero Carlson, Nyugen, and Bergman.

Good morning,

I am writing to you this morning in my capacity as a member of the Worcester School Committee to submit testimony for Thursday's Standing Committee on Transportation, which will be taking place during our own executive session.  I offer the following in response to items 3ab, and c on the agenda, regarding the Worcester Regional Transit Authority. 

Councilors, I'd invite you first to review the Twitter feed of the WRTA. Again this morning, we are informed that some trips--this time on routes 5/6, 11, and 24--may not be available today. This means those along Grafton Street, all the way out to Roosevelt Elementary; those on Vernon Hill, over to Quinsig Village, and all the way down to Route 20; and those on Belmont Street, out to UMass Med may not have service. 

I hope that you understand the impact that this has on residents who depend on bus service. From a Worcester School Committee perspective, it means that students who depend on the RTA to get home after after-school activities simply cannot depend on public transit. Their neighborhood may simply, randomly, not be served on a particular day. Please also note, contrary to what the messaging of the RTA says, the bus tracker does not tell you when your next bus will be coming if there is not one on the road. It simply says no bus available.

This is unacceptable.

I believe the Worcester School Committee has made it very clear this year how important we feel dependable access to transportation to and from school is for us. We have taken on transportation ourselves directly to ensure that families can depend on us. And, as they will attest themselves, they can.

What families now cannot depend on is their student getting home from a track practice, musical rehearsal, or after school extra help. 

I would note that we have found that paying competitive wages and providing for training has allowed us to fill the gap of drivers. I would suggest the RTA consider doing the same. 

Free public transit is a very useful service for the district, but it only is as useful as a bus that comes.

Thank you for your attention to this,

Tracy Novick 

The most read of 2022

 What a year!

Photo UP at the Durkin Administration Building this summer

In the classic manner, we do this from ten to one, remembering that the actual number one remains the face of the blog. Many of you simply wander by from time to time to see what's new. I appreciate that!

10. "We pauperize education": A letter to my delegation (from January): "Schools should be the last thing to close!" we were told over and over, yet no one did anything to create the circumstances that would make that possible. Here's my letter to the delegation (one of several I sent) regarding that.

9. Vernon Hill School (a post from 2015): This one feels a bit like cheating, because I know what drove the traffic for this. Someone on one of the Worcester community Facebook pages asked a question about Vernon Hill (which is the former Providence Street Junior High), and the photos I have in this post responded to some of the question, so I posted a link.
This does remind me, though, that I need to be more faithful about posting photos of buildings when I have them, as they're appreciated!

8. A post on Sonia Chang-Díaz (from December): The loss of Sonia in the Senate (even as her successor is great!) is something I know I will keenly feel, as will many. This is the post which doesn't do her justice, but is my best attempt. 

7. Who are those guys? A bit about the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (a post from 2017, which probably needs updating): With the change of Governor, there have been many under the impression that we'd a) get a new Commissioner (no);  and/or b) get an entirely new Board of Ed (no). I shared this link at least once to try to straighten some of that out. I should probably update it with new names, though. Maybe once we see what else happens after Thursday...

6. A legal opinion regarding health authorities in the Worcester Public Schools (from February): One of the ongoing questions of the pandemic has been who has the authority to do what (and also who does not). In particular around schools, what the authority of the school committee versus the board of health led to a few clashes. Worcester didn't have a clash so much as a sequencing question, but I posted the legal opinion of the city solicitor to clarify.

5. SCOTUS did what? (from June): It's been an alarming year in Supreme Court decisions, and education has not escaped unscathed. This is post is on the Carson v. Makin decision, requiring Maine to fund tuition to religious schools as well as secular ones. This is due to the very particular conditions of Maine education, but it has opened the doors to vouchers effectively being required to be used similarly in states where there are vouchers. 

4. What happens next in the WPS superintendent search? (from April) Posted the night the finalists were announced (at 9:32 pm), this post was designed to ensure everyone knew exactly what was happening next.

3. Remarks on Dr. Rachel Monárrez, next superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools (from April) Posted the night we voted on the next superintendent, this post is my remarks reflecting to my colleagues on my visit to San Bernardino City Unified School District. It was also a recommendation of action (which is what we did!).

2. Finalists for the Superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools (from April): Because I knew that people weren't going to be able to listen fast enough! This simply replicates the text that was shared with the School Committee the evening it was announced. 

1. Let's talk about this charter school application for Worcester (from November): My personal subtitle for this one is "what I did over my Thanksgiving break" but it was worth it, as it caught the attention needed, and that snowballed into the work that got the community mobilized. Fingers crossed we made our case strongly enough.

What's up for this year? I have fallen away from posting about what happens at Worcester School Committee meetings, which is probably something I need to get back to. Local coverage continues to fall off, and that means that the narrative of what is and isn't happening there from those who don't attend or watch meetings is often off course. There is only so much I can do, but I should do more of what I can.

Also: Ongoing work of new superintendent! New Governor and new Secretary! And a fall election under Worcester's new system.

Happy new year, and thanks as always for reading!