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
Presentation being done by Komal Bhasin, Chief Schools Officer
"provided our department with additional leverage..." oh really?
review, kinda, of the funding of SOA; it leaves out the constitutional mandate part
"as intended" most funding going to districts with largest populations of highest need students
gap closing plans for three years originally due in April '20
also important to consider impact of short term ESSER funds
districts will be asked to submit updated plans in April 2024; already at work updating guidance based on what has been learned so far
districts required to select from list of 21 "evidence-based programs" for implementation, submit metrics evaluating implementation
(note: those were not adding the hundreds of teachers that they were short, increasing the professional development that they were short, increasing spending on facilities and supplies they were short, or otherwise the actual gaps districts had years of evidence of)
districts were "encouraged" to ensure most of their funding was accounted for
DESE has this all on a dashboard that clicks open in various ways, which clearly someone spent a lot of time on though interestingly what she is showing is state level data, which it doesn't appear one can draw from the dashboard?
"what changes student outcomes" is the implementation of plans
"many touchpoints...to give us a robust picture..."
districts may be using other funding to adopt programs
and the reports are now not only Ch. 70 SOA funding but also ESSER funding
plans are due on April 1, which is out of sync with the fiscal year
"articulating components" of each "evidence based practice" then submit how implemented it is
"what matters for our students" is the implementation of the plan
brought TNTP (which they're not calling "The New Teacher Project" but that's who this is) to answer:
- How can we leverage Evidence-Based Programs to support gap closing?
- What are the best practices for supporting change in a complex system like a school or district?
We should talk about what that framing and what that foundational understanding of how education works mean for how you approach work with districts
contrasting remediation and acceleration
"Typically, systems and schools have address unfinished learning with remediation...the common strategy of focusing instructional time on content from previous grades with the intention of meeting students where they are to catch them up. In contrast, accelerated learning readies students for new grade-level learning by strategically marrying critical concepts, content, and skills from prior grades within the content, instruction, and materials of the students' current grade level."
acceleration doesn't mean you're moving faster, nor does it necessarily mean "providing something extra"
"it may mean removing old practices that don't serve all students well"
have been "helping clients, districts, schools make the shift to more rigorous state standards"
again what does this have to do with Massachusetts?
Found that "2 in 3 classroom assignments were not yet rigorous enough to prepare students for college" and "3 in 4 teachers still weren't adapting their teaching to meet high academic standards"
Hypothesized and then confirmed:
- students need consistent opportunities to work on grade-appropriate assignments
- strong instruction where students do most of the thinking in a lesson
- deep engagement in what they're learning
- teachers who hold high expectations for students
"unfortunately we've found that most kids don't get access to even one of these core resources" and even less so students from historically undersupported groups
whaaaat is this presentation from the Department??
Zearn, which is an online elementary math program which created an "accelerated" track and had a non-accelerated track; comparison is accelerated track resulted better
Rouhanifard notes there are "over eighty slides before you get to the appendix... this is just an update on where things are with the Student Opportunity Act"
ask if we could "just get some headlines"
says to stop him if anyone disagrees
know there still is a target setting conversation to get in
"want to acknowledge a theme over the past couple of meetings...there's been a lot of information thrown our way...little opportunity to engage with it"
Craven: "that's a fair evaluation, Member Rouhanifard" defers to the Commissioner, who shrugs
Riley: "we're flexible...we had Board members who asked for this material"
did they? Or did they ask for an SOA update? Because this isn't an SOA update
if more of a summary would be helpful here
Hills: "always good practice...no matter how much material there is, go to the key takeaway points"
Craven suggests that when there is material of this density that they have a Monday night meeting (which is past practice) and says that she can work on this with the Commissioner
who also wants to know how long meetings can go; Board nods at 1
Craven: we have a lot of dense material, and it does lead into the third agenda item; "nothing more frustrating than not having the same material"
asks Riley what parts Board needs as part of finishing off agenda item; he defers the presenter on "the Cliff Notes version"
gosh, he is so not helpful at this
Riley proposes having TNTP summarize "since they flew in for this" (?!?!) and then DESE will summarize
TNTP: hope you'll take away sees acceleration as a promising practice, can't be underestimated how difficult implementation is
Craven: is it possible?
TNTP: "it takes time and it is complex work...there is a necessary vertical spine...investment in the system...all the way including families"
keeping teachers from "reverting back to things that they know well" in use of materials
Craven to Riley: "not all districts have adopted the highest curriculum that you're recommended"
"People are complaining about the measurement of whether the curriculum was taught correctly and they haven't adopted the materials, we're in a doom loop with those districts"
Riley: "correct, we have local control; "we're trying to strongly suggest both through SOA and ESSER that people use evidence-based programs to adopt...whether that's [gestures at Moriarty] early literacy, early college, or diversifying the teacher work...or the one which I think is probably the most impactful, the adoption of high quality instructional materials...this is kind of our work"
wait, the Commissioner really thinks it's the adoption of materials that makes the most impact?? Really?
Moriarty: listening in the context of early literacy: need pre-practice, need PD
asks how accelerated repair aligns with multi-tiered system of support which is already in the Department and in the state
TNTP: "would say it's very much aligned with a multi-tier system of support" (2:20)
high quality materials but also "really coherent system of interventions"
Bhasin: should support districts "to manage the complex change we have in front of us"
"this research was crucial in forming our strategy"
"Learning Acceleration Network": a "variety of different levels that we use in 18 different districts in the state, many of which overlap" with some of the districts receiving the largest amounts of funding
progress monitoring "most valuable use of time" of the Department
Superintendent of the Fall River Public Schools Maria Pontes
early literacy, early college, "high quality, aligned materials"
monthly, whole district professional development; summer institute
added 15 minutes daily across all schools
"acceleration academies" summer enrichment, increase access to unified arts
inclusion and co-teaching for students with disabilities and English learners
paraprofessionals in "all foundational classes"
invested in teacher leaders; added department chairs
coaching cycles, data cycles, "making adjustments as needed"
Rouhanifard asks if they've done individual high-dosage tutoring
Bhasin: influx of ESSER has made this all more complex
notes SOA is sustainable program investments while ESSER is shorter term
about 150 district plans include tutoring supports
Rouhanifard: "would be wonderful to talk about what, once the ESSER dries up, could the SOA sustain"
having enough teachers. funding facilities at something approaching a responsible level. buying supplies and materials
Riley: a reminder that about 80% of the money is going to 25 of the school districts
set up to correct "irregularities with really high needs districts"
"other people may not have that same opportunity"
Stewart asks how many years til "districts are made whole"?
Riley: six (now)
Moriarty: "and it focuses on Gateway Cities just as it should be"
high turnover; new curriculum means high degree of training needed; has SOA supported training?
maybe we should ask about the turnover?
Pontes: adding adjustment counselors to every middle schools
SEL liaisons who triage students' needs; intervention from SEL realm
student support teams
"everybody wants to see results immediately": seeing consistency in implementation of materials, in expectations across schools, changes in classroom practices, daily attendance increases, year to year literacy growth
student attendance and staffing both remain challenges
"everyone is navigating what's sick enough to stay home" and "we have to be sure our children and our adults get back to the good habits of being there"
have 59 open positions across the districts, covered by subs, teachers picking up extra classes, paraprofessionals
"and everybody right now is going to the highest bidder"
25% in district are newly licensed educators
"I think we've minimized the impact on adults"
the right balance: urgency and accountability; right work; right partnership, collaboration and aligned to the work
collaborative relationship: we work together, we think together
monthly meetings with the statewide system of support with quarterly walkthroughs
New Teacher Project consultancy network
work with the Lynch School of Education for principal coaching and equitable leadership
Bhasin: if we're going to discuss target setting at this table, think it's crucial to understand the complexity of the work to implement what's written in the plans
"test scores are a lagging indicator"
few consideration moving forward: further analysis of end of year spending, progress reports due April 1
anticipating next round of plans in 2024; "leverage ESSER-funded evaluations of evidence-based program areas aligned with SOA"
I have no idea what that means
Craven: leads into third topic; thanks "for this really comprehensive view"
"if there were to be like a Marshall Plan for recovery...we also heard today that dollars don't follow results"
"we also heard from the superintendents, we heard you loud and clear, it's about how we can help you adopt curricula, adopt transformative practices like Commissioner Riley did in Lawrence"
no, this is not what the superintendents asked for; no, this is not what Riley did in Lawrence, either
bringing a level 4 school up "it took additional time on task"
"as I hear Member Rouhanifard speak, we're curious...or at least, I'll speak for myself" how bold we can be "in terms of implementing all these things at once while people are still in recovery"
It's a mammoth task, not just on the Department
"but it's up to us to come up with a targeted list"
"so what does this Marshall Plan look like?" (Turns to Commissioner and Secretary)
what a terrible analogy
Riley: "people knew we had a problem with the foundation budget as early as 2010, 2012. It was no secret that districts with higher needs students were falling farther behind and weren't getting a level playing field that others had access to. And to people's credit, a foundation budget report commission was formed in '14, and then the report came out in '15, but they didn't actually sign the thing until '19"
that is a remarkably passive voice description of something that a) many people advocated for YEARS to get done and b) he was in a position to also advocate for and did not
"when I was superintendent during that time, it was clear that we were being shorted tens of millions of dollars a year, and I always said to myself, what could we have done if we had the money"
"And I want to be clear: the money is not here yet. It's only two-sixths of the way here"
"We won't be up to a level playing field for another four years...I just think people need to be careful how they talk about this"
And even then, "I just want to remind people that we're still not going to have the same funding as other people in Massachusetts"
He then proceeds to read the projected per pupil spending of, for example, Weston, spending $29K and Chelsea and Worcester, spending $17K
"why? because some of our communities are able to add with their tax bases, but some of our poorer communities don't have a tax base"
he hasn't spoken this much about the foundation budget, literally, in all of the years I have listened to him
Have come up with a plan, have vetted plan through AAAC, but sets the stage "for us to really make changes when the money flows" who is 'us'?
"you need several years to bring that with fidelity to implementation in the district"
"our plan is to set the foundation now so that we can be one of the states to close the gaps"
"we think the plan is the right one"
"we've got to recognize that" it takes time to work its way through the system
Craven asks why it "won't be a more comprehensive plan that talks about the other parts of the plan rather than just the first part?"
I have no idea what this means
Riley: think the entire education space needs to get together and decide what is what's next
says there's the teachers' union on one side that doesn't want accountability and to strike 'for the children' and on the other, business group 'no disrespect' that wants to continue the test and punish
"there's a silent majority that needs to start speaking up and figure out what's next in education"
could have a "moonshot for 2030" but this is the first step
Craven: the "pragmatism of local control of public education...you could pump $35,000 into the district. If they don't have the appropriate curriculum, that's vetted, they're not going to get there...so it's not really about the dollars, you're saying, entirely"
I cannot believe this conversation...keep in mind that Craven lives in Brookline, which ALSO spends $25K or more per pupil per year. Do we think it's their "vetted" or not curriculum that is making the difference there?
Riley "I don't want to dismiss the dollars...even to give them a fighting chance. They're fighting with one hand tied behind their back."
Canavan: I heard you say that we have to wait four years for the communities to get caught up
Riley: I think that would be fair but think you'll see [inaudible] before that
Canavan: "my question is ESSER funds are meant...for COVID recover...if one of the obstacles you see is getting to the 6/6...couldn't we strongly recommend for districts to use ESSER funds...to speed the recovery"
they don't get it
"I think that there's gotta be a middle road between the two extremes that you've referenced"
Riley: we have to acknowledge that people want to do recover more quickly, but it isn't that simply
"Sadly, this isn't a video game; children are not widgets. We need to be...in agreement on what's best for our kids. The field needs to come together to think about what's next."
"if we look closely for the last ten years, we've been flatlined; we haven't moved at all. And so we need a renewal, of what could be next."
Tutwiler: "just a clarifying question" (to Canavan) "what do you mean about speed?"
Canavan: asked if the six year phase in of SOA is an obstacle, "couldn't we say to districts, 'okay, you have this other money, let's use it'"
Money that we have one more year of, and was for so much more than academic recovery
Tutwiler, responding from his experience in Lynn: "that was our thinking in Lynn last year"
"the challenge, which I think every superintendent has spoken to, is we added a lot of positions to our budget; we didn't fill them all"
"we had robust, grandiose ideas about what we could bring to the children of Lynn; we couldn't fill the positions. It's just that simple."
staff on emergency licenses: "it was 10% in Lynn last year...had 127 educators on emergency licenses"
"these are newbies who are trying to figure it out"
"speed and reality are two concepts that we're going to have to reconcile in thinking about"
Canavan: huge gaps in health care and education. "is this a conversation that we should be engaged in more fully...don't know where it falls in the scope of our charter"
"what could we do to attract and retain teachers"
Riley: some of SOA was to fund health care and salaries for Gateways to pay for teachers
but we're not getting the money fully for six years
Rouhanifard: role of DESE in this discussion, target setting
"what are the actual teeth for accountability...if a district doesn't actual hit their targets...what are the potential consequences"
Riley: all of the tools at our disposal are still in place...doesn't preclude our having to move the targets up or down
Rouhanifard: receivership, at one end of the continuum, "and that's a very extreme decision"
"reducing funding could be, which is sort of biting your nose off despite your face" and asks what else
to be clear: neither the Board nor the Department have the authority to take away district funds
Curtin: range of options: Board flexibilities like receivership, flexibilities of identifying lowest performing schools, trending down to public reporting and making data availability
"most superintendents have to share their results with their school committees, and that serves as a very real form of accountability, to my understanding"
"do think there's a range and it depends on the severity of the issue"
though in no cases can the Department "reduce funding" to be clear, which it feels like someone really should have said
Curtin: target setting methodology
concern that the rigor doesn't match the sense of urgency
goal of any target-setting methodology is "to find the appropriate intersection of ambition and attainability"
"any target that falls too widely on either side of that equation does not convey the proper message about the real progress that's being made by schools or the lack thereof"
The proposal brought forward on January 3 would ensure that over 95% of schools would have targets or increments that were more rigorous than the targets that were used in 2019
Thus the expected increase in student achievement would be greater in 2023 than it was in 2019
"We would commit to raising that number to 100%"
Commit that expectations would be above 2019 for all
"and just to be clear: those that were not covered were not our schools that had lost the most; they were actually the schools that had lost just a tiny fraction"
"our proposal covered over 95% of schools...we would commit to increasing that to 100%"
"Further increasing the rigor of our targets would ignore the realities that our schools and districts are facing coming out of the pandemic, and again, potentially provide misleading information about the degree of progress that our schools are making. If we set overly ambitious targets that we do not believe are attainable, and then tell the public that their schools are not making progress when in reality they made a good deal of progress, we don't believe that serves the public well and provides a good sense of information to our schools, to our families, and various stakeholders."
Stewart: going through my head is what we heard from the superintendent panel
is there a way to include some of the criteria that superintendents identified in terms of improving target setting?
"rather than constantly having to be adjusting"
"where can we comprehensively get some of this stuff to move?"
Curtin: want to differentiate potentially adding additional indicators to the accountability system, like student well-being
"I think that's a broader discussion, and one that we are welcoming, and one that we intend to have in the future"
"want to try to keep our focus on what we have to do as it relates to the law which is to set student achievement targets related, as measured by MCAS"
Stewart: and this is something under the Department's purview? This isn't something that the Board is voting on?
Curtin: That's correct. We are not asking the Board for a vote.
Issue two that I heard was the timelines proposed in our proposal were too long
"We continue to believe that having variable timelines that align with the degree of loss experienced by schools in academic achievement as measured by MCAS is wholly appropriate and necessary."
"A large percentage of schools experienced achievement losses that were unprecedented and need to be afforded the opportunity to bounce back to 2019 achievement levels"
"While our instruction situation has normalized, it is not normal...I think that's what you heard from the superintendents today. They said it much more eloquently than I just did, but we are not in a normal situation whatever normal may be. It may be normalizing, but it is certainly not normal."
"A failure to acknowledge this reality while setting targets in our opinion does a disservice to those that were most affected"
will commit to reporting on districts, schools, and student groups relative to their timelines: X are ahead, Y are behind
third issue heard: a goal getting back to 2019 and recovering is not acceptable, as it requires growth and achievement to a level that wasn't optimal to begin with
"I think it's important to note here that schools are recovering in all facets of their operation; I think you heard that from the superintendents today. That reality needs to be acknowledged in our accountability system. Again, ignoring that reality does a disservice to the schools that are working hard and does a disservice to what they've been through over the last few years."
"from a technical perspective, over 90% of our schools are achieving at levels below where they were in 2019. Therefore, by definition, any improvement will need to cross the 2019 level and, quote unquote, recover."
"while I appreciate what might be being said about it not being aspirational: it's our reality"
any plot that we put schools on going forward, will have to go past that recovery points
schools will do all they can to support their students coming out of the pandemic; this will not change because of the number of years that have been allotted to them in a target system
final issue heard at last meeting was lack of focus on closing achievement gaps with intentionality
perhaps the most complicated issue
ultimately we believe that trying to measure gap closing is fraught with problems
a target system focused only on closing gaps "is educationally flawed"
"it is critical that we raise the achievement of all students and close achievement gaps"
"the reality of schools is that schools primarily meet students where they are academically...schools don't attack achievement gaps solely by focusing on a lowest performing group or worse, not focusing on a higher performing group. They educate all of their students."
devote particular attention to students who are academically disadvantaged
ambitious for all students
part of the focus is the lowest performing 25% of students in every school
students of color and high needs students are overrepresented in this group across the state
acknowledge that are setting targets coming out of the pandemic; no data set that tells potential amount of achievement for our districts and schools coming out of a pandemic "We haven't experienced it before"
previous methodologies are based on what we've seen before: "We don't have that right now"
"if it doesn't meet the standard of being ambitious and attainable...we commit to coming back to you, and saying we need to make an adjustment"
commit to doing a small number of audits of planned practices of districts and the actual spending
"we still feel the plan that we have put forward is the best plan for our schools and districts across the Commonwealth today"
Lombos: "I fully support your plan."
Wasn't at the January 3; "here's what I've heard"
community building, alternative education, at risk expanding
incredible work being done by in superintendents, but aren't actually going to be part of accountability
MCAS isn't designed to look at student achievement holistically
"This is a problem, y'all! This is what I'm hearing today. This is what I'm learning!"
"I want to commend and applaud the team for making sure our students who are dealing with the issues of the pandemic...hearing from people on the ground...fully support you"
"There was also another comment, that I just couldn't let slide: This spectrum, Commissioner, of being unions on one side, and businesses on the other: c'mon! Let's just get real here! Educators and teachers, they care about their students...they are our partners. And we have to make sure that they are not getting pitted against each other. The district, and DESE, and educators, are partners! We are not going to get into these false choices, and these spectrums, that are very much about dividing and pitting against each other...no, no, no. We have any unions that are partnering with businesses every day to make them succeed!"
"and on the right to strike: nurses on the front lines...and it's not lost on me that teachers and nurses are hemorrhaging mass exodus of women from the workforce"
"I want to thank our educators, including the teachers' union, for being our partners. They got us through the pandemic, and they're going to get us through."
Rouhanifard: compliments Curtin's comments: "a sort of Jerry Maguire moment meets Gettysburg Address, only to be outdone by Member Lombos"
one clarifying question: the targets are strictly a matter of federal reporting? is there also a state process and they sort of merge?
Curtin: the federal requires state targets and school targets; the state requires state targets and district targets
we've unified it into one system
Rouhanifard: target setting in K-12 is inherently problematic
"do believe that tests measure systems and they are important measures of systems"
when used to set targets, on balance, targets are very, very loaded and have significant unintended consequences
cites Campbell's Law
targets set to measure social change can themselves distort the social systems you're trying to improve
assessments can have profound unintended consequences such as narrowing the curriculum to the point of overloading on math and literacy
"there's a lot of noise in testing...there's a lot of use in testing"
"the Board just saying 'are we doing enough' and I think this is pretty healthy tension"
Moriarty: so glad have Commissioner and Associate
"the tests are around academics; there are so many soft activities that have to happen...but who but us does the academics?"
wait what? He thinks districts and schools don't do this otherwise?
"how much of a systems approach you have to do...an awful lot of compliance baked in"
"I stand behind everything I said...the four year runway"
Thinking about four and five year olds, then four years..."how are you going to give those children their early childhood back"
"but I think it has to be heard because it goes beyond this room"
comments on Piwowar's comments: is this all about punishment or are there any genuine rewards
Commissioner and Secretary have "earned bone fidas over time, and I think we need those now"
"the state can't stand back and can't stand down"
constitutional mandate: "It's not aspirational language"
perhaps he should share with his colleague that this also means that they cannot take away funds
do "for schools, not to schools"
"our structure is not prepared for most of the foundational work" in fourth grade for reading
"fix it on the front end, don't have to fix it on the back end"
Hills: "I'm trying to reconcile some things"
"we're not sort of oblivious to this...I understand that. Yet at the same time...four years and then we'll move forward with addressing some of the gaps"
claims "there is a fair amount of evidence" that there are some practices that have significant results in improvement"
"this to me is the heart of what's causing...but four years when there's evidence of states we don't normally talk about recapturing
Riley: appreciate SOA; going to take money and time to set up a foundation to move forward in years
districts still dealing with COVID to some degree
"do the work of adopting high quality instructional materials"
going to take three or four years "I'm sorry; that's just how it works"
recording gets super choppy here and can't understand what Hills is saying; seems to be referring some those who have lived other places
Riley notes states got some of those gains perhaps as first jumps much as Massachusetts got jumps when structure and stabilities were brought in
Curtin: "I think the difficult part for me to express to you is the size of some of the losses that we saw"
enormous loss: and 25% of schools lost more than that
"fully prepared for schools...will beat that timeline"
"I don't think that there are going to be schools that are going to say 'oh we can let up because the state said for years.' I just don't believe that that's the truth and that's how our schools operate."
have a responsibility to set targets that are ambitious and attainable
five scaled score points "is an enormous amount"
"with the information we have and with the unprecedented amount of loss we have sustained, we believed, and we still believe, that
that it's the right amount of time to at least offer and hopefully schools will exceed that"
Canavan: respect, hearing what's being said, think all on same page
additional resources or help for those most struggling?
Curtin makes sure accountability system is speaking to the assistance system
need to double down on that effort
Canavan incumbent on non-educators to step up as well
Hills: this is a healthy dynamic between the Board and the Department
can have a high amount of confidence and there can be pushback
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